I just dragged home 7 large plastic planters (30" diameter?) from the dollar store ($8 each with bases).
Before I grow broke and drive up Pro Gro stock, I could use some ideas for filler . . .
I saw a tip for foam peanuts on another thread, andwill use all I have (which isn't many).
Got a lawn bag or two of sycamore leaves on hand, and a few bins of same-- and cons to using these in the bottom?
I'd appreciate other ideas for filler . . . .
Thx!
ho'ard
What's your favorite filler?
Wow...30" diameter? How tall are they? I have two 20" diameter pots that are approx. 17" high and I fill the bottom half with a 40lb. bag of top soil that costs about $1. The top half gets filled with good potting soil. You can also take a smaller inexpensive bucket or nursery pot and place it in the planter upside down and then fill with your choice of soil. The bucket/pot takes up surplus area space therefore keeping the planter lighter and you don't have to use as much soil.
Toni
I totally forgot about the bucket trick-- thanks!
I would guess they're probably about, oh . . . 30" tall. maybe I should measure them-- I could be way off here. They're a size smaller than the large planters you always see outside the entranceway of institutional buildings, if that means anything. I think at least 3 will end up full of sweet basil . . . will probably stick a small-ish Japanese red maple in one (probably will forego the filler on that one) and save the others for emergency acquisitions . . . Brought home 5 cubes of pro-mix on my bike tonight.
Toni, where do you get soil for $1? Doesn't it pack a little too dense and interfere with drainage?
ho'ard
First off ... what dollar store did you get those giant planters at?! Any Home Depot/Lowes/Osco usually has regular top soil for about $1.50. In fact some Jewel/Osco's have a 4/$5.00 special on Compost Manure/Top Soil/Potting Soil. Just regular stuff ... no name brand. I put some small rocks in the bottom to help out with drainage but otherwise no problem with density. Besides you'll find that containers have a tendency to dry out real fast.
How in the world did you get 5 cubes of Pro-Mix home on a bike? What are you riding a ric shaw!
I'll bet that was quite a sight!
Toni
I have an 8-foot bike trailer that's rated up to 250 lbs. . . . I try not to go anywhere near that weight if I can avoid it though; a friend went with and pulled another of my trailers with 4 cubes so we hauled 9 total. Beautiful cool breezy night for it . . .
The planters came from Family Dollar Plus -- they're a national chain taking over all the former small department stores in da ghetto . . . basically a Jupiter or Kresge for the 00s. I learned my lesson last year that you have to get 'em when you see 'em or they're just gone.
the smaller trailer (I used a longer plywood though):
I don't know how to answer this except that I was joking about the ric shaw! How did you come up with that ride? Pretty ingenious!
And what do you mean ghetto....a Family Dollar Store opened up in my neighborhood just recently. They're all over the city! You can find alot of good stuff for cheap in there.
Where did you get the Pro-Mix from? Didn't they have regular top soil also?
I wish I came up with them . . . the big trailer cost close to $500 and the smaller one close to $200 . . .
Ghetto . . well, I'm living in dollar store ghetto (near Cermak and Western). That store you're referring to wouldn't happen to be in Lincoln Park or Printer's row? (I didn't think so . . .)
The Pro Mix came from Home Despot in Cicero . . . they had all kinds of other soil, but I think it's more like 4/$10, no?
Since I started using Pro Mix I can't bring myself to buy any other type of soil . . . it's just that good. have you tried it?
I spent the first 12 years of my life living on Western Ave across from the Edison Bldg. That's further up north than where your at. And no I'm not rich or affluent enough to live in Lincoln Park or Printers Row. Heck even places like Wicker Park that used to be pretty rough are being built up with prices out of the wazoo! I'm on the near NW side. Decent family-type neighborhood.
I just used a bag of Pro-Mix for some of my containers and I still have one bag left in the garage. Good stuff.
Edison building . . .Edison building . . . hmmm . . .
Just south of Grand?
Lots of areas that are -still- rough are priced out the wazoo . . . they're asking 600s for row houses near Oakley and Monroe . . .
I admit I didn't read every word of the thread but in April we watched a demonstration for a big pot and he used empty water bottles as a filler.
Good luck! We tried peanuts - what a mess when you want to do it over!!!
