We are Taking a Stand Against Plastics

Written By Melanie Cutillo

Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm is taking a stand against plastics in 2024 and beyond. Over the next year we'll be phasing out plastics with the goal for our nursery & flower farm to be 100% plastic-free December 2025. 

Read on to see why and how we are changing the way you get your plants from our farm.

the facts you need to know: 

  • In one season, U.S growers/ nurseries use and sell hundreds of millions of plants in plastic pots. In 2019 alone they purchased nearly 500 million NEW plastic containers derived from virgin petroleum.

  • The majority is unrecyclable black plastic of which an estimated 98% goes into landfills and incinerators releasing hazardous greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. (Those pretty colored plastic pots are also single-use and not purchased as materials)

 

What about recycling?

98% of horticultural plastics are not recyclable. Why?

  • Scanners are not equipped to sort these plastics.

  • It's cheaper for the plastic manufacturers to make new horticultural plastics with virgin plastics than recycle used pots and other materials. 

  • New plastic pots keep prices lower than the alternative plastic-free containers, helping to market plastic to larger nurseries.

A flood of plastic to your garden… 

Every year, Americans buy over 325 MILLION potted annuals and perennials. That doesn’t even include houseplants or landscapers!

Nearly all these plants are GROWN & SOLD in plastic.

But it’s more than just plastic pots

There’s millions of plant trays, seedling trays, and even plastic carriers too

The flow of U.S. horticultural plastic is over 4 BILLION containers that use nearly 2 BILLION pounds of plastic a year.

And that’s not including the 2020-22 ‘gardening rush’ where an estimated 13 million new gardeners came on the global scene!

YEAH – it’s a lot of plastic we’ll never be free in over 400 years…

At Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm we believe

we can do better because our gardening for pollinators & other wildlife shouldn’t kill the planet we’re trying to save.

The plastics flow right to YOUR garden.

Let’s take a moment to remember the last time you bought plants either here at the farm or at a larger nursery or garden center. 

What did you see first?

Lush foliage and pretty flowers in pots waiting for you on filled nursery benches.

Maybe sparrows were chirping in the background while you strolled through the garden center with your basket or cart full of plants… 

A lovely enticing scene for all of us who love plants and gardening.

But hve you ever looked beyond the plants & marketing?

Picture that same scene…

Now imagine it without all the plants in the black plastic pots.

Yeah– that’s a shocker isn’t it?

Just look at all that PLASTIC… tables, tags, signs & POTS! 

Now let’s look down at your basket of plant goodies… take out the plants again. 

Oof … this is the plastic YOU will take home to your garden.

YOU will be responsible for this plastic.

Not the big companies who make it. Not the chain garden center who bought several hundreds of thousands of pots and sold the plastic to you.

YOU and I as gardeners will be responsible for it all.

Don’t think so? Well let’s see…

Raise your hand if you have a pile of plastic pots, carriers, 6 packs you’ll never use in your garage or shed.

Raise your hand if you find old plastic plant tags or pieces of them in your garden? (extra credit if you have those plant tags in a little box on your potting bench!!) 

And we have all seen plastic pots, carriers and more “garden plastic” at our local dump, by the roadsides, and in the stores…

Heck you may have even taken garden plastics to be recycled only to learn they ended up in the landfill anyway

 

Oh yeah plastics are everywhere even at Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm….

When I started the farm & nursery our family talked about the plastics and how best to limit their use within our budget.

To reduce the amount of plastics the best approach for the farm seemed to be to:

  • accept donations of used nursery plastics (helping you free up space!)

  • reuse EVERY plastic as much as possible even tried reusing yougurt containers for a bit!

  • try our best to limit the purchase of new pots only when in dire need

  • use wooden plant tags as much as possible to limit plastic plant tags.

 

Heck even my favorite potting bench photo has PLASTIC! Looks like we’ll be having a re-do on this one!!

But then like others I fell for the ‘plastic marketing trap” of plastics being

  • convenient for customers & potting up plants

  • weather resistant to heat, cold & snow. LOTS of SNOW!

  • customer accepted sizing from the standard plastic pots ie quarts, gallons etc.

I even asked professional horticulturalists about the plastic pots I was repeated told that “plastic pots are better for plants”.

The ‘experts’ argued plastic pots warm the roots so plants are better protected in Winter and grow faster in Spring/Summer. They offer better water drainage & aeration of the roots to help plants thrive and resist disease.

And my personal favorite reason, “Your customers will expect it”

This past Winter, I took a long hard look at the pile of plastic pots on the nursery shelves and next to my potting bench…

I then took a deep dive into horticultural plastics and their impact on our gardens and our beautiful Earth.

