Think all three can be accomplished with one tip from a Master Gardener? Yup, they can! Backyard Gardener published a list of 100 tips from Master Gardeners in their January issue. Some tips are better than others. I plan on posting the better ones here.
Last week, I posted about a tip to make choosing a color theme easier. This week, I’m posting tip #34: Use less soil in large containers by filling the bottom with crumpled plastic bottles.
Photo by Bright Tal
A big pot, with crumpled plastic bottles taking up some of the space dirt would normally take up, will weigh less, great if you need to move your pot or have weight restrictions on your balcony or rooftop. Such a pot will also require less dirt, so you won’t waste money on dirt that your plants won’t be using. Finally, and obviously, plastic bottles taking up space in the bottom of your pots means they’re not taking up space in a landfill.
I would crumple the plastic bottle and then put the cap back on to prevent dirt and water (and then bugs) from getting in the bottles, which would defeat the purpose of lightening the pot and reducing the amount of dirt needed.
I think there is one important caveat to this tip. It works best for tall pots where you plan on using plants with relatively shallow root systems. If you’re planting a tree or a tomato, or other plants that need all the dirt they can find, then skip the plastic bottles and fill the pot entirely with dirt.
Related Posts:
- Using a Color Wheel to Choose Flowers for Your Garden
- 10 Ways to be a Frugal Balcony Gardener
- Propagating Plants to Make More for Free!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This is the first filler tip I can get behind! I usually read to use rocks or styrofoam, which is awful, because it’s hard to seperate them out later, but bottles? Easy as pie to remove them when you change out your soil. Great tip!
I may try this with some of my flower pots, but I’m reluctant to use plastic in my herb and food crop pots. I’m wondering if there’s any potential plastic “fallout” (or styrofoam as Genevieve offers) … http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94699105
Why not forgo the use of all plastics and use crumpled newspapers? At the end of the season you can dump the old potting soil and the newsprint in the compost bin. (Newspaper biodegrades.)
(This tip provided by a fellow Master Gardener.)
TC — I would think crumpled newspapers would turn into mush that would likely block the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Not to mention that when it becomes wet and compacted, it would be just as heavy as regular dirt. Besides, not that many people receive an actual paper anymore. And I don’t dump old soil from my larger pots. And even if all those reasons didn’t exist, it’s also not presently realistic to expect anyone except the hardcore to forgo the use of plastic all together. A large percentage of food items come in plastic containers.
invisible.bees — I’ve given up trying to keep track of everything that the government thinks might cause health problems. The list includes virtually everything known to man. Apples, tomatoes and carrots have known carcinogens! I try and avoid the obviously unhealthy things, like smoking and dangerous pesticides, but at some point, you have to throw up your hands.
Interesting tip. I always use the styrofoam packing peanuts and haven’t had too many issues when changing out the dirt. Of course you have to use the packing peanuts that don’t disintegrate when they get wet