Terracotta Container

How to age a new terracotta container…

Terracotta containers age well but it takes months. To accelerate this ageing process, mix some yogurt with horse manure and brush it on the pot. The yogurt encourages algae growth; the manure will help the growth of lichens. Soon the pot will look as if it’s been in your garden for years!

Make containers

You don’t need to buy expensive pots, use your unwanted household items.

You can utilise an old car tyre, an old watering cans, a butler sink – any large mixing bowls and cooking pots & pans; plastic & metallic bins, trash cans, waste paper baskets; wooden & plastic boxes etc remember to make drainage holes in the base. You can make a hanging basket out of and old colander, a sieve or a lampshade

Plastic Containers

Avoid those ugly plastic containers looking like terracotta pots

Paint or cover them up!rnReal teracotta is cheap and widely available -so get the real thing. If you like plastic, buy modern containers or utilize plastic trash cans, rubbish bins and plastic boxes!

Planting in containers

Before planting you need to prepare your pot and your plant

Soak your plant before planting, and if you’re using terracotta pots, soak those as well. Large containers should be planted in situ. You can save on compost and lighten the weight by filling the container (up to one third) with polystyrene bits. Always place small stones at the bottom of the container and add some grit to the compost to allow better drainage. Add water-retaining granules and slow-releasing fertiliser to the root level of your plant. Then you’re ready to plant!

Self-watering plant pot

This is how you can make a pot that waters itself!

Cut a plastic bottle in half. Pull a piece of fabric through the neck of the bottle. Turn it over and put your plant into the half-bottle. You can put this into another container which is filled with water. The fabric will soak up the water. Another way is to use a jar with a screw-on lid. Punch a small hole in the lid; poke a piece of fabric through it into the earth via the hole in the bottom of your pot. Fill the jar with water, secure the lid and place the plant on top of the jar.