Terra Cotta pots

hdx57 · June 8, 2007

I am planning on using 20'' terra cotta pots to grow maters in this fall. Kinda worried though about the terra cotta sucking the moisture out of the soil. Has anyone ever tried using big terra cotta pots before? Thanks.

Star · June 9, 2007

Have not yet grown tomatoes in large terra cotta pots.

Have grown other types of plants in large terra cotta pots.

I was taught to soak terra cotta pots before planting in them.

I put mine in a bathtub full of water and soaked them until bubbles stopped forming.

I positioned on their sides pots too large to submerge upright and then periodically rotated them.

After planting in pre-soaked terra cotta pots, I never really noticed a problem with them "sucking the moisture out of the soil".

When I watered the plants, I did always hose down the outside of the pot just in case tho.

I did notice that the large terra cotta pots seemed to accumulate salts near the rim.

This did not seem to effect the plants I grew.

Best wishes,
Star

Zana · June 9, 2007

I grow at least 50 tomato plants a year in large terra cotta pots (as well as some other veggies). I have two methods of dealing with the possible problem of the terra cotta sucking all the water out of the soil.

The first is to seal the inside of the pot before planting. If you do it and let it dry completely, you won't ever have to worry about the pot leeching all the moisture out of the soil. (The same goes for terra cotta saucers.) I use an acrylic coating that is food safe. Sorry I'm all out at the moment, so haven't got the name handy.

The second method I use is to have at least 2 to 4" of stones or broken terra cotta in the bottom of the pot. Then I set the pot on top of a large saucer(much larger than the pot would call for normally, and at least 3" deep) filled with gravel just a bit bigger than pea gravel.

When I water the plants in the terra cotta pots, I make sure I water thoroughly, until water comes out the bottom. I let the water fill the saucer to the rim. Unless we're talking temps over 85 F all day, I don't have to do another watering until the next morning. I may end up having to do a second watering for the day if the temps climb over 85 F. For those of you south of here, that's probably a given.

Hope that helps.

dcarch · June 9, 2007

Zana's method works fine. I find oil-base paint works better. They also sell vapor-barrier type of latex paint which may be better.

Another way is find a plastic bag, like trash bag, and put the soil inside the bag inside the pot.

Make sure you don't leave the pot out in the winter, freezing will crack the pot.

dcarch

June 8, 2007	#1
hdx57 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Phoenix Posts: 3	Terra Cotta pots I am planning on using 20'' terra cotta pots to grow maters in this fall. Kinda worried though about the terra cotta sucking the moisture out of the soil. Has anyone ever tried using big terra cotta pots before? Thanks.

June 9, 2007	#2
Star Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 49	Have not yet grown tomatoes in large terra cotta pots. Have grown other types of plants in large terra cotta pots. I was taught to soak terra cotta pots before planting in them. I put mine in a bathtub full of water and soaked them until bubbles stopped forming. I positioned on their sides pots too large to submerge upright and then periodically rotated them. After planting in pre-soaked terra cotta pots, I never really noticed a problem with them "sucking the moisture out of the soil". When I watered the plants, I did always hose down the outside of the pot just in case tho. I did notice that the large terra cotta pots seemed to accumulate salts near the rim. This did not seem to effect the plants I grew. Best wishes, Star Last edited by Star; June 9, 2007 at 06:19 AM.

June 9, 2007	#4
dcarch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NY Posts: 2,618	Zana's method works fine. I find oil-base paint works better. They also sell vapor-barrier type of latex paint which may be better. Another way is find a plastic bag, like trash bag, and put the soil inside the bag inside the pot. Make sure you don't leave the pot out in the winter, freezing will crack the pot. dcarch __________________ tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato tomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomatomato matomato

June 9, 2007	#3
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	I grow at least 50 tomato plants a year in large terra cotta pots (as well as some other veggies). I have two methods of dealing with the possible problem of the terra cotta sucking all the water out of the soil. The first is to seal the inside of the pot before planting. If you do it and let it dry completely, you won't ever have to worry about the pot leeching all the moisture out of the soil. (The same goes for terra cotta saucers.) I use an acrylic coating that is food safe. Sorry I'm all out at the moment, so haven't got the name handy. The second method I use is to have at least 2 to 4" of stones or broken terra cotta in the bottom of the pot. Then I set the pot on top of a large saucer(much larger than the pot would call for normally, and at least 3" deep) filled with gravel just a bit bigger than pea gravel. When I water the plants in the terra cotta pots, I make sure I water thoroughly, until water comes out the bottom. I let the water fill the saucer to the rim. Unless we're talking temps over 85 F all day, I don't have to do another watering until the next morning. I may end up having to do a second watering for the day if the temps climb over 85 F. For those of you south of here, that's probably a given. Hope that helps.