Rant: A downstairs neighbor's windbreak idea saved my balcony tomatoes

I'm on the tenth floor, and the gusts up here are no joke. My tomato plants were leaning like crazy (I thought they'd snap for sure). Then I saw the balcony below uses cut-up plastic bottles around the pots. So I tried it with some old juice containers, poking holes for stakes. It works like a charm and costs nothing.

3 comments

3 Comments

evanb871mo ago

Genius! Just remember to poke drainage holes too.

simonsingh1mo ago

So, drainage holes seem simple, but there's more to it. For example, in small seed trays, holes can get blocked by fine soil. What's the best tool for making clean holes in different materials? I've had issues with cracked pots from drilling too fast. Does the type of drill bit matter for ceramic versus plastic?

sarahb591mo ago

Plastic bottles look terrible and turn your balcony into a junkyard. That windbreak is just going to blow away in a real storm anyway. You’d be better off buying a proper screen or moving the plants inside.