We were starting a container garden and my wife said to fill the bottom with peanuts, then she left for work. So i bought 4 cans of peanuts. When she got home she clarified she meant styrofoam peanuts. I NEVER HEARD OF STYROFOAM PEANUTS.
I hang onto disposable mesh vegetable bags & styrofoam packing peanuts for this purpose. I fill a bag with styrofoam peanuts, staple or hand-sew it shut and drop one or two bags into the bottom of the planter. I cover them with coffee filters or newspaper for the same reason you put coffee filters into your pots. Then I fill with potting soil. Over the growing season, soil & roots will work their way into the packing peanuts, so removing them at the end of the season can be kind of a pain, if you want to re-use them next year. You can also cut up larger chunks of styrofoam, if you don't have a lot of packing peanuts. Also, a caution: too much air at the bottom of a pot will make the pot top-heavy and easier to tip over in the wind, so be aware of where you're going to place them if you use any of these methods. Or maybe add a layer of rocks to the bottom first.
You can also use a small piece of fly wire, especially if you have an old window screen you’re going to dispose of. Say one that has holes in it that you’re replacing? Save the fly screen and cut it into squares.
I am so happy I found you!! I love plants but have very very limited space and most have to be grown inside. I’m so inspired and appreciate your lovely helpful self!!🤗💗🎉💯
I put a few inches of weeds and leaf litter on the bottom. Worms love and it breaks down by end of summer. Usually so hot in summer drainage is less of a problem then pot drying out.
i do same thing but use all my broken clay or ceramic pots, when i break one i thow it in a giant broken pot storage bin than use as needed! it works awesome.
Greeting's from Ireland, Great video and great idea's, We have fifty seven pots in our front garden six of those pot's are planted with annual's and placed on the front windowsill's. The other pots have perennial's in them. I used to buy compost but haven't done so in year's. I use homemade compost and the annual's love it.
This is a great idea. I've done this for years while planting flowers, ferns, or artificial plants in large containers. I use foam packing that comes with items I ordered online. Anything will work but I find foam blocks or packing beads or bubble wrap works great as well. The idea is to take up space to cut down on the use of potting soil and help with drainage.
I'm from Massachusetts too. I donate most of my plastic flowerpots to my local garden clubs. Every Saturday in the month of May their plant sale are going on so I bring them with me to drop off. Happy Gardening 🌻
Good idea using the nursery pots. I just bought some inserts for mine. My containers were pooling with water every time it rained due to the soil being too dense. Thank you for the tips.
Good Evening. Thank you for all your information on saving money on planting annuals. That was so amazing. That being said one should not be surprised of this information as it was told to us by a very wise and amazing gardener. You are awesome. Enjoy and I am excited to see what annuals you planted in these pots. Enjoy and have a great rest of your day.
Rocks in the bottom of containers do not contribute to better draining soils and healthier plants. Instead plant roots encounter saturated soils that don't drain efficiently. It all has to do with something called a perched water table. For containers and raised beds, use between 1/3 and 2/3 peat moss into your potting soil mix or compost. To use for starting seeds, you can mix it 50/50 with perlite, or 1/3 each of peat moss, perlite and a soilless mix such as Quickroot.
Peat moss: chance would be a fine thing! Here in Europe and the UK, gardeners cannot buy peat or peat-containing potting soil any more, it's banned. Only professionals can still buy it for a little while longer and it's being phased-out for them too. It's tragic because there is NO peat-free commercial potting soil that works as a true replacement.
Have used rocks and gravel in bottom for years with great success. Also empty water bottles and soda cans. A lot of my pots are large and all soil in bottom is cost prohibitive for me. Good video.
awesome vid! thank u so much for also going into why not to use cardboard & also the drain hole addition. u r so careful about the details, really sweet & knowledgeable share
I bought two of the same containers last yr. I decided to used broken brick for weight because we get wind. Worked terrific. And they took up that volume.
My FIl use to fill large pots with solid foam insulation. You really only need 6-8” of soil for most flower plants. And he also used old pots inside as you have done. Was just thinking if the pot needs more weight to prevent tipping over a rock or two on the bottom would help.
Thank you for your insightful suggestions. I also appreciate the ideas shared in the Comment Section. I have a question regarding the implementation of this concept. If I were to use a perennial plant in the center and surround it with annual plants, would there still be sufficient space for root development as the annual plants die?
