Any issues planting in copper pots?
garden_dogs
17 years ago
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17 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Buried Potted Blueberry Plants and Drainage Issues
Comments (3)Why exactly are you trying to prevent any and all contact with native soil? Is you soil so poorly draining it would imped drainage out of the pot? Arsinic contamination? I am having a hard time accepting that a few square inches of mix to soil contact on the bottom of a pot would be detrimental to the pH of a pot's mix. Gravitational effects, drainage effect, and limited surface area seem sufficient to prevent significant 'contamination'. The vast majority of the mix would still be in a closed system to prevent latitudinal ion transfer. Plus, you will get better drainage if the mix contacts the soil (presuming it isn't impermeable clay) than if you have it raised on gravel or bricks....See MoreAnyone up on the toxicity issues of copper on earthworms?
Comments (15)Thanks for the responses. Let me clarify a bit on why I have had to use copper. I am growing vinafera grapes. The number of people successfully growing vinafera grapes organically in the entire mid-atlantic region is, to my current knowledge, one -- myself. (Well I am sure there are a few more but it must be very uncommon). There are a few people growing vinafera organically in NY and other somewhat less disease-ridden places. Anyway even if my soil were the best in the world there is no way to grow vinafera here without a significant spray regimen. My current experiment is to spray copper plus Surround plus Nufilm on the undersides of the leaves; the Surround seems to physically interfere with the downy in some way which tends to start on the bottoms of the leaves, and since it is on the underside and plastered on with nufim, the spray stays there a long time since the rain can't get to it. I am hoping that I can double or more the length of time that a spray lasts with this technique. Maybe I can even cut back on the copper strength. I tried milk, bicarb, sulphur, and others with no luck at all. They work fine on powdery but downy gets into the leaf tissue itself and these sprays just don't work. I am also experimenting with different varieties, I have several dozen. I have found a couple vinafera that seem to have much better disease resistance. My favorite so far is an obscure Portuguese variety called Tinta Pinheira which is known in Portugal for its resistance to diseases. I was out looking last night and it is completely clean of diseases now. I also have many hybrids, but none of the red hybrids make a good wine as far as I am concerned. Well they make a fine wine but its just not the kind of wine I like to drink. The white hybrids on the other hand make some very good wines and all my white wine grapes are hybrids. This whole effort is still in the experimental phases, I have already gotten rid of a half a dozen varieties that seemed to be too disease-prone and I will probably be getting rid of several more. Anyway with regard to copper it sounds like most people here are not using it at all - ? Scott...See MoreOutdoor Copper Planter..any advice??
Comments (2)I agree with Julie's suggestion. It would work best to have the plants in a separate plastic pot inside your copper pots with the plastic pot sitting in a saucer also located inside the copper pot. Otherwise, any plants in those pots could drown quite easily. A layer of rocks does nothing to prevent the plants from drowing in a pot that does not have drainage holes. You may or may not have issues with the heat cooking the roots of the plants. I use some galvanized metal containers outside my barn and potting shed and they and their soil can get really hot in summer. I work around that by planting trailing plants that shade the sides of the planters or by arranging plants in smaller plastic pots around the metal ones so the plastic pots can help shade the exterior of the metal containers. I also place most of the metal containers where they get morning sun and afternoon shade. With your plastic pots inside the metal pots, it will be easy to lift out your plastic pot containing the plant, lift the saucer out and drain off the water, etc. In weather like we're having right now, you'd have to do this every day or two, and certainly following every rainfall. All my metal containers have holes drilled in them for drainage. It just makes life simpler if I don't have to worry about the plants drowning in their containers. I have grown ornamental sweet potatoes in those metal pots many times, but only in the larger containers so they won't become rootbound. By large, I mean really large--from 10 gallon to 200 gallon. There are other trailing plants you could put in your copper pots if they are not large enough for ornamental sweet potatoes---Creeping Jenny is one that comes to mind. Dawn...See MoreFlower markers from copper wire and little pots
Comments (2)MsMaati: I read this on another site a while ago and it sounds like such a cute idea. I'm hoping to make the markers this winter and might even give some as gifts. Do you have any pictures of yours? Or links to a site where we can see some? Thanks much! Here is a link that might be useful: My webiste...See Morejenny_in_se_pa
17 years agorain1950
17 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years agotamelyn_live_co_uk
12 years agoKatherine Lamoreaux
9 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years agodoctorchaks
6 years agoPaul MI
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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6 years agoUser
6 years agoHU-589037589
4 years agoHU-535929224
2 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agoHU-535929224
2 years agoALEXA KIRSCH
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