Save money, water with pot filler?
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Maryann James posts on vegetable gardening every Tuesday.
Mr. Brown Thumb over at Chicago Garden offers this tip for saving soil, water and cash by filling up extra space in your containers with your recyclables:
I filled the bottom half of the pot with empty plastic soda bottles. In total there are six 2 liter bottles acting as a false bottom in each pot. Then I covered the top of the empty soda bottles with newspaper, but you can also use landscaping fabric or something like cheese cloth.
At first, I scoffed -- wouldn't you just buy the right sized pot in the first place? (I won't even complain about using But then I reread his post -- he's using a wider pot for his pepper garden. In other words, they need width, not depth. So, fine. It's a nice idea -- for some plants. Others -- tomatoes come to mind -- need as much space as they can for roots to grow and stretch out.
Anybody else tried this before? Do you have a better solution?
Comments
I've never thought to do this but I wish I had! I've used pots that are big enough to make a real statement on the porch and filled the bottom with rocks. Makes them nearly impossible to move.
This also fits in with my "reusing is better than recycling" (because recycling uses a certain amount of energy) theory.
Posted by: Eve | July 15, 2009 9:52 AM
it's also a good idea when you need huge pots for visual balance, but you are planting shallow-rooted annuals like Pansies.
It prevents the bottom part of the soil from getting stagnant.
Posted by: Lazy Gardens | July 16, 2009 9:54 AM
I've had success using "ghost poo"--the styrofoam nuggets used in shipping.
Posted by: Dahlink | July 18, 2009 3:42 PM
Ghost poo - that's funny!
Posted by: Eve | July 21, 2009 9:34 AM