Thank you. I need to put my pomegranate tree in a big pot and this will help me not use up all my soil. The guy in the comments who bought cans of peanuts made me laugh so much hahaha
You are so welcome! Exactly, the weight is tough. Another reason I'm sticking to good quality looking plastic or lightweight planters these days. The ceramic/pottery type are gorgeous, but my back does not appreciate me lifting them ;)
Look up hugelpots a much healthier viable method for creating soil diversity in containers. Weathered twigs and branches create a wicking effect so plants don't need to be watered as much
So many great tips here, thank you! I’m new to gardening. Would I want to leave lots of space for root development for a vegetable plant? Or would something like what your upside down pot gave you be sufficient for me?
Hi Carrie, If your growing somethign longer term in these containers, it might be worth your while to fill them all up. But I mostly grow annuals in these so I don't need them to have supper long root developement. Since the plantings are temporary, I don't want to "waste" too much potting soil filling these large containers. If I was planting an evergreen/shrub, or even vegetables or say blueberry/rasberry for example in a pot, I would fill it all the way. Just be sure to have drainage, and place the container in its "permenant spot" before moving as larger containers get quite heavy filled all the way with soil. I've learned this the hard way, and my back reminds me often! Hope this helps. Take care!
Just watched a garden professional and she right out and vehemently told us DO NOT PUT ANYTHING in your pots except soil. The soil holds the fertilizer and less chance of spaces.
Hi Bev, while I'm certainly not an expert, this method has worked really well for me over the years. Particularly for annual plants that won't be in these containers long term. However, if you were growing something in a container longer term, ie. Perrenial, shrub, or evergreen, I would say to fill with all soil to avoid air pockets and to have plenty of soil for the plants root development.
I purchased these at Walmart several years ago (3-4 years ago now), and here in New England we have a store called Ocean State Job Lot, and also an Ollies which is a great option for planters. I've also had great luck purchasing some at TJ Max and Marshalls
But surely if you are using a large pot, it suggests u r either planting a large plant, or a plant that will become large, so how is it going thrive with nowhere for the roots to spread because there’s a load of plastic in the way?
I’ve been filling the bottom of the large pots with water bottles and other plastic bottles to save money on potting mix and my annuals do just fine. I plant sun patiens, impatiens and caladiums and they do great! 9:55
I bought this soil at Lowe’s prior to viewing your video. I used it to repotting my indoor plants and I definitely do not recommend it. I do not recommend it. Too dry. Though a bit expensive, I will stick to quality such as Miracle Gro and upwards.
Putting 2 liter bottles in the bottom is a bad idea if your pot is not on a covered area. I did that to fill whiskey barrels and the winter rain made the bottles float to the top.
That's very interesting as I find it could be difficult for any plastic bottles to float up once they are weighted down by soil. I found the upside down empty plant containers to work well and a good way to recycle them.
I was considering filling the bottles with water and capping them. This would create weight (but not too much) and prevent the container becoming too heavy and getting blown over.
This is a bizarre question I realize! 😛 Could I use old phones? I HAVE A TON OF OLD LAND LINE PHONES that were given to me when a business updated their system. I tried to sell them, with no luck. I tried to GIVE them away, and no one wanted them… Sooo…..next step is just throwing them away, and I hate to do that. I don’t know a lot about stuff leeching into the soil, so don’t yell at me…I’m asking if it would be safe. 😛
Hi there! In my opinion I wouldn't recommend it. I do commend you for trying to salvage or recycle them in some way. Perhaps the internet might have some ideas. How about ebay? could be a collectable vintage item. Thanks for watching, and for your comment.
Great idea.I use topsoil .Then it can go back into flowerbed. Is this a good idea?? I use broken clay pot pieces or broken pretty China broken pieces. . In bottom of pots.Also pot in black nursery pots and put into decorate pots . Saves good pots .Really enjoy your gardens.
Hi Garden Friends, Here's my Amazon Store Where You Can Find Many of My Favorite Garden Items
👉 amzn.to/49F9RTU
Not really. It’s for draining. Very important. Better than rocks Very light. Good idea.
Putting empty nursery pots upside down in the container is genius. Great idea.
Your very welcome! Figured it was a great way to recycle them, and save on soil.
My Great grandma did this for all of her front porch flowers. She never wasted anything. What's old is new again.
If you live in an area that has big winds you may benefit from a rock or brick in the bottom to keep it from being top heavy.
Great tip!
We were starting a container garden and my wife said to fill the bottom with peanuts, then she left for work. So i bought 4 cans of peanuts. When she got home she clarified she meant styrofoam peanuts. I NEVER HEARD OF STYROFOAM PEANUTS.
Lol great story. Hope you made good use of those 🥜 🍻
😂😂😂
😂
Lmfao thanks.
