Topic: free trays and pots

[ACE]

A lot of nurseries nowadays have to use new pots when potting on etc. Your local council will have a load of spare pots after summer/winter bedding is done. The reason for this, is that the used pots need sterilising and it is often cheaper to buy new ones. I get an almost unlimited supply after just asking if I could take some. They were glad to get rid of them.  I have a cheap steam cleaner, £20  from B&Q and I just give them a blast before I re-use them with no problems from disease so far.

  So get out to your local nursery and council yard, you can save ££££££££££££s

[eileen]

Great tip there Heritage.  :D Guess who Ill be ringing on Monday?

Thanks for sharing.

[kenkew]

Got loads of pots, H; but your steaming idea is a goody in it's own right. I have a wallpaper stripper that's been sat in the shed for yonks....slight adaptation and I can strip, sterilize and sup all at one go.

[Svea]

on the subject of trays, we had a load of chinese take-aways just the other day. the plastic trays seem ideal as seed trys. i will line them with some black bin liner though, so that the emerging roots wont be able to see the light ;) and some drainage holes, of course

on a related matter, my mother has for years used yoghurt pots for seeds and first planting on of tomatoes, for instance.
seems to work fine too. make holes in the bottom for drainage, is all.

i have a hole pile of recyclables waiting for potting compost and seeds now :D

svea

[wardy]

Hi Svea  :)

I use yogurt pots and plastic soup containers for plant pots and for making slug traps.

I hate throwing anything away which I could use on the lotty and have loads of plastic bottles and containers which I'm sure will come in handy some day. 

PS  Plastic plum containers make great seed trays

Wardy

[diver]

I use lots of yogurt pots which my friends save for me as well plastic fruit containers which are great as they already have holes in. I have also made some from newspaper so that I can put them straight in the ground without disturbing the roots, it's a way of composting the newspaper as well

[wardy]

I use all sorts of recyclables for my seed sowing.  Can you see the little mushrooms growing on the loo rolls.  Sweet peas are looking a bit leggy.  I've used fruit and mushroom trays for sowing geraniums, gazanias etc.

I got some little terracotta pots without holes so I drilled some in this morning without breaking them.   ;D