Friends,
Let's look at the options available in the market with regards to pots.
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| HDPE Bags |
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| LDPE Bags |
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| Old tires |
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| Plastic Pots |
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| Old Rice bags |
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| Terracota |
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| Plastic drums |
Old paint buckets, water bubble tops, broken pots pans, boxes whatever you can lay your hands on can be used.
You can select based on your need, aesthetics, budgets, space, weight constraints etc.
For starters I never advise people to splurge in the beginning. Start small with two or three pots, grow and get the confidence that you can do it and then slowly keep adding.
The lifespan of any of these above mentioned planters is from one year to five years, some more depending again on climate and usage.
It's not important which pot you choose, it's more important to know what size of pot you need for growing what.
So thumb rule in general is for most flowers a 9" pot will do. For veggies like okra, brinjal, chilli, beans etc one 12" pot for one plant each. If there is lack of space you may increase the pot dia size to 20" and plant two to three plants each in one pot.
Creepers need a broader diameter, depth can be less.
Fruit trees need diameter and depth so best recommended is 200 litres plastic drums cut into half and used.
There are options of breathable fabric pots too available in the market. One can check those out too.
Ensure whichever pot you choose has proper drainage holes.
It's also advisable to keep pots on raised stands so that there is less damage due to water stagnation etc on your terrace. If it's ground then no issues