Thanks for the info. I'm trying this for the first time. Wish me luck.😊
I hang onto disposable mesh vegetable bags & styrofoam packing peanuts for this purpose. I fill a bag with styrofoam peanuts, staple or hand-sew it shut and drop one or two bags into the bottom of the planter. I cover them with coffee filters or newspaper for the same reason you put coffee filters into your pots. Then I fill with potting soil. Over the growing season, soil & roots will work their way into the packing peanuts, so removing them at the end of the season can be kind of a pain, if you want to re-use them next year. You can also cut up larger chunks of styrofoam, if you don't have a lot of packing peanuts. Also, a caution: too much air at the bottom of a pot will make the pot top-heavy and easier to tip over in the wind, so be aware of where you're going to place them if you use any of these methods. Or maybe add a layer of rocks to the bottom first.
@herself5232 That was my concern I have 2 tall planters. I will put some rocks on bottom, Thanks!
Coffee filter... Wow excellent idea to put it in the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t create water run dark marks on the ground. Great idea, thanks!
You can also use a small piece of fly wire, especially if you have an old window screen you’re going to dispose of. Say one that has holes in it that you’re replacing? Save the fly screen and cut it into squares.
I am so happy I found you!! I love plants but have very very limited space and most have to be grown inside. I’m so inspired and appreciate your lovely helpful self!!🤗💗🎉💯
I put a few inches of weeds and leaf litter on the bottom. Worms love and it breaks down by end of summer. Usually so hot in summer drainage is less of a problem then pot drying out.
Great suggestion, Thank you!
i do same thing but use all my broken clay or ceramic pots, when i break one i thow it in a giant broken pot storage bin
than use as needed! it works awesome.
I have been using this method every since I watched your video. Thanks so much for the tip. It works great and does save money and your back.
I have seen videos on filling with plastic bottles but the garden pots are a fantastic option! Thank you for sharing this video!
Awesome tip. A good example of 'necessity is the mother of invention'. Good on you to share it.
Greeting's from Ireland, Great video and great idea's, We have fifty seven pots in our front garden six of those pot's are planted with annual's and placed on the front windowsill's. The other pots have perennial's in them. I used to buy compost but haven't done so in year's. I use homemade compost and the annual's love it.
This is a great idea. I've done this for years while planting flowers, ferns, or artificial plants in large containers. I use foam packing that comes with items I ordered online. Anything will work but I find foam blocks or packing beads or bubble wrap works great as well. The idea is to take up space to cut down on the use of potting soil and help with drainage.
I'm from Massachusetts too. I donate most of my plastic flowerpots to my local garden clubs. Every Saturday in the month of May their plant sale are going on so I bring them with me to drop off. Happy Gardening 🌻
You should drill on the side of the bin about 11/2 " from the floor so if the water get plugged it will easily escape from the side.
All I can say is thankyou !!!! You gave the problem the solution and the reason why with the extra drainage bit. Hug! Can't thankyou enough!!
Your very welcome! Glad it was helpful.
I have a huge Christmas pine. Every spring,lots and lots of long cones all over ground.useful in pots
I just used twigs and pine cones in the bottom sometimes I use styrofoam cartons
I would have never thought of that trick. Thanks . I am getting ready to pot new plants and will do this for sure!🌸
Good idea using the nursery pots. I just bought some inserts for mine. My containers were pooling with water every time it rained due to the soil being too dense. Thank you for the tips.
Your very welcome David, I'm glad you found this tip helpful.
Same problem here.
I am new to preparing planters! Thank you for the tips.
Good Evening. Thank you for all your information on saving money on planting annuals. That was so amazing. That being said one should not be surprised of this information as it was told to us by a very wise and amazing gardener. You are awesome. Enjoy and I am excited to see what annuals you planted in these pots. Enjoy and have a great rest of your day.
Rocks in the bottom of containers do not contribute to better draining soils and healthier plants. Instead plant roots encounter saturated soils that don't drain efficiently. It all has to do with something called a perched water table. For containers and raised beds, use between 1/3 and 2/3 peat moss into your potting soil mix or compost. To use for starting seeds, you can mix it 50/50 with perlite, or 1/3 each of peat moss, perlite and a soilless mix such as Quickroot.
I don’t agree with this, 50/50 peat would not work in my climate, very dry, if I did this big pots would have to be watered every 2 days.
Peat moss: chance would be a fine thing! Here in Europe and the UK, gardeners cannot buy peat or peat-containing potting soil any more, it's banned. Only professionals can still buy it for a little while longer and it's being phased-out for them too. It's tragic because there is NO peat-free commercial potting soil that works as a true replacement.
Thanks for the tips.
Excellent tip! Exactly what I was looking for.
