On 25/04/2014 13:11, Indigo wrote:
I've got several quite old terracotta pots that were given me by an
elderly gent who'd once been a market gardener. They all have single
good drainage holes and I normally put a flattish stone or a bit of
broken pot or polystyrene packing in the bottom, mainly to stop
compost falling straight out or washing through, rather than for
extra drainage.

Saw this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-maga...nitor-27126160 and
wondered if I should really try something else - bit of old cotton
cloth or something? Used tea-bag?

This article from last year by biologist Ken Thompson is on the same
theme:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...otty-idea.html



So do you crock or not?


My compost is dosed with vermiculite (so is Monty's I think), which
keeps the soil structure open and creates a pretty uniform water content
top to bottom. Like leaf mould, it holds a lot of water but, once the
limit is reached, the rest drains quite quickly.
Actually I stopped crocking because it was a pain separating it out
when re-potting