New planter started today.

[Ste]

I used the spade drill bit to drill a load of holes and this bit was 22mm so a good size (almost an inch) I've drilled about 25 holes in the bottom and about 20 on the side but low down to the bottom. It will only take me 5 minutes to go and drill another 30 or 40 holes if it will be better for it.

So what do people think of my idea of a layer of terram in the bottom of the pot? Should this work a treat or what?
I'm sure everyone knows what terram is but if anyone doesn't, it's a heavy duty roll of material which is rot proof and can be used for a number of things, under driveways, patios, anywhere in the garden. It has very fine holes and allows water and nutrients through but stops weeds from coming through. This should work the same of I put some inside my pot. It will allow water to drain but the roots won't be able to go through the drainage holes.

[karl66]

Ste, i'd put more holes in the side than the bottom. Are you going to reinstate your mom & dads garden when you leave . karl.

[Trudytropics]

Ste please remember the whole idea of this is so sometime in the future you can lift pot and palm to take somewhere else. If you drill too many holes the integrity of the pot is in question, remember it will have some weight to it with soil and palm etc, when lifting the whole bottom section could come away, personally I don't think you need go overboard with the holes, putting membrane in the bottom will work well in my opinion, allowing drainage but preventing roots from escaping. What palm have you planned for this?

[Ste]

I will p.m you next year as i do contract work up your way & i'd love to pop & have a look at your setup if you were available. karl.

No problem Karl, just let me know when your in this neck of the woods and i'll make sure im here. Summer would be best when nana's are in full swing but if its earlier then thats no problem

[Ste]

Ste please remember the whole idea of this is so sometime in the future you can lift pot and palm to take somewhere else. If you drill too many holes the integrity of the pot is in question, remember it will have some weight to it with soil and palm etc, when lifting the whole bottom section could come away, personally I don't think you need go overboard with the holes, putting membrane in the bottom will work well in my opinion, allowing drainage but preventing roots from escaping. What palm have you planned for this?

Going off the size of the pot Trudy, I think its in the ground for good. I doubt it will be able to be picked up and moved. It will weigh more than a ton when its full and I have 3 waggies in it.

[Trudytropics]

Ok Ste, I was under the impression palms were going in pots so you could move them in the future, if thats not the case then why bother with the pot Whatever, I'm sure a pot that size will be a good home for your 3 waggies

[Ste]

Ok Ste, I was under the impression palms were going in pots so you could move them in the future, if thats not the case then why bother with the pot Whatever, I'm sure a pot that size will be a good home for your 3 waggies

You are right Trudy, the whole idea of putting all my palms in pots was so they could be moved if I ever move but I diddn't realise how big the 750L pot was until it arrived. I say it seems to big to move but if it came to it, im sure i'd find a way of moving it. Hopefully not soon though as the planter will need knocking down just to try and get the pot out

[karl66]

The big pot will be almost as good as having them in the ground as the roots can spread out, the only thing they'll miss is the natural trace elements that a dug in one would have. The only thing that i'm scratching my head about is that even if you cant lift the pot in the future you'll have to dig enough rootball to transplant them , so in reality this is no different to planting in the ground from day one?. karl.

[Ste]

It would be easier to lift a palm out of a pot than it would out the ground. The roots can only spread to the sides of the pot and thats it whereas in the ground they will anchor the palm down. I wish I had put 2 straps under the pot and just left them buried then if I ever did have to move it, I could of got a digger one night or fork lift and picked it up with the straps. Oh well, anythings possible if you set your mind to it. If it does need moving, I will find a way.

[Ste]

Well after getting the planter built yesterday, the mortar was still a bit green this morning so didd'nt fancy drilling battens to it to screw the decking to as it wasn't properley dry. Twiddling my thumbs today as I had nothing to do so we decided that the fence between us and next door is the only origonal bit left in the garden and the pannells are'nt in great condition. Rather than replacing the pannells, just for them to be replaced in a few years again plus next door have screwed a trellis to the pannells on their side (we dont get on with next door) We decided to build a wall instead. Im leaving the fence in place and building the wall on our side of the garden rather than the boundary then next door cant even touch it.
Garden slopes 6 inch from the house to the bottom so used what bricks I had left and laid them to level it up ready for when the blocks get delivered. It was only 2 course of brick at one end to nothing at the other. Going to use some marshall stone for pillars then cant decide weather to smooth render and paint it or dash it the same as the house and other walls. Only problem with dashing it is that there will be plants up against it and the dashing turns a horrible green colour. If I paint it using plyolite like I did in my first planter, its water based and any muck that gets on the wall can be washed off with the hosepipe.

[Ste]

Christmas eve and been out in the garden again today doing a few bits. Gutted I ran out of decking 2 more lengths will be enough to finish.
Got 2 ton of top soil coming to fill the planter but that cant be delivered until January as they have no drivers working until the new year Top soil will be ok to fill this up wont it? It would cost hundreds if I was to buy bags of MP compost.
A few pics from the other day to now, starting off with laying some brick down the length of the garden to level it up for when I start to build the wall next week hopefully. Planter built and used up what decking I had today.

[Ste]

I asked my dad to bring me a piece of terram back from work, about 1.5m x 1.5m would be plenty I told him. He brought back a massive piece about 6m x 20m what a nightmare to unfold just to cut a little piece off
Anyway, put a piece in the bottom of the pot and taped to the inside of the pot so now water will still drain but the roots aint getting out of any drainage holes now.
My mum thought it would be funny to take a pic of me in the pot whilst I was taping the terram to the inside

[karl66]

Ste, your a workaholic like me!!. It will drive you nuts now waiting for the soil to be delivered . Got to say again its not my prefered way of planting but i can see it will look smart when done, We dont really speak much to our neighbours on the one side so i've planted all my palms with enough room for them to grow without overhanging there fence. I do like the idea of a proper wall instead of a fence though. karl.

[Trudytropics]

That picture is so funny, the more I look the more it looks like a photo shopped picture of you miniaturised, crikey that pot is massive, it really could be a pool

[JoelR]

That pot is huge