biodegradable potsGreen is a color that we associate with environmental responsibility and it is also a color associated with gardening. If you were to check out the piles and piles of plastic pots and bags in garden sheds around the planet, you might decide that these are two different shades of green.

If you are hooked on gardening and want to avoid consuming these piles of plastic here are a few suggestions:

  • Find bulk sources of soil. mulch and other gardening materials. If you live in or near a region that has sawmills, you may be able to go there and fill your trunk or truck bed with bark to use as mulch. Sometimes these resources are even free.I once lived near a facility that manufactured home heating pellets from wood waste. Gardeners in the know were taking the material that was expelled by the destoning equipment. It was mostly bark
  • If you have to buy gardening soil in plastic bags, save them to reuse as heavy duty garbage bags
  • Ask around to local greenhouses to see which ones are interested in getting plastic pots returned for reuse
  • Consider growing plants from seeds and eliminating the use of plastic pots altogether.
  • When you think about it, just about anything can be used for a plant container. I used to scrounge at a number of 50-75 year old dump sites in the Canadian wilderness and bring home enamel cookware and kettles and even bedpans to use as planters. They usually already had some drainage holes.

Sources: Baltimore Sun

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