Greenhouse Plant Containers
Eco-Friendly Greenhouse Containers
Plant containers come in a wide variety of prices, sizes, colors, shapes, and materials. Plastic has been the predominant container material in the U.S. greenhouse industry because plastic containers are available in many sizes, shapes, and colors and are relatively inexpensive. As a standard in the industry, plastic greenhouse containers are lightweight, durable, familiar to growers, work well with automation, and can be reused or recycled. While plastic containers are not biodegradable, recycling containers is a step toward sustainability. In reality, however, plastic containers are not always recycled because of the risk of disease outbreaks. Therefore, many used containers, despite efforts by greenhouses to adopt the practice, end up in the landfill, in a greenhouse storage area, or recycled. Consumers are questioning the use of plastic products as a sustainable practice in a truly green industry, and some consumers are even willing to pay a premium for non-plastic or recyclable containers.
Recycled Plastic Geotextile Containers
These containers are produced from recycled plastic bottles that would have ended up in a landfill (Figure 14.20). The used bottles are turned into a liquid and blended with biodegradable natural fibers, such as cotton, jute, vegetable fibers, or bamboo, to create a mixture that, when heat-pressed, bonds to produce a fabric-like geotextile that is sewn into a container to grow plants.
Plantable Containers
The containers are intended to be planted in the soil together with the plant. Plantable containers are designed to stay intact during short-term production (3–12 months, depending on the climate, production practices, and container) and can be kept on after planting. When plantable containers are planted, roots pass through the container walls and into the surrounding soil as the containers decompose (Figure 14.21). These containers are intended for short-term pre-production and are expected to reduce transplanting shock, save transplanting time and cost, and avoid used container disposal.
Compostable Containers
These containers are intended to be separated from the plant at planting and composted separately as they are not quickly or completely biodegradable in the landscape (Figure 14.22). Most bioplastics, as well as hard rice hull and thick-walled paper/fiber containers intended for the production of long-term crops, fall into this category. To further complicate this category, some materials are only industrially compostable as they need specific environmental conditions to permit or hasten the degradation process.
Click on the following topics for more information on containers for growing greenhouse crops.
