Hey Bernie, Does lining the beds create a problem with moldy soil? I thought about lining my beds but I thought that might be a problem. I thought that everything had to have good drainage. I am new to this container gardening. My beds do get dry fast. They are about 18 inches deep. I am going to plant some flowers in some pots today. Soil is the expensive thing for me. I was wondering what I could do about that?
So many things to learn!!!
I need a lot of help. I'm so glad that Spider_Lily invited me here. Kim
Kim these are wooden boxes that are two feet deep. They have large gaps in the bottoms for drainage. Also the bottom foot or so of the boxes are filled with buckets, old pots and milk jugs so there is very good drainage. No mold at all. I should have said I only lined the sides of the boxed with the tarps, not the bottoms. I am sure eventually the bottoms will rot out but as long as the sides hold up that's fine with me.
You have mentioned beds, boxes and pots. And I don’t want to give you any bad advice. My boxes are lager so I treat them like raised beds and use compost and soil in them. Every spring I dig out the top six to eight inches of soil, add raw compost then put the soil back on top.
You can’t use soil in small containers. The soil will get hard and won’t drain properly.
When I lived in your neck of the woods I had raised beds. The soil was sandy and dried out fast too. Adding lots of compost to the soil really helped and mulch helped too.
Potting soil can get very expensive but you have no choice but to use it in your pots. Here is how I save $$$. I reuse my potting soil. Every year I refresh the old soil by mixing with new soil about ½ & ½. I find that most potted plants don’t need much more then six to eight inches of soil to develop a good root system. I fill the bottoms of big pots with pop cans, water bottles, old pots etc. to take up space and to make the pots lighter. Some people use packing peanuts but I don’t like how they get mixed in with the potting soil when I try to reuse it.
This may sound crazy but I line the sides of my pots with disposable diapers. These absorb water so I don’t need to water so often when it gets hot. I think it keeps the soil a bit cooler as well. (I tried using those moisture absorbing crystals sold to be mixed with potting soil but they are too expensive for the number of pots I have. I find adult diapers at thrift shops or I buy the cheapest ones I can find in the market, either adult or child diapers.) Place the plastic side of the diaper against the inside of the pot. Fill with potting soil and plant. Just make sure the diapers are buried completely or they will act as a wick and draw the moisture out of your soil. I usually trim the diaper so I’m only left with the center part that actually absorbs moisture. If you open up a diaper you will find it is full of tiny little crystals. I suspect they are the same as those crystals sold to be added to potting soil. Please don’t use diapers wiht anything edible as I am sure they contain chemicals if nothing else perfume.
I hope this helps. If it’s not clear let me know and I’ll try to explain better. Good luck.