Large pots

[ZPalms]

Does anyone know if I should put something at the bottom to stop soil from falling out or will it be ok over time? I’ve never really used liners in my pots and the only thing I got on hand is screen porch mesh but do I really need it?

 

Edited September 24, 2022 by ZPalms

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Does one know if I should put something at the bottom to stop soil from falling out or will it be ok over time? I’ve never really used liners in my pots and the only thing I got on hand is screen porch mesh but do I really need it?

 

Yes.   Always  line the bottom of your pots...  Screen/ Mesh / Shade Cloth will work just fine..  If you don't, Soil will slowly -but surely- work it's way out through the drain holes, esp. with how large those holes are.. Soil dwelling insects will help push soil out through the holes as they dig their way up into the root ball from below.  Screens keep your soil in, bugs out.  Simple as that.

[5am]

What’s the diameter of those drainage holes? I drill a bunch of 1” holes in all my plastic pots (even my red solo cups!) and never have a problem rearranging or transporting them. Then there a few ceramic pots with a single 2” hole (I think) and they didn’t spill either the two times I’ve moved them. 

[ZPalms]

2 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes.   Always  line the bottom of your pots...  Screen/ Mesh / Shade Cloth will work just fine..  If you don't, Soil will slowly -but surely- work it's way out through the drain holes, esp. with how large those holes are.. Soil dwelling insects will help push soil out through the holes as they dig their way up into the root ball from below.  Screens keep your soil in, bugs out.  Simple as that.

I will use window screen thanks!!!!

2 minutes ago, 5am said:

What’s the diameter of those drainage holes? I drill a bunch of 1” holes in all my plastic pots (even my red solo cups!) and never have a problem rearranging or transporting them. Then there a few ceramic pots with a single 2” hole (I think) and they didn’t spill either the two times I’ve moved them. 

They are 1 1/2 holes in the bottom of a trash can

 

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I will use window screen thanks!!!!

They are 1 1/2 holes in the bottom of a trash can

 

For this project, if the piece of screen you have is large enough,  i'd  stick it under the base of the can and trace around the edge with a marker, then cut the screen to the shape traced out. Smaller pieces cut to fit each individual hole may not stay put as you add soil. 

[ZPalms]

7 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

For this project, if the piece of screen you have is large enough,  i'd  stick it under the base of the can and trace around the edge with a marker, then cut the screen to the shape traced out. Smaller pieces cut to fit each individual hole may not stay put as you add soil. 

I’m doing exactly that, the screen is pretty big and I’m going to cut the screen into a circle to fit the bottom of the can instead of doing small individual ones  

[5am]

44 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes.   Always  line the bottom of your pots...  Screen/ Mesh / Shade Cloth will work just fine..  If you don't, Soil will slowly -but surely- work it's way out through the drain holes, esp. with how large those holes are.. Soil dwelling insects will help push soil out through the holes as they dig their way up into the root ball from below.  Screens keep your soil in, bugs out.  Simple as that.

Interesting. I suppose I’ve never kept anything in one pot for that many years, but the soil level in this large container can’t be easily adjusted later, and there’s really no potting that thing up to a larger size. Silas, is there a preferred screen material? Aluminum? fiberglass? Will one outlast the other?

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, 5am said:

Interesting. I suppose I’ve never kept anything in one pot for that many years, but the soil level in this large container can’t be easily adjusted later, and there’s really no potting that thing up to a larger size. Silas, is there a preferred screen material? Aluminum? fiberglass? Will one outlast the other?

I use window screen or extra shade cloth.. Both materials have lasted for 5 years for me here in AZ.

If something croaks, ...say something i'd been growing in a 4" square, ...up to 24gal size pots, i'll reuse the screens.   I use very specific soil mixes for different things and watching that soil escape through the drain holes over time,  ..or be mined out by ground nesting Bees, Cockroaches and other soil tunneling critters that often find the inside of a pot is the perfect place for a new home gets annoying ( and pricey ) quickly..

When i've lifted plants that suddenly started looking bad, where i didn't use a barrier over the drain holes, I have seen that up to 35% of the soil in the bottom of the pot had been emptied out..  Big empty space around a root ball is never good.

[ZPalms]

20 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

I use window screen or extra shade cloth.. Both materials have lasted for 5 years for me here in AZ.

If something croaks, ...say something i'd been growing in a 4" square, ...up to 24gal size pots, i'll reuse the screens.   I use very specific soil mixes for different things and watching that soil escape through the drain holes over time,  ..or be mined out by ground nesting Bees, Cockroaches and other soil tunneling critters that often find the inside of a pot is the perfect place for a new home gets annoying ( and pricey ) quickly..

When i've lifted plants that suddenly started looking bad, where i didn't use a barrier over the drain holes, I have seen that up to 35% of the soil in the bottom of the pot had been emptied out..  Big empty space around a root ball is never good.

I got everything in place, do you know if you should tease coconut roots or not? I don’t think I need too but I’m just making sure

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I got everything in place, do you know if you should tease coconut roots or not? I don’t think I need too but I’m just making sure

I'd just plant as is.. no teasing necessary.. Roots will expand out into their new home on their own.

[ZPalms]

3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

I'd just plant as is.. no teasing necessary.. Roots will expand out into their new home on their own.

Thank you, much appreciated! Needed the reassurance before I permanently cover it in 

[SeanK]

15 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Does anyone know if I should put something at the bottom to stop soil from falling out or will it be ok over time? I’ve never really used liners in my pots and the only thing I got on hand is screen porch mesh but do I really need it?

 

Screen mesh is the first thing that came to mind.

[ZPalms]

Here it is all finished! 😋

This was such a task and I had to finish it within a couple hours since the temperature decided to randomly drop to 49F degrees, but I finished and it was heavy as hell to get up the stairs and will be even worse when I actually water it. All I need now is a baby pool to place it in so it can drain when I finally start watering it and I'll use a water pump to remove the excess water when It drains into the drainage "pool"

I still have to move it into my odd little plant growing area and re-arrange the grow lights to accommodate all of my plants, including the coconut, and my banana tree has grown quite large, so it will be difficult to fit it in there. 

@JohnAndSancho heres my weird little pvc thing I built for my coconut when it was tiny but ended up turning into a plant growing thing.

I did take pictures of the roots before I planted it in the new "pot" because their cool to see. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by ZPalms