One Hundred Dollars a Month

Terra Cotta pots are awesome.  They are super porous, so over-watering is pretty tough to do, and they are a great natural option for housing all of your plants.  Because they are made of clay, caring for Terra Cotta is important if you want the pots to last growing season after growing season.

First, it’s important to clean the pots from year to year, for the same reasons you clean your seed trays, you don’t want to pass any unwanted bacteria or fungus along to your next plant.  To clean them, first empty them completely of dirt, etc.  Brush the inside and out to make sure all debris is gone.  Then, you can choose one of three ways to clean them {I’m sure there are more, but these are the only ways I know, so if you do it differently, I’d love to know how in the comment section below.}:

1. Bake them.  Bake completely dry pots in an oven set at 220 degrees for about an hour.  Let the pots cool completely in the oven before removing them.  I for one have way too many pots to even consider this option.
2. Clean them with a diluted bleach solution.  Using 10 parts water and 1 part bleach dunk pots completely into the bleach solution {or thoroughly clean them using a rag if they are too big}.  Allow the pots to dry for several days before planting.
3. Clean them using white distilled vinegar.  This is probably my favorite option.  Vinegar is cheap, and it is not as harsh as bleach.  Follow the same method as described in option 2, substituting the vinegar for bleach.

If your pots have developed white deposits due to hard water or salty water, make a paste of baking soda and water and gently scrub away the stains.

Once you have cleaned the pots for the year, it is important to soak them in water before filling them with dirt.  This stops the pot from pulling water away from your freshly potted plant.  After it has been soaked for about 24 hours, fill with potting soil and plant as you normally would.

Once Terra Cotta pots crack, they are pretty much done for.  Once, one of my big ones cracked and I tried to seal it up with clear silicone.  It held for the rest of the growing season, but the plants did not do as well for some reason.  A crack is basically an omen of death for the poor pots, so it’s best just to handle them with general care and avoid cracking them altogether.

Do you have any wise words of wisdom on caring for your Terra Cotta pots?

~Mavis