Make and Use a Rootball Lifting Flowerpot
During the colder weather months, some plants are best sown indoors in flowerpots. After a few days or weeks, the small plants can be put outside, into the garden soil. A rootball lifting flowerpot makes it easy to take the plant(s) with roots and rootball out of the pot.
Contents
Steps
Prepare the Materials
- Assemble the supplies needed. For one system, you'll need two identical small plastic flowerpots, a thin plastic plate (for example, the lid of a margarine box) and scissors. The pots on the photo are about 5 cm (2 inches) high and 5.5cm (2.2 inches) wide.
- Make one “insert” by cutting away about two thirds of the side of one plastic flowerpot. Then you have one flowerpot and one insert.
- Cut a "lift strip" from a thin plastic plate (for example, a lid of a margarine box). The strip may be rectangular or spoon shaped. Bend the strip at one end. The short part of the strip must fit in the insert.
Use the Materials
- Put an insert into an empty flowerpot.
- Put a lift strip in the empty insert. On the photo you can see two systems, one with a rectangular lift strip and one with a spoon shaped strip. Both systems work well, although possibly the spoon shaped one works better in larger pots.
- Write information on the long part of the lift strip. Fill the insert with (potting) soil. Press a little on the soil. Lay seeds on the soil.
- Cover the seeds with (potting) soil. Wait until the plants are visible.
- Lifting the rootball (step 1): When plants are visible, pull the insert out of the flowerpot.
- Lifting the rootball (step 2): Pull the strip a few millimetres (about 1/4 inch) to above. Then release the strip. The rootball will first loosen from the insert and then return to its position again. It will not stick anymore.
- Lifting the rootball (step 3): Take the rootball between your thumb and fingers. Put the rootball at its desired position (soil, another flowerpot etc).
Planting in the Soil
- Put the flowerpot with insert and strip in the hole. Fill the space around the flowerpot with earth. Press on the earth around the flowerpot.
- Take the flowerpot out of the soil.
- Take the insert out of the flowerpot.
- Lift the rootball and take it out.
- Put the rootball in the hole in the garden soil.
Tips
- Spray some water on the (potting) soil before "lifting". Then the (potting) soil will not fall apart so easily during handling.
- Try the lifting procedure before laying seeds on. Then you can test to see if the potting soil is moist enough. "Feel" how the procedure works. If okay, put the rootball back in the pot by doing the steps in reverse order. If not okay, clean the parts and start all over again at step "Put an insert in an empty flowerpot".
- Buy cheap mini blinds at garage sales and use the 1" slats for your rootball lifting project, for garden markers, when sowing seedlings, etc. They are quick and easy to cut to length and can be written on with permanent markers which last through the growing season.
Things You'll Need
- 2 identical small plastic flowerpots
- A thin plastic plate (for example, the lid of a margarine box)
- Scissors
