Unpopular opinion: those plastic balcony planters are a scam for hot climates

I tried those cheap plastic troughs from the hardware store last summer on my balcony in Phoenix and my tomato plants cooked in 3 days because the plastic trapped heat like an oven. Has anyone else switched to fabric grow bags or terracotta for hot weather growing?

2 comments

2 Comments

thead4418d ago

Oh wait, terracotta actually wicks moisture away from the soil though, so if you're in Phoenix you'd be watering like twice a day lol. I live in Texas and tried a terracotta pot for basil last summer and it dried out so fast I gave up. Have you looked into those white plastic planters instead? The reflective ones don't heat up nearly as bad as black or dark green plastic. My cherry tomatoes did okay in them when I paired with a drip system.

wells.morgan19d ago

Changed my mind completely after my peppers fried in those plastic planters last summer.