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Fast Food Drink Glasses as Planters - Part 1

Why are planters V shaped? Plant roots don't want to grow closer together the deeper they get, they want to spread out. Seems to me planters should be A shaped. Sure it would be tougher to fill with dirt, maybe harder to water thoroughly, and repotting would be more interesting getting the plant out of the old pot and into the new, but the roots would have more room to spread out. As I am having lunch with some buddies of mine I'm looking at the drink cup and it seemed to me that this would be perfect for starting garden seeds in the spring; tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, that kind of thing. The root benefit would be there and I wouldn't have to worry about repotting - they would be used once and then recycled. Using the glass lid as a base would allow the straw hole to be used for bottom watering.

As my first try I started a couple varieties of patio tomatoes. It seemed like a good choice. They won't grow fast or big. I might not ever have to take them out of the drink cups. Next I will try my tomato cuttings (see previous post), cabbage, and broccoli.

I start my tomato seeds in peat pellets, although I am switching to the coconut fiber based pellets when the peat pellets run out. The coconut fiber pellets are supposed to be more environmentally sound. Anyway, I start them on a heating mat using plastic restaurant food containers as mini greenhouses to keep a warmer and more humid environment for the seeds to germinate. They are also under a fluorescent shop light.

The first few have germinated. I filled the glasses with potting soil, cut off the tops (which are actually the bottoms of the glasses) and planted the peat pots in them. If you try this be careful cutting the top off. The plastic can be tough to get a hole through the first time and your knife could easily slip and cut yourself. Additionally there will be a pretty sharp edge in the plastic. These "pots" are placed under the shop light on a non-heated side. Delivered food containers and lids make good saucers for bottom watering.

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