It’s been raining so much lately that I cannot get outside into the garden – mine or anybody else’s. So I now have time to tell you about a minor miracle in the plant pot world.
Picture this; you have had a plant in a pot for a long time, and when you try to remove it you find that as roots have poked through the bottom of the pot, it’s a great tussle to get anything moving. When you eventually get the root ball out, you more than likely find that the roots have started a circular journey around what was the bottom of the pot.
Unless you carefully tease these circling roots outwards, then the plant will never achieve a good stable base in its new hole. Up till now this has all been a bit of a struggle. Ta dah – enter the Air Pot
The Air Pot system is simply a strip of black plastic with rows of holes.
The strips come in various sizes so you can make up pots from the smallest (1 litre) to extra large (45 litres).
This is a revolutionary solution to an age-old problem. And as the basic materials are recycled milk and shampoo bottles (right sort of plastic)it’s a good environmental result too.
Plant roots need to be kept in the dark, but roots also need oxygen. Having holes in the side of the Air Pot, allows air in which leads to healthy bacteria and better nutrient release.
At the same time, when a root is exposed to daylight, the root is ‘pruned’ so that more fibrous roots develop within the pot. Having these additional roots means a better take up of nutrients and water, leading to faster growth and a healthier plant.
If that wasn’t enough good news, the Air Pot eliminates root circling , so removing a plant is a simple un-clicking of the side wall. Your now-empty Air Pot can be used again and again, and has a certain life of at least ten years.
Don’t just take my word for it, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew has been using them for a huge number of different species of plants.
For more information visit http://air-pot.com
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