Making my own ventilated pots!

[Phonelady]

Hi Everyone,

I saw someone's experiments with a soldering iron and plastic pots, trying to keep them ventilated, and decided to do my own.
Here there's not much in the way of stores so using a little imagination, I turned food leftover containers and some effort with a powerdrill into ventilated pots!

[bil]

Well, yes that will work, but it is far simpler to only use pots o containers that are only 4 inches deep at max for fine bark. That eliminates the problem.

Deeper media will stay wet. break down and compact faster. I found that really shallow fine bark, ie 3 inches or less after 3 years was almost like new.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by bil

Well, yes that will work, but it is far simpler to only use pots o containers that are only 4 inches deep at max for fine bark. That eliminates the problem.

Deeper media will stay wet. break down and compact faster. I found that really shallow fine bark, ie 3 inches or less after 3 years was almost like new.

Far simpler for people that have to grow indoors much of the year to create more holes in a regular pot, similar to what Phonelady has done.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by bil

Well, yes that will work, but it is far simpler to only use pots o containers that are only 4 inches deep at max for fine bark. That eliminates the problem.

Deeper media will stay wet. break down and compact faster. I found that really shallow fine bark, ie 3 inches or less after 3 years was almost like new.

It depends on where you live too, and what sort of media you use. When I water, everything is dry the next day.

[bil]

Originally Posted by Optimist

It depends on where you live too, and what sort of media you use. When I water, everything is dry the next day.

If you are in a place where any medium dries out absolutely, then you have no problem with overwatering, do you?

I find it amusing the lengths people go to to create the effect of having a shallow pot, rather than use a shallow pot.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by bil

I find it amusing the lengths people go to to create the effect of having a shallow pot, rather than use a shallow pot.

For some of us, it's a spacial issue. I can fit more plants in taller pots on my shelves than I could if I had them all in wide, shallow pots/trays. I use a lot of bulb pan type pots for my larger plants but when it gets over 12 or 14 inches...it has to be divided.

[bil]

Originally Posted by katrina

For some of us, it's a spacial issue. I can fit more plants in taller pots on my shelves than I could if I had them all in wide, shallow pots/trays. I use a lot of bulb pan type pots for my larger plants but when it gets over 12 or 14 inches...it has to be divided.

If a plant gets to any size at all, it needs more than 8" These paphs are all in 8" pots, and the leaves are already overlapping.

[Phonelady]

This is us here in the Rocky Mountains.
I use bark with a little soil and well ventilated pots. Have to water once a week. Nice thing is, I don't accidentally over water. They dry out so fast here. I had to get a cold humidifier otherwise the little guys would have been desiccated!

Originally Posted by Optimist

It depends on where you live too, and what sort of media you use. When I water, everything is dry the next day.

---------- Post added at 08:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:20 AM ----------

Would you post a picture for us? I don't know what a bulb pan pot is. I would like to see what you are doing. I have a weird plant rack that the Hubbs made modified little shelves to fit. Maybe your bulb pan pots would work for me...

Originally Posted by katrina

For some of us, it's a spacial issue. I can fit more plants in taller pots on my shelves than I could if I had them all in wide, shallow pots/trays. I use a lot of bulb pan type pots for my larger plants but when it gets over 12 or 14 inches...it has to be divided.

[rbarata]

For a pot that deep I would drill bigger holes.
But that's ok, good iniciative.

[estación seca]

You live in a low-humidity environment, as do I. I would recommend that, if you use large chunks of bark, you not drill holes in your pots. Unless you have a lot of time to water every day, your plants are going to dry out quite rapidly, even without the extra holes. As you get more and more plants you will have less and less time to care for each individual plant. It makes sense to use a pot/medium combo that is good for the plants, yet doesn't require near-daily watering.