I have been doing a bunch of repoting and moving hoyas around now that the warmer nights have FINALLY got here.
I find myself spending as much or MORE time cleaning and washing the pots than actually planting.
I got to wondering about the methods you folks with TONS of hoyas do your "pot cleaning". Do you soak them first in a big tub or something? Some of that crusty stuff is very HARD to get off just scrubbing. Also, so you sterilize in bleach water, or just use the anti bacterial soap?
Along the same line....what do you do with the "used" dirt? I have just been dumping it around in my flower beds outside, but I find they are getting rather full....ha ha.
Marcy
Cleaning pots
Marcy I just went through a TON of washing pots! I let mine soak over night in water and dish wasing liquid. The next day I scrub/wash them out and let them sit on the driveway for a couple of hours or all day if I don't need them. If I need one right away, I spray it with bleach and water and let it sit for a couple of minutes. The dirt goes into our flowa gardens. My thinking is as long as they are sterlized properly the crusty stuff doesn't matter, it looks ugly but the pot is clean:-). Once you fill it with dirt again, you can't see the crusty stuff stains anyway:-).
Blessings,
Awanda
Marcy, I just soak and wash mine in dish detergent. Oh yea, since I'm really lazy, I have new one's on hand at all times.... I throw mine in the flower beds outside too.
I soak my pots in whatever soap is closest...dish or laundry...and let them soak until I have time to clean them. I swish them hard in the big galvanized tub I use and then put them out in the rain to rinse. The last step is putting them into a 20% bleach solution...just a dip and they are out....Sometimes I do this in 2 days...sometimes 2 weeks!!!
After soaking the pots in bleach water with detergent for several hours, they are taken to the sink where they are washed with Ivory dish liquid. Brillo or any type of steel wool pad is great to remove crust on the pots. An old toothbrush works well getting down into the nooks and crannies at the base and around the rim of pots. After a thorough soak, wash, and rinse, the pots are left to dry outside. I cannot tolerate the smell of bleach. The sun helps remove it.
Used soil is tilled under in the garden. If my tomatoes start growing peduncles, I might decide to do otherwise with it. ; )
These days I use a wire brush to get the crusty stuff off while the pots are dry, soak them afterwards in water with a bit of dish soap and rinse them after about 24 hours.
By the way...vinegar may help get rid of the crusty stuff....I have never tried it but vinegar or any other acid does work on other calcium deposits.