As we seem to always have a lot of ants around, I use used folded J cloths to put in the bottom of my pots, followed by a layer of gravel to weigh it down, then the compost. It does seem to deter the ants in my experience, although the J cloths only last a season or two.
I had to do a search to find out what a J cloth is. Thank you for the idea.
I sometimes put bits of crock or bits of paper in the bottom of a pot to stop the growing medium falling through if it's particularly fine and dry. Broken crocks are said to help with drainage, but no-one ever explains how, and I think nowadays it's a practice largely fallen into disuse.
I believe the RHS did a trial on crocks in pots and said it made no difference. It's traditionally been used to stop the compost from blocking the drainage holes and it's interesting to see that Monty still does it. I never do (apart from my J cloths or very tall pots) as I believe it just takes up space inside the pot, thus limiting the compost volume and therefore space for roots to grow.
I sometimes put bits of crock or bits of paper in the bottom of a pot to stop the growing medium falling through if it's particularly fine and dry. Broken crocks are said to help with drainage, but no-one ever explains how, and I think nowadays it's a practice largely fallen into disuse.
When you said 'bits of crock' in the first sentence did you mean 'bits of rock'? I like the idea of just using rocks.
Regarding 'broken crocks', if that means broken pottery shards, I think the premise is perhaps sound, and probably the same as it is for rocks: the idea being that that when the growing medium is poured into the pot it cascades down and around the pieces of pottery, and fills up the space around it gradually, rather than coming immediately and directly into contact with the drainage hole.
Unless it is very big pot when I use a large piece of broken pot used concave side to the hole so that it aids drainage, I use a piece of newspaper. When the plant is ready to move on, the paper has joined forces with the compost and roots so remains and eventually rots away. As to J Cloths, which is a trade name, they are the semi disposable cleaning cloths you can buy in any supermarket. Generic ones are cheaper.
Would a layer of large bark nuggets in the bottom of a pot would work, instead of broken pot, or 'crock' (since I don't have any broken pots and don't want to buy some just to break them). Of course, this would biodegrade, perhaps quickly, but would it work for a year or two?
I have recently got rid of a load of broken terracotta pots. ( if they were nice pots,it's hard). Large bitss, I've planted up with sedums or shallow rooted annuals. There's no point in keeping the little bits for putting in the bottom of pots. A bit of kitchen roll does the job just as well
Bark and wood chip can rob nitrogen while they decompose. Two or three nuggets over the drain hole probably wouldn't make much of a difference although they might soften and end up plugging the hole. For long term pots I use crocks (or irregular stones) plus a fairly thick layer of grit. The crocks are there purely to stop the grit pouring out.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
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Regarding 'broken crocks', if that means broken pottery shards, I think the premise is perhaps sound, and probably the same as it is for rocks: the idea being that that when the growing medium is poured into the pot it cascades down and around the pieces of pottery, and fills up the space around it gradually, rather than coming immediately and directly into contact with the drainage hole.