If your underwear drawer is due a clearout, hang on to your old tights as garden experts have revealed they're a great tool for storing plastic plant pots.
If you have a small garden, then you’ll know the importance of small garden storage ideas, to get the most out of your space and leave your garden looking tidy. A pair of old tights can neatly stack your pots and keep them covered over winter.
Taking to Instagram, Michael Griffiths, AKA @the_mediterranean_gardener, revealed his easy storage hack using the tights. This is how it works.
In his video, Michael cut an old pair of tights in half, filling one of the legs with the plant pots. He tied a knot at the bottom to stop the pots from dropping out, and when the leg was full, he knotted the top and hung it in his shed.
Michael states this method prevents your old pots from blowing away. Of course you can recycle old plastic pots, with retailers like B&Q offering hand-in schemes, but if there’s still life in your pots, storing them safely means you can use them again next year.
‘If you’ve got an old pair, then it’s a great way to upcycle and save it from going into the bin. You can obviously stack pots, so they’re space-saving unto themselves, but, if you’ve got a small area with limited storage, then this method helps utilise wall, rather than ground space,’ says Chrissie Handley, Lawn Care Specialist and Gardening Expert at Online Turf.
‘It's important to consider sizing – the tights will obviously need to be big enough to stretch around the plant pots, and breathable enough that they’re providing enough airflow. The more airflow, the better, especially if they’re used plant pots, it will help limit the chance of mould occurring if there’s any soil or organic matter left on the pots.’
‘You can even upgrade it to a diy dispenser- if you get a pair that is slightly smaller than the pots, so there’s a lot of tension, you can cut the ‘toe’ off the tights and it should hold them in place, ready for you to pull the bottom pot away whenever you need one.’
However, it’s important to note that tights do sag. Everyone’s experienced the misfortune of a loose gusset, and your tights will be no exception, as Marta Pawlik, co-founder of LAIK, found when she tested the method herself.
‘I have tested this method while managing storage for some of our smaller holiday homes, especially those without garages or utility rooms. We always need clever ways to tuck away gardening bits between stays. I tried using old tights to hold lightweight nursery pots behind outdoor bins or in boiler cupboards. It looked tidy for the first week, but once the nylon sagged and the pots knocked around during changeovers, it became more trouble than it was worth,’ she said.
‘We aim to keep our spaces looking intentional, even in the hidden corners. So we moved to stackable wooden crates with paper in between. They slot neatly into lower kitchen cupboards or under outdoor benches and protect the pots during wetter months. If we need to store them inside, they breathe better and feel more in keeping with the rest of the house. I want the storage to match the overall quality we promise guests and owners. Using tights never quite lived up to that standard.’
Plant pot storage soloutions
Alternatively, you can try one of these storage soloutions.
Marta uses wooden crates to store plants pots using paper as a divider.
These handy shelves will increase the storage space in your shed and are ideal for storing stacks of pots.
Alternatively, you can use garden netting to create your own plant pot nets to hang in the shed.
Will you be using your old tights to store pots this summer?
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