Vegetable garden in a basket (free pattern)

A friend from work re-kindled my love of gardening some years back and although I no longer live in a house with a garden, I've been cultivating my balcony and window sills enthusiastically. We also transformed the office, with everyone exchanging seedlings and produce. It was always great, especially during the pandemic, to come into the office and find an aubergine plant or two on my desk. So I thought it would be nice to make a little vegetable garden in crochet form. I'm not sure it's good enough to give as a gift, but for a first attempt it looks quite well. 

The basket is a simple bread basket that you stuff with fiber fill. The yarn used is all cotton SMC Catania with a 2-2.5mm hook. 

Patterns are below. Happy crocheting and gardening <3

Soil: 

For the soil, ch as many stitches as you need to fill the size of your container. It doesn't matter if its an odd or even number, just include 2 ch stitches for turning. 

R1. skipping the first 2 ch, dc in every stitch.

R2. Ch 2 and turn. BDdc in every stitch.

Repeat R2 until the length needed to fit your basket.

Lettuce/cabbage:

Start by ch 24 (24) If you want to scale the lettuce up or down, just ch a multiple of 2 + 4.

 

R1. Skip the first 3 stitches (count as a dc) and 2dc in the 4th stitch from the hook, [ch 1, skip 1 stitch, 3dc in the next stitch] repeat until the end of the chain (43)

 

R2. Ch 2 and turn. [dc in the 1st stitch, 2dc in the 2nd stitch, dc in the 3rd stitch, ch 2 and ss into the ch of the previous row, ch 2], repeat 9 times (the last time without the final 2 ch), resulting in 10 leaves.

 

Fasten off and leave a long tail. Roll up the leaves into a lettuce/cabbag shape and sew in place. 

Growing carrots:

Start a magic ring in orange.

R1. Sc 6 into the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (9)

R3. sc in every stitch (9)

R4. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (6)

Close with a ss and fasten off. Leave a tail for sewing.

For the green tops, ch 5 in green. Skip the first stitch and ss into the remaining 4. Ch 5 again without fastening off and repeat this for as many leaves as you want (I've done 3 here). Use the tail to sew the leaves together in a bundle and then to sew it onto the first round of the carrot.

Harvested carrot:

Start a magic ring in orange. 

R1. Sc 6 into the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (9)

R3. sc in every stitch (9)

R4. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (6)

R5. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (4)

R6. sc2tog 3rd and 4th stitch (3)

 

Fasten off with a ss and weave in tail.  

For the green tops, ch 5 in green. Skip the first stitch and ss into the remaining 4. Ch 5 again without fastening off and repeat this for as many leaves as you want (I've done 3 here). Use the tail to sew the leaves together in a bundle and then to sew it onto the first round of the carrot.

Leek:

Start a magic ring in white.

R1. Sc 6 in the magic ring(6)

R2. In BLO, sc in every stitch (6)

R3-5. Sc in every stitch (6). Change to light green

R6-7. Sc in every stitch (6). Change to dark green

R8. Sc in every stitch (6)

R9. Flatten the end and sc through a pair of opposing stitches 3 times. Turn (3)

R10. [ch 5, skip 1 and sc in the remaining 4 stitches, ss in next stitch], repeat twice. End with a ss in the last sc and fasten off. Weave in ends.

Pumpkin:

Start a magic ring in orange. 

R1. Sc 6 in the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every stitch (12)

R3. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (18)

R4-6. sc in every stitch (18)

R7. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (12)

R8. sc2tog every 1st and 2nd stitch (6)

 

Fasten off and leave a long tail. Use it to sew up the last 6 stitches and then wind it around the pumpking to form the different sections. Pull tight and weave in. 

 

For the stalk, start a magic ring in green.

R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (9)

Fasten off with a ss, leaving a tail to sew the stalk onto the top of the pumpkin. 

 

Watering can:

For the body, ch 7 in red.

R1. Starting from the second ch on the hook, sc in every stitch, turning the work and continuing on the other side (12)

R2. 2sc in the first stitch, sc 4, 3sc in the next stitch, 2sc in the next stitch, sc 4, 3sc in the last stitch (18)

R3. In BLO, sc in every stitch (18)

R4-8 sc in every stitch (18)

R9. sc 5, ch 3 and fasten on to the other side of the round with a ss (count 9 8 stitches back). Continue crocheting in rounds in the largest of the two circles you've just created

R10. In BLO, sc2tog every 1st and 2nd stitch (6) Fasten off with a ss and use the tail to sew up the last 6 stitches. Stuff lightly.

For the spout, start a magic ring. 

R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (9)

R3. In BLO, sc in every stitch (9)

R4. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (6) 

R5. sc 2 through multiple loops (2)

R6-7 ch 1 and turn, sc in every stitch (2)

Fasten off with a ss and use the tail to sew the spout onto the watering can.

Ss into one of the loops on the back, ch 15 and ss into the front of the top to create a handle. 

Cauliflower:

Start a magic ring in white.

R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every stitch (12)

R3. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (18)

R4-5. sc in every stitch (24)

R6. sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (12)

R7. sc2tog every 1st and 2nd stitch (6)

Fasten off and weave in ends. 

For the leaves, ch 12 and follow the pattern for the lettuce:

R1. Skip the first 3 stitches (count as a dc) and 2dc in the 4th stitch from the hook, [ch 1, skip 1 stitch, 3dc in the next stitch] repeat until the end of the chain.

R2. Ch 2 and turn. [dc in the 1st stitch, 2dc in the 2nd stitch, dc in the 3rd stitch, ch 2 and ss into the ch of the previous row, ch 2], repeat 4 times (the last time without the final 2 ch), resulting in 5 leaves. Fasten off and leave a long tail.

 

Fit the leaves around the cauliflower head and sew on. 

Basket: 

Start a magic ring in brown. 

R1. sc 6 in the magic ring (6)

R2. 2sc in every stitch (12)

R3. 2sc in every 2nd stitch (18)

R4. 2sc in every 3rd stitch (24)

R5. 2sc in the first stitch, sc 23 (25)

R6. sc in every stitch, in back loops only (25)

 

From here on, we'll use a net-like stitch for the basket

R7. ch 5, dc in the 3rd sc (skipping the ch and the first 2 sc), repeat [ch 2, skip 2 sc, dc in the 3rd sc] until the end.

Repeat R7 until you have the desired height for your basket. 

Assembly:

Sew one side of the soil to the inside of the basket using a sewing or embroidery thread in an unobtrusive colour. Stuff the first half of the basket and sew on the plants etc. in whatever arrangement you like. To finish, close the basket by sewing the rest of the soil to the inside.