I need to grow some small trees in containers for a few years and other than the standard plastic containers you see in Agriculture shops that are a bit pricey, I was wondering if any of you guys had come up with ideas of your own, using containers not specifically designed for plants. I need a few hundred.

 

I thought about using the small black trash cans (bins) from Makro and putting my own holes in them, but I'm sure somebody has found something better. Cement rings are no good as the trees will eventually need to be transported in their containers.

If you grow trees in cement rings for three years you should be able to remove the plants neatly enough (maybe line with plastic first) and use the rings elsewhere. There are two sizes of concrete rings to be had.

In the early days we used to make baskets with chicken wire for larger trees, lined with geotextile.

Don't know if this helps you or not, but there are also plastic grow bags available in various sizes from small to big.

Pros: Cheap and light.

Cons: Don't survive too long if exposed to direct sunlight over a longer period of time (the same can be said of most plastic items though). 

Have you looked in some of these ฿20 plastic mom and pop shops? You might find plastic type baskets for ฿ 20 a piece. I'm sure if you ordered all your pots/baskets with one shop, you could negotiate the price. They most certainly won't have hundreds on hand, so haggle over the price and then place your order. 

Eventually look on alibaba. 

Why not just keep them in the bags but every 6 months re bag up to the next size bag with a nice fresh soil mix... That's what I'm going to do.


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The missus found a nice bag with handles on it but I do like the idea of renewing the soil every 6 months, so we'll have to battle it out. I think we all know who the winner will be 

 

Bt130 each. 80mm x 60mm - the same size as a cement ring

 

I use old paint containers

I think some of those bags mentioned above won't last more than a year due to being broken down by the strong UV light. 

 

Regarding the chicken wire and geotextile, you may be able to skip the wire if you can find a good way to sew the geotextile. But I think the geotextile will cost more than the black plastic pots. 

 

How about those "trash cans/dustbins" they make out of old tyres turned inside-out? I don't think you'd need a base. Better drainage and then if the roots grow into the soil below they will grow faster/larger. But you'd probably need to under cut them now and again to avoid shocking them after a few years. 

 

I think when they dig up large trees for landscaping they wrap the rootball in blackshade netting. That stuff is designed to last a few years. It has built in UV protection. So perhaps you could make "pots" from that. Again, you'd need to find a thread for sewing that didn't break down faster than the netting. Perhaps galvanised wire can be used to make clips for fastening. 

 

JB. 

Thrash containers from makro are the best and cheapest option. Or empty paint buckets...

Some gardening/agri shops sell leftover soil/fertilizer bags, a few baht a piece. They last long enough until plants need to be transferred. Another option (costs more) are them plastic baskets used for garbage/leaves - come in a few sizes, last long, and reusable (assuming no intention to cut the plastic). The concrete rings are alright, but maybe harder to manage (weight).