Ideas for XL pot saucers?

[Dimples]

I need some extra large pot saucers for some outdoor planters, but regular storebought ones are out of budget considering how many I need (they're over $30 each and I need eleven ). Thought you all could help me brainstorm some alternative items that would be cheaper and will work for outdoor use without deteriorating from exposure in a year.

Diameter: 28-34 inches / 71-86 cm
Depth: 2-4 inches / 5-10 cm, but I'm happy to cut down the sides of deeper items so long as it can be done with a razor blade or tin snips/Cutco sheers.
Other: needs to hold water and withstand southern California sun year-round. Otherwise, I don't really care what they look like. They don't even need to be round, square would work too.

Thanks!

[estación seca]

Look at plastic mortar mixing trays at a hardware store. They're in the section with mortar, building sand and block.

[Fuerte Rav]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Look at plastic mortar mixing trays at a hardware store. They're in the section with mortar, building sand and block.

That's what I use as watering trays for young plants outside (not orchids) - they last for ever!

Also knocked out the wood from some pallets, made four sides and bottom, lined it with old pool liner.

Previously I was given a couple of old very large plastic drums, about 4 or 5 feet high. I cut those down to about 10 inches using an ordinary small saw.

[Dimples]

Great ideas, thank you!

[Ray]

What are you growing that needs trays that big?

[Dimples]

I’m growing vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals in 30 gallon grow bags and other XL containers. I’ve discovered that saucers are vital for success unless I want to water everything daily in the summer and second summer (fall).

[camille1585]

You can try boot trays as well (Ikea has some really cheap), though those are rectangular and not square/round.

[Ray]

You might try a simple, heavy-duty plastic trash bag around the base as a “tray”, maybe reinforced with duct tape.

I have raised beds, but in southeastern NC, the watering demand are similar.

I found some 1/4” drip irrigation tubing at Lowes that has a small emitter every foot. Controlled by a lawn sprinkler timer, I ran a length of 1/4” tubing to the end of one box, then placed a tee into which the ends of the drip tubing connect. I then looped the tubing around each plant, and it’s doing a good job.

[Dimples]

I’ve tried using mulch/soil bags (heavier plastic) around the outside but they aren’t quite large enough to fit around the grow bags and other plastic bags get brittle within weeks, then start leaking and no longer functions as a reservoir. I lined a few on the inside this year and it’s an improvement over the unlined bags, but it’s still not ideal. I have raised beds with drip irrigation but we don’t want to add more while we’re renting. Anything in the ground we care about needs a gopher basket, and I had hoped the bags would give me more growing flexibility by letting me move them around. I sure picked a fun hobby. Lol

The problem with running irritation to the bags is the water runs out with uneven wetting, which either requires multiple short waterings to allow the soil time to soak up the water (not doable with our setup) or very long run times with excessive wasted water to fully wet the bags, hence the need for saucers.

The pots we do have saucers for (tapered at the bottom, so smaller saucers) can go 3-5 days between watering even when the temps are in the 80-90s, and it’s easy to see when they need to be checked on. If there’s water in the saucer, they’re fine. If the saucer is dry, check.

Camille - I thought about boot trays but they’re usually only wide enough for one pair of large shoes so they can be tucked against a wall. If I ever use smaller grow bags that would probably work.

A few years ago I saw some extra-extra-small hard plastic children’s pools, the ones with the undersea motif, and they would have been perfect but I haven’t seen them since.

[estación seca]

The mortar mixing tubs are what you want.
Search Results for mixing tub at The Home Depot