Have used rocks and gravel in bottom for years with great success. Also empty water bottles and soda cans. A lot of my pots are large and all soil in bottom is cost prohibitive for me. Good video.
Great idea and excellent video. You explain everything perfectly. Hope you show these pots filled with plants in a few weeks.
Great tip. I can use my spare pots now. Thank you
Also tape the drainage holes on the upside down planters.
Yep, the inner containers, genius!
Hi there!! Its a great soil saving hack and helps drainage! win/win. Thanks for watching!
I use the coffee filters as well! It works well!😊🌸😊
Hi! It's Bonny. I do that on my tall containers too. Some I insert a hanging basket with geraniums that I overwinter for the following year.
Great idea! I needed this since I’m on a budget
Thank you for the great idea I really needed I'm tight budget but I love my plans I am so happy I got to see your video thank you so much
Another tip I have is when using really small pots to plant seeds I put used tea-bags in the pots good drainage😊
Love your hanging planters! Real Madonna vibe!! 💚
Thank you! I had to think about that for a second 😉🤣
Loved the coffee filter tip!
Thank You 👏 Great info! God Bless 🙏 Love You 💕
I heard coffee filters but decided to cut a piece of cheap felt from the craft store & it never breaks down
Yesss 💚 💚 💚 learning new things thanks for info w annuals vs larger plants 🥰
Ohh the exact video I was looking for. Thank you so much!!
You're so welcome!
awesome vid! thank u so much for also going into why not to use cardboard & also the drain hole addition. u r so careful about the details, really sweet & knowledgeable share
I bought two of the same containers last yr. I decided to used broken brick for weight because we get wind. Worked terrific. And they took up that volume.
I think breaking up sticks to fill the bottom might work also.
It sure would, like the Hügelkultur method!
Great idea. Thank you😊
Great tips. Thank you.
My FIl use to fill large pots with solid foam insulation. You really only need 6-8” of soil for most flower plants.
And he also used old pots inside as you have done.
Was just thinking if the pot needs more weight to prevent tipping over a rock or two on the bottom would help.
Thanks you for sharing this with us ❤️
New subscriber from NYC- loving your content~more budget ideas please!
Great tips! Thank you!
Bravo girl! Why oh why did I just find this one?
Excellent idea Steph 🌸💕🌸
This year, I used packing peanuts in my pots. I saved them from the delivery packages I received the past couple of years.
Thank you for your insightful suggestions. I also appreciate the ideas shared in the Comment Section.
I have a question regarding the implementation of this concept. If I were to use a perennial plant in the center and surround it with annual plants, would there still be sufficient space for root development as the annual plants die?
Thank you so much for inspiring me with your great ideas
Thank you. I need to put my pomegranate tree in a big pot and this will help me not use up all my soil. The guy in the comments who bought cans of peanuts made me laugh so much hahaha
I never thought to do this. It's hard to lift a full large container. Super idea! Thank you Steph : )
You are so welcome! Exactly, the weight is tough. Another reason I'm sticking to good quality looking plastic or lightweight planters these days. The ceramic/pottery type are gorgeous, but my back does not appreciate me lifting them ;)
I use polystyrene packing, I break it up and drop it in, making sure it’s not blocking the drainage hole/s.
great tips! can't wait to get started
Thank u so much for making this video.
Great tips, thank you for sharing!
I use old t shirts cut a little bigger than the bottom. They rot away in a season, the cotton part anyway.
Won't the plastic bottles leach plastic? Maybe I wouldn't not use this on edible berry shrubs?
Excellent video!❤❤❤Thank you!
This was amazing!!!!!
Lots of great tips! I put newspaper to cover the drain hole. It’ll decompose too. I subbed.
Great tip! Thanks Laura!
So i save aluminum cans and use those to fill up most of the pot when i have large deep planters. The roots and soil can fill in around them.
You can use plastic milk jugs for flower pots
Great ideas, thank you 😊 You don’t pu anything like granular chichen manure into your soil ?
That is a great idea! Thank u!! ❤️
A good tip I heard of is to add cat litter (clean of course) to your potting compost - it bulks it up and improves drainage. 👍
Thanks for sharing Dee!
Look up hugelpots a much healthier viable method for creating soil diversity in containers. Weathered twigs and branches create a wicking effect so plants don't need to be watered as much
Wow!! I love this idea! I haven’t planted in a large container yet. So these tips are awesome.🩷
So many great tips here, thank you! I’m new to gardening. Would I want to leave lots of space for root development for a vegetable plant? Or would something like what your upside down pot gave you be sufficient for me?
