Our School Grounds: Providing Food – Planters
Activity 2: Bigger Planters - A planter extravaganza!
INTRODUCTION
MAINTENANCE AND VOLUNTEERS
If you need to create stepping stones for
pollinators between other Polli:Nation
features or areas of established habitat,
larger planters are an excellent way to
do so. You can buy bespoke planters
from garden centres, or think about
recycling objects such as tyres, fishing
crates or even old bath tubs! Remember
that planters will be heavy when filled
with soil, so conduct this activity in situ.
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Helping to supervise planting activity
Watering
Weeding
Renewal
SEASONALITY
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Autumn
Winter
Spring
Planters in exposed locations will suffer
from exposure to the weather. Where
possible place your planters in sheltered
conditions and group them so large
planters offer shelter to the smaller
ones from the prevailing wind. You can
use other Polli:Nation features such as
Hedgerows or Bee Banks to provide
shelter too.
Materials:
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Tyre planters
sourced from the Serendipitous Scavenger
Hollow objects to be used as planters
A drill for making drainage holes
Sand, gravel or broken plant pots/crockery for the drainage layer
Compost for filling the planters – ideally peat-free container compost
Weed membrane/landscaping cloth
Bulbs or Plants for planting
A bucket full of water for submerging established potted plants before you
transplant them into your planter
Labels for the name of the plant, and the plantee!
This is a partnership project with: Learning through Landscapes, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Field Studies Council, OPAL, University of
Stirling, TCV and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Steps:
1. Bespoke planters should already have drainage holes, but you may want to add
more
2. Line the bottom of your planter with weed membrane to stop the contents escaping
through the drainage holes.
3. If your planter is very deep you can reduce the amount of soil needed by filling the
bottom half or third with recycled materials. Use clean plastic bottles and cans and
cover with weed membrane to allow water to drain through but to reduce the
volume of soil needed.
4. Add enough sand, stones or broken pots to cover the bottom and aid drainage.
5. Carefully fill your planter with soil to about 2-5cm from the top edge. Gently shake
the planter to settle the soil.
6. Get planting! Always follow the instructions on the packet.
a. Small seeds should be sprinkled across the surface and then covered with a
shallow covering of soil. Press down the surface very gently to make sure the
seeds have good contact with the soil.
b. Big seeds may need you to dig a small hole using your finger or a pencil. Do
not bury too deeply or the sprouting plant will struggle
c. Bulbs will have instructions on how deep they want to be planted as some
need a hole and others like to be near the surface. Make sure your planter is
deep enough for the bulb to grow as they will not be happy in very shallow
planters.
d. Established plants will need a hole deep enough to take all of the roots, but
not so deep as the plant is buried, at least the pot depth and half again.
Gently remove the plant from its pot and tease out the roots a little before
planting. Fill in the soil around the plant with compost and press it into the
soil to firm it in place.
7. Label your plants by using a lolly stick or strip of cut-down yoghurt pot. Remember
to write the date, what you have planted and your name.
8. Water your planter and ensure it stays moist while your seeds and bulbs germinate.
9. Create cloches for your plants, bulbs and seeds from old drinks bottles. These will
also help protect the plants from slugs and snails. Carefully use scissors to cut the
base off your bottle and place over your plants/bulb, digging it down about 2cm
into the soil.
Useful Links
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Click for information sheets on container planting and planting out young plants
from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) School Gardening project
Watch this video for a quick and simple guide to container planting by Merrifield
Garden Centre in the USA
This is a partnership project with: Learning through Landscapes, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Field Studies Council, OPAL, University of
Stirling, TCV and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust