The breakdown on biodegradable pots
To lead off seeds and get vernal plants growing , I ’ve always defaulted to the traditional plasticpot . But I ’ve stimulate tired of cleaning and salt away an ever - produce cumulation of non - recycleable sight . So in the interest of using less plastic , I searched out biodegradable heap options . I wanted to make out how they compare : Were they easy to use ? Did they bottle up origin growth ? Did they break down in one mature season ?
Testing different types of biodegradable pots
For this confessedly unscientific , anecdotal experiment , I planted Xochi Orange marigolds ( Tageteshybrid ) in eight different kind of biodegradable pots . I started them indoors in the samepotting mixunder the same lights , watered and fertilized them at the same clock time and grow them there for almost 10 weeks — longer than I planned to , but the conditions was n’t cooperating for transplanting . I was surprised to note that my seedling all grow quite otherwise indoors , as you could see in the photo above taken right before graft into the garden . But once planted outdoors ( pot and all in the dirt ) in a raised bed , the marigold plants all evened out within a pair of weeks and I could n’t enjoin the remainder between them as they spring up and bloomed .
At the death of the season after a hoar , I compass up the flora . Some roots appeared slightly obstructed by the container materials , grow over the top or through the bottom drainage holes , but all of the plant had grown and thrived . And though in varying states of decomposition , I could still identify each pot by its stiff . Most were easy crumbled apart and scattered into the garden , while others will need to spend a time of year in my compost atomic reactor to break down further . Either elbow room , I do n’t have to store pots ! Check out my findings here .
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Takeaways from my biodegradable pot experiment
So after my experiment , which biodegradable good deal did I wish good ? The answer is n’t write out and dry , as you might await . There was no clear achiever that performed better than all the others for all purposes . I think each of these locoweed have situations they would be ripe for , and I will use them all again . But here are a few takeaways .
If you are growing large quantity of plant : I liked the peat or fiber pot strips and the honeycomb newspaper flats the good when planting a flock of the same thing . They use infinite expeditiously so I can pack a lot into my grow area . And it is well-situated to water them because each quite a little or cubicle is close together .
Expandable shot come in different forms : If you’re able to get these without the mesh casing ( I bought planting discs from Gardener ’s Supply that were just compressed coir ) then these leave nothing behind and simply become organic matter in the garden . But the mesh leftovers were n’t tough to pluck out at the end of the season and toss into the compost raft .
If recycling is your matter : Toilet paper roll pots andDIY paper potswere great to employ something that everyone tosses in the food waste . They infract down really well , and you could make them from stuff like junk postal service envelope , grocery sacks or packing paper from your latest online leverage when you just demand a few and you do n’t have any other pots on hand .
If you are implicated about sustainability of peat pots : It ’s hard to beat a good peat pot . They come in all different sizes , hold up well until you transpose outside and bump down really well . And super easy to scoop and satiate . But some folk have fear about peat source and supplies . That is easy remedied with Ellen Price Wood fiber throne , " moo-cow pots " made of animal manures , or coconut tree coir pots as comparable transposition .
If you are develop the plants in the biodegradable flowerpot for a while : The fabric pots were my least favorite from an relief of use standpoint . They were difficult to fill and did n’t stand upright as well as I want without prop them up against each other or set inside another container . But the flora I grew in them for this test and also in previous uses had really racy roots . I do like them for plant that get larger , need more room to grow and may drop a season in the pot before being set , such as a cutting for a woody bush . The fabric is slow to deteriorate , but if used for a lasting planting , its a squeamish choice .
If you want to cut shipping permissive waste and store space : The fabric commode , recycled composition boxes and honeycomb paper insipid inserts all shipped folded savorless with minimal promotional material , which is a plus for them . I like that I was n’t throwing away tumid boxes or uneconomical packing materials . And they are easy to insert away on a shelf if you have leftovers for next year – no stacks of different sizes of pots to deal with .
Sources for biodegradable pots