Edison Bldg. on Western between Cortez and Thomas. North of Grand. The prices in the city are insane for what you're getting house-wise.
Water bottles-- great suggestion!!!
I'll have to look for that building-- does it have storefronts in it?
Is it still there? I'm up and down Western so much I'm surprised I don't know it . . . is it Edison as in Commonwealth?
It was Commonwealth Edison when I was a kid. I think it still is. It's a big block long building made out of red brick with fenced off transformers on one end.
I was on the bus the other day and almost caught a glimpse of the building, but I couldn't stay awake right at that point :-) Got it now though, big red brick structure . . .
I was way wrong about those pots-- they're only 20" but still mighty big for that price . . .
I have some big pots too, and for the ones I don't need all dirt for root space, I use plastic half-gallon milk containers and they work just fine. Sure saves on the Pro-Mix!
Wow, thanks for the bounce; I was starting to think I'd bought 8 planters and lost one somehow . . .
I ended up using leaves for about 4 or 5 of them; one I filled half way with compost (or what should have been compost by now) and 2 I started off with a layer of leaves and then dirt that I had occupying a covered trash can I could no longer move, left over from digging up . . . gosh I can't remember now, how can you have too much dirt? In any even those containers are a bit heavier than the others . . .
Great suggestions here, will surely be used at some point in the not too distant future . . .
I'm new to this site & have only posted a time or two, but I have some knowledge of container gardening. If any are interested in learning why drainage layers in container bottoms (gravel, rocks, peanuts, soda bottles, etc.) adversely affect drainage, I will post some information that may be enlightening on a separate thread.
Al
Yes, would like to know-- but why not add it to this thread?
It's long and somewhat technical - has generated much interest on another forum. The primary focus of the information is how water behaves in containers, but it gets into soils & methods of eliminating unwanted water.
Al
tapla: can you tell us which Forum and which thread?
It's a competing forum & I'm not sure how that would be taken here. I don't wish to get booted before I'm familiar with this site. ;o)
Al
TALPA...speaking for myself I would be very interested in your article...for years I've planted in containers and couldn't figure out why..no matter what soil mix I used or chards, plastic peanuts, lava rocks, etc...at the end of the season when I would pull out the plants there was always wet compacted soil in the bottom of the pot. I thought maybe it was because the pots needed elevated. So I elevated the pots for air circulation...still had stagnated soil..tho' not as bad.
Recently I saw an article that demonstrated this phenomina using a sponge as an example of water drainage. No matter how much drainage material was added to the pot the sponge retained the same level of saturation at its bottom.
I know with bonsai soils you try to use larger particles in your soil mix to avoid compaction and this stagnation is what causes failure of the root systems in most bonsai starts. Stands to reason magnifying this to larger pots may have the same result.
I have given several talks/presentations on container soils & a sponge is a great illustration to show the presence of what is called a "Perched Water Table", and I use sponges to illustrate the physics of water movement in soil. I will post something soon - probably after work this PM. Thanks for the interest.
Al
This is so pertinent to a problem I had. I tryed to plant strawberries in one of those strawberry planters. This is the type that has holes on the side of the pot. The pot is taller than it is wide. The plants in the bottom holes died from water logged soil, I am sure. I used a cheap potting soil I bought at Home Depot. I look forward to seeing your white paper.
For all the people who have access to the styrofoam peanuts the trick to make it easy for the do over is to use either an old Tshirt or landscape cloth on top of the peanuts prior to putting the soil in and that eliminates the big mess. I have ceramic pots and this keeps the weight down.The other reason i like the peanuts is they do retain some water helping me to keep my soil moist.So if you are on a rain belt they may not be the best.
I also found that plastic bottles also need a barrier between the bottles and soil otherwise you loose all your soil out the bottom.
I am also able to buy it for $1 per bag( 2'x2'x4') at a retail store that has china on display and doesn't want to throw it into the garbage.
Just a reminder that the peanuts definitely need to be styrofoam and NOT the biodegradable gelatin ones!!
I also use old broken teracotta pot pieces and river rocks in the bottom of my pots. The drainage is good but it makes them a little heavy so I put them on roller platforms from WalMart.
For my big whiskey barrel containers, I just use bark that you buy from Home Depot or Lowes in big bags. Works well for me, and as they break down, I just add more dirt, and it doesnt seem as expensive as adding the dirt all at once.