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| Hi,
I would appreciate your suggestions on a very low cost method of lifting the smart pot off the ground(concrete)
I've thought of some plastic grate but that would hold
the fabric bottom needs something more uniform for support they would be for 7,10,15 gallon sizes. anything cheap from HD would be great. thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jojosplants Az. z. 9 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 29, 11 at 10:41
| The only thing I can think of may be oven racks/ cookie cooling racks? But I don't know if they would get it high enough? JoJo |
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| Bakery cooling or oven racks would be perfect, and you could probably find those at a flea market, garage sales, second hand stores, Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, Dollar Stores... or you may even have enough in your own kitchen. Good idea, JoJo! I can't really think of anything else... unless you wanted to use something like a roll of chicken wire or other fencing, unrolled and supported from underneath by something...
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| great idea! I was looking at those B.B.Q grill racks. cooling rack might be cheaper. since it's just for better water drainage, does not need to be too high off from the ground. I think as long as it's stainless steel, should be okay. |
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| Elevating the pots won't improve drainage. In fact, they will drain best when sitting on soil because the soil will wick water away from the pots. Elevating them will give them the slight benefit of airflow underneath the pot, but I wouldn't bother unless you have other reasons for doing so. |
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- Posted by AlaskaChris 3b (My Page) on Fri, Apr 29, 11 at 17:22
| Try using egg crate light diffuser grid. You can find large sheets (2 x 4 ft) of it in the lighting department of HD or Lowes for around $10. It's pretty easy to cut with snips into any shape you want. The small spacing of the plastic grid offers pretty good support to sit things on. I used it for all kinds of stuff (tank divider, shelves, etc.) back when I had my reef tanks. Here's what it looks like: It seems that orchid growers often use it the same way you want to...too allow drainage from their pots to prevent soil from holding water in their humidity trays/greenouses. If you want it a bit higher to add more air flow under it you can easily make it into a shallow box. Like this: Or add some spacers (you can make them out of anything but bits of pvc pipe works well. Drill a hole through the pipe, tread a zip tie through the hole and then through the egg crate grid. Like this: If you want them to blend in a bit more you can easily spray paint these to match the pots, or deck, or whatever color you want. Regular spray paint will scratch and chip a bit (although it may not matter too much for your use) or the 'plastic' spray paint works really well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Egg Crate Lighting Diffuser
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- Posted by greentiger87 none (My Page) on Fri, Apr 29, 11 at 18:24
| Like penfold said, raising your smart pot won't improve drainage compared to having it sit with the bottom having contact with the soil in the ground. It might help if your smart pots are currently sitting on concrete or another surface, but not by much. I know it's a little counterintuitive, but it is true. |
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- Posted by jojosplants Az. z. 9 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 29, 11 at 19:57
| I believe Lynxo mentioned in another thread, they are on concrete, no access to soil. |
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| Take some egg crate, and with a side cutters/dykes, snip little triangles ouf of the bottom, so when water drains out from the pot, it will drain out of the egg crate grid as well. I do this because I don't like my pots sitting on the ground, or my deck, because ants always seem to find their way in. But, with my changing to gritty mix this year, I don't think ants would like to make a home in it. Hopefully the chipmunks won't like it either.... Joe |
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| Lynxo said they would be on concrete in the first post of this thread. I only mentioned setting them on soil as a means of increasing drainage, since elevating them won't help. The other option is to use a more porous soil. You have to remember, when it comes to drainage (or lack thereof), it's not anything beneath the pot that prevents drainage, it's the soil itself holding water like a sponge. You can change the soil to one that drains better, or put another sponge (the earth) directly beneath the potting soil. |
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| Thanks everyone! :-) Excellent suggestions. I like the idea of cutting up the egg crate to allow water to flow out vs. a single piece. Jojo is correct, I have no access to ground(dirt), it's a concreate apartment patio. raising it up certainly should help with drainage since the bottom of the smart pot is all fabric. having a gap allow for some air flow on the bottom vs. stagnant water not going anywhere. |
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