Last year, I began searching for an outdoor sink that I could use for potting plants on my patio. I think I searched off and on for about three or four months. I debated about what this sink would look like and what features I wanted it to have.
I began by looking at stainless steel deep sinks, then I found some that had small counter tops to one side. That was intriguing. The problem with those sinks was that they all had comments mentioning how flimsy the sinks were. There were some better quality sinks, but those cost about twice as much as I had budgeted for.
Then I found a Folding Fish Cleaning Sink. At the time, it was only $110; at the time of this post, they cost $145. It was molded plastic with a large countertop, which was perfect for me. It was cold water only, and I was fine with that, and though the sink was shallow, I could work with that. SOLD!!!
When my table arrived, Mr. MyPlants got busy and immediately began to work on improvements. When he finished, I have to admit, it was better than what I had dreamed it could be. Fortunately, I’m married to a bit of a pack rat. I think most of the improvements that were made to my table were from things that we had around the house. As the year passed, we have been refining my potting station and now, it’s my favorite place to be.
My original plan to get water to my sink was to simply hook it up with a garden hose. This was the first modification Mr. MyPlants made for me. While the hose could have worked, most of the included hardware was cheap and leaky. We ended up scrapping the short plastic hose and nozzle along with the plastic hardware that came with the table. Instead, we build a manifold out of PVC pipes and valves. This manifold brings water up from the spigot and splits it off for several different purposes.
The first valve (at the bottom) is a valve to allow the manifold to be drained in the event of freezing weather. The second valve turns water off and on to our 50′ yard hose. Keep going around and at the top is the valve that turns the water on to my sink and plant hose. Follow on to the “Y” where the water splits with one side going to the faucet and the other going to my plant hose.
Another part of the plumbing that I think we improved upon is the drain. The table comes with a flexible hose that is just about long enough to touch the ground, which is messy to say the least. That was replaced by a large PVC pipe that crosses under the table and under the fence where the water runs down our driveway.
One of my favorite additions has been the leveling feet I recently added. Our patio is intentionally not level. The slope of the patio is to prevent water from running toward the house. Now that I have leveling feet, all of the water runs out of my sink and my work surface is nice and flat.
A few other upgrades we’ve made are the storage shelf with a paper towel holder, I use this every time I use the table. Wire storage shelves are useful, not only for storage, but also for hanging wet rags to dry. A light under the shelf and a fan for evenings when it cools down. Plastic drawers are a perfect place to store all of the little things you might need.
While my table suits me perfectly, just having a dedicated space where I can work on my plants is so nice. I no longer take up the whole kitchen when I want to pot or transplant my plants.
my Plants 
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