I was wondering if any one had helpful tips on how t create homemade pots

Take a look at the garden art forum as they have a lot of how tos on pots.
or Containers forum: Show me your best home crafted container!!
Show us your hypertufa projects!! Garden Art forum

Great ideas

Here's a good thread, but it's more about "finding" than "making":
The thread "Ideas for cheap plant pots" in Ask a Question forum

Personally, I watch like a hawk at all times for discarded plastic containers of any size with straight walls. I grab them, clean them and save them in big garbage bags on the back porch.

Thus do I strike a blow for re-purposing!

• Two liter soda bottles are a handy size: 4 inch diameter.
• I have many sturdy Sobe bottles with annoying ridges: 2.7" diameter.
• plastic Solo cups and Dixie cups can be cheap and come in many small sizes
• Dollar Store and Goodwill have plastic tubs & pails
• 4 & 5 gallon buckets are where you find them

But only use straight-sided containers. You can't ever get the plant out of a "wasp-waist-ed" bottle. But I guess you could cut the pot off when ready to re-pot.

I used to live next to a delicatessen that threw away a few 4-gallon plastic pails per week. Those were too tall for most things, but here's one nice thing about "free": you're not being wasteful if you cut off and throw away half of the pail or bottle.

• fast food places (e.g. pickle buckets)
• delis (dumpster-diving brings many useful things to light!)
• bakeries
• deli & bakery departments in supermarkets
• paint and Spackle buckets from contractors (clean them WELL)
• Home Depot SELLS five-gallon buckets

When I need more of a certain size pot, I drill or melt many holes or slits, always making sure that holes on the bottom DO have open access to air so oxygen can diffuse into the roots. Then I cut or melt some side slits for ventilation anyway. Roots need air even more than they need water!

I'm thinking about how to make easy, free, micro-Earth-Boxes out of 2 liter bottles. The cut-off top, drilled, plus some window screening, could be the "colander". The "reservoir" would be very small, just the bottom 1/2" to 3/4" of the 2 liter bottle.

All good ideas, Rick. You've been missed. Did you have a vacation?

Hi Karen. Thanks very much. Withdrawn and busy, but I hope to be more social in a few months. Thank you for asking.

Great. I always enjoy your contributions.

Overgrown_suncity said:I was wondering if any one had helpful tips on how t create homemade pots

I'm more into repurposing also. Here's something I just came across, ceramic containers not originally intended for pots. Just drill a hole in the bottom. Only investment is the right type of bit (and drill if you don't have one) which you can find at a hardware store. Even I can do that!

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/m...

Thanks, Greg. We do that too. That article had some great info so others can do it too. I love finding thrift shop items that will make interesting pots, and it sure saves money!

plantmanager said:Thanks, Greg. We do that too. That article had some great info so others can do it too. I love finding thrift shop items that will make interesting pots, and it sure saves money!

The last four words say it all! The price of new pots and other containers is budget-busting. I was even looking at free truck canopies on Craigslist as a possibility for raised beds, just turn them upside down, drill some drain holes and fill them with dirt. Haven't actually done it yet, but a couple of raised beds is on our list. It will have to get "executive approval" first (my wife).

I think the truck canopies might make excellent raised beds, at least til they totally rust out. The rusting might be slowed by lining them with plastic.

plantmanager said:I think the truck canopies might make excellent raised beds, at least til they totally rust out. The rusting might be slowed by lining them with plastic.

There's many of them that are made of mostly non-metallic materials such as fiberglass, like this one.

Polymer clay works really well.This is a vase I made but it could easily have been a small pot (would just have needed drainage holes).



Depending on how well you do or don't waterproof the pot, they're usually best for low-water things like succulents.

Greg, that's great that some are plastic. I had thought they all were metal. Plastic should work very well.

How did u make that polymer clay vase?

I'm not sure what you mean by "how." Polymer clay can be baked in the oven (carefully) so you don't need a kiln. I just took polymer clay, sculpted it, baked it, and sprayed it with a waterproof seal. Then I drew on the red lines with marker and re-sealed it. My inspiration was Jupiter.

If you go to a craft store such as Jo-Ann's or Michaels you can find brands called Fimo and Sculpey in lots of colors. But even at Walmart you can often find the plain white kind. I use the plain white kind most often because it's cheaper to buy a large block of it. I sculpt all kinds of stuff so it's fine if the first few tries look weird--keep trying. After the clay is baked (but before it is sealed) you can also sculpt it to make it less rough-looking or to take away errant edges.

Another good trick to keeping it lightweight and helping it bake faster is to use aluminium foil as the "body" of the object then put the clay all over it.

Jai, I'd forgotten about your vase, but it is pretty, and I'm going to try it! Thanks for telling us more about the ways to do it.

You're welcome.

For succulents and other dry plants you can also use, repurpose, or build wood planters and pots. I've seen some very pretty wood planters that are unfinished/unglazed but because they hold cacti there isn't really a worry about rotting.

Great idea, too. Post pics if you see any unusual wood planters for succulents.

I have some in various states of progress. I have an injured arm so I haven't worked on them in a while.

A long time ago I saw a small dresser drawer sitting on top of a table and in it was growing several varieties of Sansevieria. The whole thing sat in front of a big window and it was really pretty.

I can't find my pic right now, but I once saw an entire 3 drawer dresser out in a garden. The drawers were all pulled out, stairstepped. The drawers were planted with flowers and trailing plants and it looked just right out there. People also sometimes use bed headboards and footboards as a background for plants. The old fashioned metal headboards look really great used like that.