Want to save money on potting mix? Have a pot that is really too large or too deep to put the desired plants in and still be able to move the pot? Here is a way to use those big pots and still be able to afford the potting mix and to move them when needed.
1. Simply put a false bottom in the large pot. Make sure the large pot has a drainage hole or you will end up with a slimy mess in the bottom. There are two ways to make a false bottom. The easiest is to simply take a cheap plastic plant saucer (what you set pots in to catch excess drainage), put some small holes in it for drainage and set in in the pot at the desired level. It can take up 2/3 of the volume of the larger pot. Fill with potting mix and set out plants or plant seeds.
I like old fashioned terra cotta pots and have three or four small, flat terra cotta pots that I also use to make a false bottom. After the growing season, I dump the used potting mix in a big container, let it compost for the winter, mix it up, add some pelletized fertilizer and am ready to go the next growing season. I know this may not be recommended by experts, but I am cheap, and about the only other way I would use the old potting mix is to dump it into the vegetable garden. I know there may be some pests, diseases or fungi in the old mix, but most of us don't usually put the same variety of plants in pots from year to year.
2. Another way is to simply turn a small pot or two upside down in the larger pot and then put the plants in a smaller pot, setting the pot with the plants on the upturned pot. This is a great way to make a container garden with a large variety of plants in one pot and not have to strain your back or your pocket book. You can change the plants as the growing season changes and you have a fresh arrangement when you want it.
I really don't like lugging big pots in the winter. I don't like to spend a lot on plants, and feel that only people who have lots of money and can hire a groundskeeper and gardener need to worry too much about exotics. I am fortunate enough to live in an area where we have mild winters, and if I do buy a tropical, I don't pay much for it, and if it dies after frost, and doesn't come back,then so be it, and I really didn't need it.
Stay tuned, tomorrow is going to be about some invasive plants and weeds that will drive you to distraction.