I can no longer simply ‘reuse & recycle’ at the farm.

The ‘recycling’ isn’t happening especially for horticultural and agricultural products. And reusing doesn’t cut the plastic dependency or stop big Horticulture from making new plastic either. 

Both recycling & reusing keep our farm (and home) stuck in the plastic cycle

 

Stepping Away from the Plastics

Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm is taking a stand against plastics for the health of our farm, your garden and the planet.

Our farm WILL NO LONGER 

  • Purchase new or used plastics

  • Accept used plastics such as nursery pots, carriers or tags

  • Allow any existing plastic stock to leave our farm including pots, carriers etc. Damaged plastic stock screened for its ability to be recycled and will be sent to a responsible recycling facility. 

What does this mean for you and the plants you bring home from the farm? 

Instead of those horrible plastic pots… 

Your plants will be “gift wrapped” with untreated burlap and twine.

Earth- friendly…

  • compostable, renewable and great for plant roots! 

  • Plants will naturally air-prune their own roots while wrapped NO MORE POT BOUND ROOTS!

  • Plant with or without the burlap will quickly resume root growth when planted.

  • Burlap holds moisture for the roots whereas plastic simply drains and wastes precious water resources. 


No more forgotten plants dying in dried out pots.

We’ve all done it~ brought home pots of plants only to forget to plant them. Weeks or even months later we discover they are long gone…

You won’t forget these new wrapped plants!

Just plant the bundles into the soil within 2 weeks of purchase.

While they wait to be planted give ‘em a spritz of water to keep moist until planting. This will keep the burlap & root ball damp. Also keep them out of direct hot sunlight so they don’t ‘fry’ as your potted nursery plants do.


Plant tags & other plastics 

If you’ve been to the farm, you know I’m a big fan of wooden plant tags. Simple & Natural.

Each plant species will still have a ‘Fact Sheet’ with all the deets about soil, sunlight, etc Feel free to take a picture to save to your Pinterest garden boards or in your photos.

But what about when you get the plant in your garden? Don’t you still need the plastic tag? 

Friend- we are both smart enough to look up a plant's needs for water, sunlight etc.

With Pinterest, iNaturalist, Google and more at your fingertips there is really no need for a plastic ‘fancy’ plant tag. We are also talented gardeners who can use a pencil & paper to draw a garden map or take a picture with our camera! 

No need to keep finding 30 year old plastic plant tags in your garden soil! 

Your next question is…

“HOW DO I CARRY MY PLANTS WITHOUT A PLASTIC TRAY OR CARRIER? “

Use the same items you normally would: ANYTHING WATERPROOF! 

Even plastic pots will drain water, spill soil etc onto your car’s carpeting! The burlap wrapping is tight against spills but it maybe damp. 

So you’d still want to use something to protect your car’s interior like water-proof wood boxes

Over the past 2 years I have witnessed your GENIUS plant carrier ideas here at the farm.

Here’s some of my favorites: 

  • Collapsible wagons & pretty baskets including a polkadot one!

  • Rows of old sneakers holding quart pots in the trunk

  • Old laundry baskets or totes

  • Vintage wooden boxes like apple crates

Heck one fella even had a kiddie pool for his weekend plant shopping last year! 

One thing is for certain ~ gardeners are really creative people! 

Like these fun garden marker ideas by Clarissa over at Creative Green Living~

Aren’t these sooo much nicer than those plastic tags!

Standing up against plastic means we all need to get creative!

We need to think beyond just recycling & reusing. To take more expansive approach of NOT buying into the plastic cycle in the first place AND recycling/repurposing the plastics we all ready have.

If you need inspiration check out my farm’s new & growing Pinterest board “PLASTIC-FREE GARDENING IDEAS”

Wrapping up…

I know our stand against plastics is not a 1 blog post conversation.

But I know in my heart that this is the right thing to do for our farm and the only planet we have.

This just the beginning my friend!

Together we’re starting a conversation about the health of gardens, families and planet.

We’re finding old ways and new of gardening without plastics.

Sure the path to plastic-free gardens won’t be easy.

If it were every nursery & gardener would be standing up against plastics too.

But together we’ll find there are lots of lessons to be learned and creative solutions to be discovered.

We hope you’ll join us!

What do you think about plastics in your garden, community and the world? How do you stand up against plastic pollution in your daily life?

Tell us your thoughts & ideas on reducing plastic waste below…

Share this exciting news with your gardening pals

Melanie Cutillo https://www.lazydirtflowerfarm.com
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