I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?
Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?
Are saucers needed?
--
Chris

In article ], Chris ]
writes
I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?
Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?

Yes, that'd be fine. Anything similar that you can get hold of cheap or
free. Needs to be strong enough not to split if you try to move it when
full of soil.

Are saucers needed?

Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.

Don't be tempted to omit drainage holes altogether - there will come a
time when the plants are waterlogged and that will damage the roots. A
dodge that seems to work with other plants (not tried it on tomatoes but
don't see why it shouldn't work) is to drill the drainage holes in the
sides, about 2 inches up. That way, you can have a reservoir at the
bottom, while still maintaining drainage. I don't bother, but you might
want to fill the bottom couple of inches with stones or broken pots
instead of soil.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article ,
Kay writes:
|
| Are saucers needed?
|
| Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
| That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
| than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
| impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.

Eh? I just push the soil down the sides to stop the main streams,
cover the soil with an inch of water and wait. It then dampens
the soil, and the next round will absorb better.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 08:02:05 +0100, Chris ] wrote:

I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Check how many staff the garden centre has. Baytree must employ just
about everyone in Lincs. They are everywhere! Something has to pay the
wages.

MM

Hi

Have a look at www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk as they have loads of pots and
are very reasonably priced.

I had a quick look and they have 15 litre heavy duty container pots with a
30cm diameter across the top, 25cm at the base and they cost £1.76 each.

Hope this helps

Regards

Roger






"Chris" ] wrote in message
]...
I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what works
best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?
Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?
Are saucers needed?
--
Chris

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 08:02:05 +0100, Chris ] wrote:

~I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
~works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.
~
~The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
~centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
~two quid for a corresponding saucer!
~
~This seems totally crazy!
~Is there any reason for such high prices?
They will charge whatever the market will bear: if folk are daft
enough to pay that much then...

~Are there good alternatives?
Well I'm growing spuds in a 15" pot with two handles on either side
and decently sized drainage holes, so I can haul it about the garden
when I need to. The pot cost me 2.99. I noticed identical ones in use
at Kew the other Friday.

I shall probably pop a tom in it once the Rockets are gone (they've
been going 3 weeks and are ready in 10 so should be clear by the end
of May, just in time).

They're not the prettiest - I suspect that's the real reason you find
6 quid 12" pots. For saucers I now use sawn off watercooler bottle
bases (I use the tops as bell cloches) salvaged from the local
delivery depot. They were happy to recycle them in my direction as
against the plastic melters'

~Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?
~Are saucers needed?
for tomatoes I'd say yes, though I grow mine in hanging baskets which
often dry out and still give me nice crops.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
Kay writes:
|
| Are saucers needed?
|
| Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
| That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
| than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
| impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.

Eh? I just push the soil down the sides to stop the main streams,
cover the soil with an inch of water and wait. It then dampens
the soil, and the next round will absorb better.

Maybe it doesn't work with soilless composts. Or maybe I'm even more
remiss about watering than you are ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article ,
Kay writes:
| |
| | Are saucers needed?
| |
| | Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
| | That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
| | than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
| | impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.
|
| Eh? I just push the soil down the sides to stop the main streams,
| cover the soil with an inch of water and wait. It then dampens
| the soil, and the next round will absorb better.
|
| Maybe it doesn't work with soilless composts. Or maybe I'm even more
| remiss about watering than you are ;-)

Ah. I don't use soilless for my drought-resistant pot plants,
or most of the others, actually.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Janet Baraclough wrote:

The message ]
from Chris ] contains these words:


I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.


The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!


Lots of GC's have a stash of old, used pots round the back, which
they don't want, (especially in big sizes) and are happy to give them
away if you ask. They last for years. Wash used ones thoroughly.


This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?


Are there good alternatives?


Ask any hotel, restaurant, food-outlet if you can take away some of
the empty plastic commercial food containers they would otherwise throw
away. They come in many sizes and are really strong; all you need do is
wash them out and make drainage holes.

Janet
To make holes in plastic heat a pointed metal rod and burn the hole.
The forms a nice tough ring around the hole. If you cut or drill holes
the plastic tends to split. Of course do it in the open so as not to
breathe in obnoxious fumes.

In article ], Chris ]
writes
I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

92p in Tesco, 100p in Poundland, something similar in Wilkinsons; but a
lot of these pots have rather narrow bases, which might be a problem.

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?
Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?
Are saucers needed?

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article ], ] says...
I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?
Wilco wastebins with holes drilled in the bottom?
Are saucers needed?


I use builders buckets from B&Q, about a quid apiece. Not very pretty but my
tomatoes grow anyway. Easy enough to drill holes in them and they are quite
tough.

In article , Kay
writes
In article ], Chris ]
writes

Are saucers needed?

Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.

What are the saucers actually for?
Do you water the pots by adding water to the saucer?
Or do you water the top of the pot?
--
Chris

In article , Roger Hembury
writes

Have a look at www.thegardensuperstore.co.uk as they have loads of pots and
are very reasonably priced.
I had a quick look and they have 15 litre heavy duty container pots with a
30cm diameter across the top, 25cm at the base and they cost £1.76 each.

True. Thanks. Also - there seems to be an inordinate difference between
the prices for 10" and12" pots. Would 10" be big enough for bush
tomatoes?
--
Chris

In article ], Chris ]
writes
In article , Kay
writes
In article ], Chris ]
writes

Are saucers needed?

Not if your watering regime is so good that the soil is always moist ;-)
That is unachievable, and trying to re-wet dry soil when anything more
than an egg-cup full of water runs straight through is well nigh
impossible if you don't have some sort of saucer or tray underneath.

What are the saucers actually for?
Do you water the pots by adding water to the saucer?
Or do you water the top of the pot?

With a big pot like that, I water the top of the pot. The saucer is to
catch any water that runs straight through, so that the soil will soak
it up slowly over the next couple of hours.

Otherwise I'd have to keep going back to water a teacup at a time.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Janet Baraclough wrote:

The message ]
from Chris ] contains these words:

I thought I'd try growing bush tomatoes in various ways to see what
works best - and one idea was to use pots on the patio.

The seed packet advises 12" pots but when I went into the local garden
centre I was appalled at the price - about six quid for a pot - and over
two quid for a corresponding saucer!

Lots of GC's have a stash of old, used pots round the back, which
they don't want, (especially in big sizes) and are happy to give them
away if you ask. They last for years. Wash used ones thoroughly.

This seems totally crazy!
Is there any reason for such high prices?

Are there good alternatives?

Ask any hotel, restaurant, food-outlet if you can take away some of
the empty plastic commercial food containers they would otherwise throw
away. They come in many sizes and are really strong; all you need do is
wash them out and make drainage holes.

Janet

Don't forget florists, the last time I needed a lot of large pots, growing
on lots of bamboos, I went to a florist. They often get flowers delivered
in large black pots, which they never return and have to dispose of. Got
about a dozen for something silly like 2 pounds.

Duncan