A friend of mine came across this fun, ultra-green product that was featured on the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, CowPots™.
CowPots™, “The Pots You Plant,” were invented by the Freund dairy farming family in northwestern Connecticut. They are made from manure solids and are of course, 100% biodegradable. This is a great example of farmers turning an agricultural waste product into a horticultural goldmine. Not only do the pots fully decompose, they add rich nutrients to the soil, feed seedlings and attract beneficial earth worms. Since plant roots continue to grow into the earth, there’s no risk of straining plants during transplanting.
To find out how to order these eco-fabulous pots visit CowPots online. The prices are not listed, but they do give a list of vendors national and local that carry the pots. Ask your local nursery if they have heard of them. Maybe you can help push them away from plastic and into a much more sustainable product. I love this so much, I just might have to get my very own CowPot T-shirt (yep, they do sell them on the website). I wonder how that would go over in South Florida.
Why plastic pots don’t pass the test:
- They further our dependency on foreign oil (Plastics are made from oil or coal treated with a heat and pressure process, and mixed with an assortment of stabilizers and fillers)
- They stunt root growth
- Plastic never biodegrades and puts a huge burden on landfills
- Plants undergo stress during transplanting
We could all learn a little from this Connecticut family. They also capture methane from decomposing manure liquids and use it to heat their farmhouse and hot water for their dairy barn. Talk about a renewable energy source! The family did receive a $33,000 Federal Grant for the pot project and I think the money went to good use. I can’t wait to see this product take off. Happy planting.
6 responses so far ↓
1 // Jun 12, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I think this is a terrific idea! I was at Home Depot this weekend and picked up a couple of plants to add to my garden, and they had a brand that they sold in peat pots. I thought that was good, but Cowpots sound even better!
2 // Jun 12, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I think so too. Thanks for the comment Grace!
3 // Jun 12, 2007 at 4:08 pm
This sounds awesome, and the bonus is not only is it good for the earth, but it makes planting a whole lot easier!
4 // Jun 12, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Very good article! The less plastics used, the better for the environment! I will check out the CowPots website, as well as the peat pots.
5 // Jun 25, 2007 at 6:07 am
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6 Howard // Apr 3, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I am sure this is a wonderful product for all the right reasons and I know that the process of making these is ardous but the average price is around a $1.00 per container. I think this is a steep. Another thing is that we talk as tyhough those plactic containera are only used once a thrown in the land fills. I for one re-use mine until they are no longer serviceable. You only can use cow pots once!!!!
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