Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Frugal Living => Topic started by: Jeanieblue on April 16, 2007, 16:55
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Wanted one, but even a plastic planter costs silly money. Anyway, was surfing the NET for ideas and found this one. Take four pots, each one a bit smaller than the other - fill them and stack them - looks like a water feature, with space round each to plant the strawberries, and the smallest pot just big enough for one plant. Smear the bottom, largest pot with vaseline to deter the slugs and snails, and Bob's your Uncle! This may sound complicated, but NOT as complicated as Muntjac's ice hockey runner bean supports - I'm still trying to get my head round that !!! Perhaps it's cos I'm left handed.
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Hi Jeannie, if munty's runner beans supports are a bit complicated for you, try my way. It is very windy here in Lincolnshire so all I do is push 6 long canes into the ground in a circle, tie them all together at the top to make a wigwam and put a bean in the ground next to each cane. I space the canes about 6 inches apart round the circle.
i haven't lost any to the winds yet!
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Cor, that was a quick reply, thanks GrannieAnnie. I can get my mind round a wigwam (pardon the pun)- a great idea for our windy NE coastal allotment.
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There's usually someone trawling the forum at most times Jeannie, so most questions get at least 1 answer pretty quick. mind you, as you will see on here a lot, ask 4 gardeners a question and you will get 6 answers!!!!
So you just look at all the answers, then decide what's best for you. If it doesn't work, next year comes round very quickly!!!! :lol: :lol:
But I do like the wigwams, they are far easier to erect than most other forms of support.
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Wanted one, but even a plastic planter costs silly money. Anyway, was surfing the NET for ideas and found this one. Take four pots, each one a bit smaller than the other - fill them and stack them - looks like a water feature, with space round each to plant the strawberries, and the smallest pot just big enough for one plant. Smear the bottom, largest pot with vaseline to deter the slugs and snails, and Bob's your Uncle! This may sound complicated, but NOT as complicated as Muntjac's ice hockey runner bean supports - I'm still trying to get my head round that !!! Perhaps it's cos I'm left handed.
any chance of a pic jeanie? I can't quite picture it; I'm one of those who need to see something otherwise you never what you'll get! :lol:
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What stops it blowing over Jeanieblue ?
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/426720368_aaad0db36e.jpg
like this? this is what my nan has done for her flowers in the front garden....
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I like that idea ! might just use it on my front this year JB thanks,
To deter slugs wrap some copper wire around your bottom pot, I've done it on our picnic bench, which is home to my brassica seedlings and have no nibbled leaves at all yet.
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aaah! 'tis clear now; I like that idea, I've wanted to grow strawberries bat a. can't be bothered with the straw/matting and b. couldn't afford the proper planters, thank you, this solves both :D
p.s. do they have to be terracotta pots or would plastic ones work as well?
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I like it, thanks for sharing.
Such a good idea and should be a hell of a lot cheaper than conventional planters - looks good too.
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I did this with a friend last year, but only with 3 pots, each getting smaller in diameter, put a garden cane through the drainage hole in each to link them together and keep it all a bit more stable, used old recycled terracotta pots too for that 'cottagey' look. Strawberries cascading down all summer were heavenly. (Especially in a salad, sliced with sliced cucumber and mint from a next door pot)
Give it a try, I only have a small garden so need things to look appealling as well as being practical.
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pic of one added to the allotment album - gives an idea of what you can do.
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Love the pot tiered strawberry planter! Mine isn't so pretty but am hoping it will be just as successful. I have a tyre repair garage behind our allotments and they've let me have some old tyres. (I'm trying the stacked tyres with potatoes in them which somone suggested a while back) I now have two tyres filled with some lovely strawberry plants which someone on our allotment very kindly gave me a couple of weeks back. Will try and post a picture when we get some strawberries. :D
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did you cut them and turn them inside out to make a tub?
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No, I believe there's quite an art to getting that right though. Don't you need the steel wheel as well to do that? Was all the rage in the 80's I seem to remember.
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sorry, yes you do need the wheel itself, we just used to use a hacksaw or something similar and cut right round the tyre slightly under half way and then turn each half inside out; I then painted mine white and they actually looked quite good. not really that tricky and really cheap! :lol:
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I did this with a friend last year, but only with 3 pots, each getting smaller in diameter, put a garden cane through the drainage hole in each to link them together and keep it all a bit more stable, used old recycled terracotta pots too for that 'cottagey' look. Strawberries
Chinese pagoda towers are built on the same principle. The individual floors are built around a central flexible column. It's what stops them from collapsing in earthquakes - they can move and dissipate the shock, whereas more rigid skyscrapers collapse.
So your strawberries will be safe from earthquakes too.
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My planter is just like JennyBs photo, but I did end up just using two pots for stability, whisky_golf, in case of earthquakes !!! Got just a bit carried away and have planted carrots in the top one for now cos I've only got two strawberry plants. Sad eh.
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I tried out the freecycle website to for any unwanted compost bins etc, and I was given a strange looking composter that slatted together, which had two rows of holes. Which gave me the idea of turning it into a strawberry planter, as my old patch needed to be moved anyway,
which you can see in the right hand side of the attached piccie, will post a bigger one tomorrow, Im really pleased with it, as it is my daughters bit, and she finds if far easier to water than the previous strawberry
plot.
http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t2/redwellies/
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That is a cool idea. :)
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nice ideas peeps. :D im definitely doing that tierd plant pot job.