When planting hanging baskets, put Styrofoam peanuts in the bottom instead of stones. The plants do not stand in water and the baskets will not be so heavy.
Using the styrofoam that comes with almost everything in a box is great to be broken in to large chunks and put in the bottom of large planters too. Our local garden centre actually supplies some during April Basket Planting Days, where members go in, the garden centre provides the soil and slow release fertilizer, you provide your containers then pay for your seedlings and plant away.We are in Zone 3 (Alberta, Canada) so the Garden Centre keeps the planters until just before Mother's Day, at which point we get to take them home. I have a number of 16" and 22" planters and this keeps them from being to heavy to lift or move. Works great!! never thought about the peanuts in the hanging baskets though. Great suggestion!
This is a really good idea. The only thing to be sure of is that you don't buy the kind of peanuts that biodegrade in water. (I have ferrets, and I buy the biodegradable kind so that if they should eat any, it just dissolves. They play in them!) I guess there are two kinds of peanuts :).
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