How to clean pots with no hot water?

Time_to_Change_2

Hi
I have an area that I'm turning into an allotment and have acquired some pots and gardening equipment to make a start however I know that I will need to wash all of the old garden tubs etc before I can grow any of my own veg. The trouble is I don't have any hot water which is what all of the sites are stating that they have to be washed in.

How does everyone clean their pots etc at allotments where there is no running hot water? I have access to a hosepipe with running cold water but is this sufficient?

Im v new to this so any help would be great.

Thank you!

andrewf75

I've never heard that you are supposed to wash things and I certainly never have

Ebe_Scrooge

I've also never bothered to wash pots etc. But if you're worried about pests, diseases etc. then a soak with good old-fashioned Jeyes fluid, followed by a thorough rinsing, should do the trick.

Davesnave

Very few things you'll grow on an allotment need sterile pots!

It might be worth doing with very small, fine seed prone to damping off, but most of us, without the time to write gardening books, just don't bother. A quick rinse is all they need.

Farway

Phew, thank heavens you all replied as I was thinking yesterday when I read the OP

I was about to post don't bother yesterday, then thought of all the do it by the book folk who would just love to pick holes in it

So now it is safe for me to agree, just knock any soil out, rinse if you want to, or leave to dry in the sun and use

I was always told, by my Granddad, that all this washing pots was something dreamed up for gardeners to do during the winter. He should have known 'cos he was one on a large estate before WW1 [Carpenders Park FYI, before it was built on]

By gardeners I am referring to the paid ones on His Lordship's estate, not us hobby ones. The folks in the big house did not want the paid help doing nothing in winter months

look on it as call up squadies whitewashing coal, keeps them out of mischief

elsien

I do go them a rinse in cold water and a quick scrub with a brush if I've left the pots out and they've accumulated some slugs eggs. That's about my limit.

DaftyDuck

It was more important with the old earthenware/terracotta pots, but even then was probably more done by those who wrote books than those who actually gardened!

If you want hot water, and have a hose, leave it coiled out in the sun for an hour, then run the water slowly. In mid-summer you'll get scorching hot water from a black hose but, even now, you'll get pretty warm water.

Fosterdog

If you really want to wash them in warm water take a flask of boiling water with you or a camping stove and pan to heat it in.

Misslayed

I reuse my plastic pots and trays without washing them, never had any problems I could attribute to it. I agree with Farway, sure it was something dreamed up by the head gardener to keep the numerous under gardeners out of mischief! Along with sieving compost and crushing broken pots with a pestle and mortar.

Time_to_Change_2

fab thank you for all your responses! I have hosed down the greenhouse today (it was a bit of a state) and it is ready for use, I've collected the pots, some had snails in so I will just hose them down in cold water and leave them to dry in the sun.
Id read it on websites that you had to wash in hot water with either washing liquid or baking soda to get rid of bacteria??? I thought it was odd as I'm sure most allotments don't have access to hot water.

I shall start potting tomorrow and see how it goes - I hope to start using this forum much more and will start reading some threads for inspiration.

Thank you!!

Davesnave

I'm sure it's worth having sterile pots if growing really fine, expensive seed, like begonias, where fungus diseases can be a problem. But for the average run-of-the mill veg, it's unnecessary.

It's like fishing books telling one how to present a dry fly accurately to well-fed trout in crystal clear chalk streams, whereas most of us have half starved wild things in our rivers, which only need something vaguely fluffy thrown in front of them to induce a good response.