spotted creative use of containers in the citrus thread!
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I bought and used these crapazon ones as well. I regret it. By fall, the plastic would just break off when I grab/pinch the sides to move them. Absolutely not reusable and just landfill waste. I also found it slightly harder to remove plants, but mostly, it’s the fact it’s barely even one time use plastic that gets me. I’ll invest in nicer ones like Stuewe next year.
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Think those are similar to these? I can’t find the cheap HD/Lowe’s ones you and many people have posted about.
those looks similar but i dont know how the quality differs between them. the hd ones are usually more expensive they were just trying to move them for winter id imagine.
My 2 daughters (10 & 4), my Father-In-Law, and I like to collect acorns from around the farm and grow them out. We have used the small conetainers in the past, but they seem to be too small for the long tap roots of oaks. This year we bought some of the cheap plastic 4x4x12 pots off Amazon. I think it was like $25 for 100 of them. 9 of them fit perfectly in a milk crate. I think I’ll grow them in these pots for a year and plant them next fall.
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I use a 13 gallon stainless steel thrash can as a plant container, since I got a new one. I went to the thrift store. Found 30 gallon Sterilite Storage Tote for 2.50. I went to the field and found free dirt. I mix the straw and dirt together to fill the 30 gallon. Now waiting for the soil to break down and use it for spring.
if you would like to sell some extras for a good price, i would buy them from you. we’re trying to get oak to establish up here. traditionally there wasnt any, other that in town plantings. i think it would be good for our deer population and the few gray squirrels that started popping up in the last 10 yrs.
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These pots also seem to work well for the Plum suckers that I dug up from my in laws wild plum tree. Hopefully they grow and I can graft some things to them.
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a buddy of mine drinks tons of fiji water. turns out they fit snugly 4x4 in milk crates. with the tops cut off they are 7" tall.
drying them out and lopping their tops off:
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Very nice! I have a friend who’s Mom drinks exclusively Fiji water. I asked to try it one time and said “…You pay for this??”
I was probably 15 at the time, and never thought I would buy bottled water. I’m in my late 30’s now and gosh darn it I’ve been buying Costco packs three at a time! I never planned to live in a big city though… the water is nasty! I do have an 15 year old brita filter that I use though!
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i haven’t been able to find a free milk crate in years, a place used to have em put out for free then that place closed.
i could use a bunch for sure
getting real sick of any kind of plastic. I’m slowly switching the trays over to metal hotel pans, but still haven’t solved for the domes. glass maybe?
I’m on soil blocks now instead of pots, the only pots I’m using are big guys leftovers, tree pots for seedlings, and using all the little ones to give away starts at me free garden thing every spring
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i hear ya. and new they arent that cheap. i like to keep an eye on the marketplaces.
im not sure about glass, especially with the heft and breakage, but i did watch a tuber that switched to pans and the tops for domes that fit perfectly:
imo using durable plastics or staying away from single use is a good route to go. reusing like you are is good too.
i know its still plastic but ive been designing my own version of deep cell inserts and pots for starting and growing seedlings. hopefully will be way more durable than the cheap stuff that cracks after a year:
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i am thinking of doing knock out wood boxes- like 3 walls, 1x3”s, strapped together to make 12”tall seedling pots.
then i can unstrap to replant, and put a new seedling in, until the wood rots away too much to use. then it can go on the compost.
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thats sounds like a good idea. i bet they last longer than imagined. hopefully you will do a post about your design and how they end up working out in the long term.
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i will. i was thinking about it as a way to use up old scrap wood from a different project
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ive been using the dish washing tubs from family dollar. they work pretty good and last a long time. they were like $3 ea. 4 years ago when i bought a bunch. theyre big enough i can grow out a doz. carrots in one. i grew out last years herbs on the deck in 6 of them.
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3D printing?
I don’t buy plastic cells, but I got these “free” with a bed last year. They are extremely heavy-duty. They don’t bend at all. So stiff, that I’m hoping I’m going to be able to get the plants out! I think if you want plastic, it’s a really good option.
Do you have a milk processing plant reasonably near by? Dairy? If so introduce yourself to the milk hauler, or any plant employee, gift a goodie bag and maybe they can trade you for end of life crates.
Or ask if you can pay the recycling bonus for them? Usually when they are at end of use they are recycled by the company.
Good luck!
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ya im using 3d printing to make them. took me quite a while to get them correct on the model and printing side so they are strong enough and as cheap as possible.
mine are somewhere between the crappy ones and these. more towards the epic or bootstrap farmer ones. they are similar to the feel of a fiji water bottle if i was to compare it to something.
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