Hi Carrie, If your growing somethign longer term in these containers, it might be worth your while to fill them all up. But I mostly grow annuals in these so I don't need them to have supper long root developement. Since the plantings are temporary, I don't want to "waste" too much potting soil filling these large containers. If I was planting an evergreen/shrub, or even vegetables or say blueberry/rasberry for example in a pot, I would fill it all the way. Just be sure to have drainage, and place the container in its "permenant spot" before moving as larger containers get quite heavy filled all the way with soil. I've learned this the hard way, and my back reminds me often! Hope this helps. Take care!
Use that space y9 make a self wicking planter.
Dryer sheets also work to keep soil in pots
Thanks so much for sharing
So smart!
Thanks Rose, I hope it was helpful.
Great tips thanks ❤
love this
Beautiful
Great idea. So for more growing room, use a smaller inverted pot, right? ☺
Hi Bonnie, Yes, correct.
@@HookedandRooted I cheated and just set the basket in the planter lol it looks convincing 😜
Just watched a garden professional and she right out and vehemently told us DO NOT PUT ANYTHING in your pots except soil. The soil holds the fertilizer and less chance of spaces.
Hi Bev, while I'm certainly not an expert, this method has worked really well for me over the years. Particularly for annual plants that won't be in these containers long term. However, if you were growing something in a container longer term, ie. Perrenial, shrub, or evergreen, I would say to fill with all soil to avoid air pockets and to have plenty of soil for the plants root development.
Muy buen aporte
I love the idea of putting plastic pots inside planters. My local nurseries recycle all those pots, so that's another idea.
❤❤❤❤thank u Detroit Mamma loves thos!!!
Very good but i ask you from where you got your sweeng please let me know
Thank you very much for this ❤
You're welcome 😊
How much do you pay for planters? And where do you get them? When I shop for planters of a significant size I find them extremely expensive. Thank you
I purchased these at Walmart several years ago (3-4 years ago now), and here in New England we have a store called Ocean State Job Lot, and also an Ollies which is a great option for planters. I've also had great luck purchasing some at TJ Max and Marshalls
@@HookedandRooted thank you
Good ideas 👍🏾
the weight of the soil and watering plants on top could crush alot of these alternatives (i.e. upcycled hallow plastic)
But surely if you are using a large pot, it suggests u r either planting a large plant, or a plant that will become large, so how is it going thrive with nowhere for the roots to spread because there’s a load of plastic in the way?
Exactly what I am wondering. Until I watched further and she gave the explanation at 5:50
I agree. I still think that’s too little soil and space for annuals.
I’ve been filling the bottom of the large pots with water bottles and other plastic bottles to save money on potting mix and my annuals do just fine.
I plant sun patiens, impatiens and caladiums and they do great!
9:55
I use rotted wood, sticks, leaves, etc.
I bought this soil at Lowe’s prior to viewing your video. I used it to repotting my indoor plants and I definitely do not recommend it. I do not recommend it. Too dry. Though a bit expensive, I will stick to quality such as Miracle Gro and upwards.
I have used small logs.
Putting 2 liter bottles in the bottom is a bad idea if your pot is not on a covered area. I did that to fill whiskey barrels and the winter rain made the bottles float to the top.
That's very interesting as I find it could be difficult for any plastic bottles to float up once they are weighted down by soil. I found the upside down empty plant containers to work well and a good way to recycle them.
I was considering filling the bottles with water and capping them. This would create weight (but not too much) and prevent the container becoming too heavy and getting blown over.
At 1:00 "strawberry cart-uhn"...you've got to be from Utah.
This is a bizarre question I realize! 😛
Could I use old phones? I HAVE A TON OF OLD LAND LINE PHONES that were given to me when a business updated their system.
I tried to sell them, with no luck.
I tried to GIVE them away, and no one wanted them…
Sooo…..next step is just throwing them away, and I hate to do that.
I don’t know a lot about stuff leeching into the soil, so don’t yell at me…I’m asking if it would be safe. 😛
Hi there! In my opinion I wouldn't recommend it. I do commend you for trying to salvage or recycle them in some way. Perhaps the internet might have some ideas. How about ebay? could be a collectable vintage item. Thanks for watching, and for your comment.
Great idea.I use topsoil .Then it can go back into flowerbed. Is this a good idea?? I use broken clay pot pieces or broken pretty China broken pieces. . In bottom of pots.Also pot in black nursery pots and put into decorate pots . Saves good pots .Really enjoy your gardens.
Hi Rina! yes those are great options to take up volume in your pots. Thanks for watching, and for your comment.
@@HookedandRooted Is it ok to use mulch as a filler before placing the soil in the pot? Thx you!
What plants does she call annuals?