How to crochet a plarn planter for healthy roots

Plarn, if you haven’t heard of it before, is yarn made by knotting together strips of old plastic bags, which can then be knit or crocheted. Who doesn’t have a stash of plastic grocery bags in a cupboard or drawer? (I rustled some up for this project and found I still had bags from shops in Leeds – a city I left 5 years ago!!)

Lots of people use plarn to make sturdy tote bags and market bags. This is a great idea – turning a lot of plastic bags which would have ended up in landfill and converting them into something which has the same purpose, but is stronger and can be used again and again, which cuts down on needing new plastic bags – recycling, re-using and reducing

I’ve started gardening on my balcony recently, and came across the ‘air-pot’ system. Air pots are a kind of planter with an egg-box-like surface and lots of holes. Normally in a potted plant, when a root hits the side of the pot it is deflected and roots start to grow in a spiral round the pot. Over time, these roots grow into a dense mat which does not absorb water and nutrients very well, and may be prone to rotting and disease. The design of the airpot directs roots, when they reach the edge of the pot, to poke through the holes, where of course they dry out and are ‘pruned’ by the air. This encourages new roots to grow from the base of the plant, so instead of a thick unhealthy coil of roots at the bottom of the pot you end up with a mesh of new healthy roots spreading throughout the soil. Unfortunately the air-pots are rather expensive, especially if I wanted some shipped to Japan.

It occurred to me that crocheted plastic bags would have a similar effect – the rounded bumps of the stitches would encourage root tips to grow through the holes between the stitches, while the holes would give really good drainage and the layers of plastic, with air trapped both in and between the stitches, would insulate the roots from extremes of hot and cold. And best of all, it would be practically free and environmentally friendly - so I give you, the crocheted plarn planter!

Step 1 Materials

You’ll need:

• plastic grocery bags – I made a pot 5in in diameter and about 4in tall, which took 10 bags. It doesn't matter if you have a mix of different thicknesses and sizes, you can adjust the width of your strips to get a consistent yarn
• scissors
• crochet hook – plarn is tough on the hands so a hook with a chunky handle will be better

Comments

[gia]

An update to the planters I crocheted two months ago with this principle: Tomatoes in them are going great. And my orange tree (grown from seed from maybe January or so) is really loving it. (I didn't do to exact the size indicated, but to match the desired size. And I also made a few square ones) - by the way this is the most awesome use I've found for plastic bags for a very long time.

[AbigailsCrafts]

Thanks so much for coming back to post an update! I'm glad they work well for you :D

[NaturalCrafter]

I enjoyed reading all about your plarn project

[Applejuice11]

I've heard of crocheting with "Plarn" but i never thought it could be used for make a planter! Great job!

[angelady]

This is a FANTASTIC idea! You gave wonderful, detailed instructions also, which I much appeciate. I am definitely going to make these!

[WickedSpindle]

That is a great video you attached for this with wonderful examples.

[gia]

An awesome idea. I was just looking for something where to plant a few tomato plants, and that looks like an awesome solution to it.