Autistically Planted

Let's talk about the benefits of Terracotta!

Terracotta is made from baked clay. it's naturally a very porous earth based material, which means it allows air and water to pass through the walls of the pot. hence why the outside of the pot will become physically wet when you water your plants!

in turn, this results in healthy, happy plants as it greatly minimizes the risk of root rot and disease that occur from over watering.

on the other hand, this causes the soil to dry out quickly, which means we are watering our plants a little more frequently.

is terracotta a great choice for all plants?

plain and simply, no, it isn't.

if you have plants such as monstera's which prefer to have moist soil, you will want to avoid terracotta pots.

but if you have plants that prefer to dry out between waterings, or succulents and cacti, terracotta is a great choice for you! the moisture wicking capabilities of terracotta can be a real life saver with our succy friends that are especially prone to root rot, as it ensures they aren't sitting in wet soil for longer than they would like.

if you are a vegetable gardener looking to use terracotta, you absolutely can, but you want to make sure you sterilize the pot extra well beforehand. the porous nature of the pot means it can absorb harmful chemicals that can contaminate your veggies.

if you notice chalky, white looking areas on your terracotta pots, don't panic.

while they can be visually unappealing, they aren't at all harmful to your plants. what those spots are, are salt deposits from the water being pulled through the pot.

cool right?

have you ever found slugs or snails in your plants?

they don't just show up in outdoor plants, they can be a problem with indoor plants too.

they tend to go unnoticed as they typically only show themselves at night, when most people aren't looking at their plants.

but we still occasionally find them in our plants, and they can have some detrimental effects to the plant they are inhabiting.

they eat the plants, and they lay eggs in the soil leading to a snail/slug party.

there can be an easy solution to getting rid of them though, a cost effective one for those of us planting on a budget!

coffee grounds.

coffee is a natural deterrent of snails and slugs.

upon discovery of any pest, you want to repot the plant in fresh soil as there can be critters/eggs in the soil, but you also want to make sure you are doing something to ensure any stragglers aren't hanging around, or you'll be stuck in a viscous cycle.

after you've made your morning coffee, save your used grounds. mix them in to the fresh soil that you are using to repot your plant, and voila slugs/snails be gone!

they don't like coffee, so they will take a hike, ridding you of your pest problem without having to spend a dime!

How do I know when it's time to repot a plant?

Slide 2 is exactly how to best tell when a plant is ready to be repotted.

As you can see the roots are not only visible through the drainage hole, but they are growing out of it. That tells me it has run out of room to continue growing and the longer I leave it in there, the more I risk it getting rootbound causing the plants health to decline.

When I took the plant out of the pot, I could see that it was at the start of becoming root bound (slides 3 & 4). Before I could repot it, I had to separate the roots and take off as much soil as possible (slides 5 & 6) so I could get a better idea of what size pot I needed, and allow it to continue growing properly in it's new home.

There are a lot of people that tend to stick to one style of pot whether it's terracotta, plastic, or ceramic. I use whatever the heck I have laying around as long as it's safe for the plant.

My partner brought home this old pot for me to use as a plant pot (slide 7), and he added drainage holes to the bottom of it so that it wouldn't kill my plants! Special shout out to him for adding drainage holes to all my unconventional pots 😂💛

Typically when you repot a plant you only want to go up to the next size (if it was in a 6" pot, you would want to put it in an 8" pot), to avoid having too much free space around the roots. Ideally you don't want more than 2" of space between the edge of the pot and the plants roots at any given point.

Fun fact: you can usually trim up to 30% of a plants roots without causing the plant to go in to shock!

"I know a few folks are wondering what plants I currently have for sale.

At this time it is only spider plants!

I wanted to start off with a singular type of plant so that I wasn't overwhelming myself right from the get go.

I will say though, I will have succulents available in the very near future, so keep an eye out for when they become available!

Thank you all for your incredible support and patience as I start this journey 💛"

GIVEAWAY!

What better way to celebrate the launch of my small business than with a giveaway including goodies from other local small businesses!?

I have purchased goodies from these other creators for one lucky person to enjoy! And yes, there are goodies for any fellow Autistic/Neurodivergent folks too 💛

What you'll win:
• a custom Necklace of your choosing from
• a lined Holay Smiley Notebook, F*ck Racism Vinyl Sticker, and Hey I Think Your Deadly Vinyl Sticker from
• 1 8oz Lavender & 1 4oz Sweet Pea handpoured soy wax candles from
• Plant Lover Acrylic Keychain and Plant Lover Mug from
• Orange Bike Chain fidget from .shopp
• Sloth Marble Maze, Mini Popper, and Acupuncture Pressure Ring from
• a Large bag of Soil (suitable for houseplants, succulents, and cacti), Hawaiian Variegated Spider Plant, Donkey's Tail Succulent, Graptoveria Moonglow Succulent, and Split Rocks Succulent all from

Head on over to our Instagram account to find out how to enter to win all these awesome goodies!