An Historical Perspective
The first flower pots used commercially were terracotta. While they had (and still do have) many benefits, their weight and fragility was not practical in nurseries. This lead to the popularity and widespread acceptance of plastic pots. And although plastic pots are durable, lightweight and reduce water loss, they can contribute to waste and landfill if not made from recyclable plastics or if not recycled appropriately. Even then, fossil fuels and valuable energy is still used in the recycling process. Biodegradable pots have been around for sometime but these have been largely confined to smaller propagating pots and tubes like Jiffy pots. Pot'n all are available in regular pots sizes to try to create and fill a new niche in commercial growing.
Pot'n all is made from coconut fibre which is torn from the husk of the coconut. It is then washed, teased and sundried. The material is compressed into long sheet and sprayed with a natural latex rubber. It is allowed to dry before being cut into sheets and pressed into pot shapes using high pressure moulding. (No fossil fuels are used in this process.)Ramm Botanicals have been trialling the pots for two years and say that the above ground results are identical between these and traditional plastic pots. However, it is below ground where these coconut pots have all the benefits with no root disturbance, quicker planting and no rubbish or clean up.
While trials still continue, I can certainly see many benefits and I hope that further studies reveal that this process is not only better for the environment, but also the nursery and landscape industries.
Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to use pots to move plants from one location to another. (REF: http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/weblog/000511.php)
