TP Toys Potting Bench Review

Reviewed by Lisa

We have three children, aged 3, 6, and 8, and they love to play outside and help us grow some of the fruit and vegetables in our garden. When we saw the TP Toys potting bench we were excited to give it to them so we could encourage them more with this and give them their ‘own’ vegetables to have autonomy over. They have had great fun using it already and are excited to use the ‘viewing window’ to see their carrots growing, through lifting up the wooden side and seeing straight in to the soil. The water butt is easy to remove and fill with water and they had great fun with the tap, and the splash pool beneath catches the excess water which they could then wash their tools in afterwards before hanging them up to dry. We’re not completely sure what the wooden slat with holes in is for, but we found it really useful for spacing out the carrot seeds and then balancing things on to help them dry. The wooden slats underneath provide a useful shelf for storing more of their tools and watering cans.

The bench is really good quality – sturdy and made with lovely wood that is FSC certified. The instruction manual is appropriately detailed and clear enough to follow during assembly. The small print does warn about sharp edges due to the manufacturing process which we found in the form of some rough splinters of wood where the large holes had been drilled. The kit arrived in a well packed flat-pack box and came with everything that is shown in the picture (including the plant pots but not the tools in the ‘action shot’), but you will need your own screwdrivers. It took a little over an hour to put together, which would be greatly reduced if you used an electric screw driver. The pre-drilled pilot holes all matched very well and the screws hold everything together solidly. There were a few that were difficult to screw in due to their location, but manageable. Our largest criticism is that the water butt is designed to hang freely off a couple of screws, however the screw heads are quite small therefore it is easy for the kids to knock it off. This was simply rectified by swapping the screws for a couple from our tool box with larger heads to make it more secure. It all comes with a 1 year guarantee as well.

The bench is a great height for our kids to stand at, is easy to fit 2 or 3 of them around it at one time, and I’d say it’s suitable for all ages, if supervised correctly. We love the quality, design and strength of this bench, and hope it will encourage our children to spend even more time outdoors, take care of things, and then help them to enjoy eating a wider range of vegetables due to growing them with their own hands. I would definitely recommend this product to other families, and I think we will be having fun with this for years to come, growing different things every year. TP Toys also make a deluxe version of this bench for £159.99 that includes trellis for plants to grow up and a mini greenhouse. The company has been running for 60 years and specialises in other outdoor toys too like climbing frames, mud kitchens and playhouses. I will definitely look to buy other products from them in the future and think it was worth the sale price of £69.99.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £109.99, currently on sale for £69.99 (at the time of writing the review)

This product can be purchased from TP Toys here.