Now, hardly a novel idea. I'm looking for input from those who have been doing it. I'm growing many plants in pots, themselves partially dug into the ground, but they are still young and thus I can't tell how viable a solution this is. The advantages I'm seeing to partly entrenched pots are: as with raised mounds, excess water flows away from the crown, the plastic offers a physical barrier to contain rhizome spread, both from the hops outwards, and from weeds inwards, it allows to easily replace and contain a new (artificial) substrate (to replace the heavy clay I have), while still allowing water to go up into it by capillarity and for the roots to explore deeper into the soil for water and nutrients. As a bonus, it allows growing of plants in a very dense space to then easily move them into the growing spot with reduced root disruption.
So the big questions are: what pot size are ideal for the long term, and what substrates are best? I've mostly used all purpose potting mix, so far, mixed in with some native clay and extra perlite, in two gallon pots. I'm thinking something with more vermiculite could help retain moisture during dry spells, reducing the need for irrigation.
So the big questions are: what pot size are ideal for the long term, and what substrates are best? I've mostly used all purpose potting mix, so far, mixed in with some native clay and extra perlite, in two gallon pots. I'm thinking something with more vermiculite could help retain moisture during dry spells, reducing the need for irrigation.