April 2014.
Inspired by a candle container made from a coconut she'll, I decided to try using the idea as a pot.
The first coconut I got was from the supermarket and it had the whole husk on still so stripping it all off was hard work! However I did also then try to use the remaining husks after drying as potting mix for the orchids... Thus was not very successful, perhaps because I didn't chop it up small enough.
Drying out the coconut was also a long process. I did this in the oven on a very low heat because we don't get sufficient sun to do the process adequately on the balcony...
The result was a very "rough and ready" look with some of the husk still left on the side of the shell.
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| A bad photo of the original coconut shell pot from Oct 2013 |
Cutting the shell was a bit of a challenge though because I didn't have a strong enough saw.. But I managed to hack 2 holes, top and bottom, in it so that it would also drain well...
Later on, I discovered a place which sold coconut drinks in shells which were already de-husked... Bingo! That took away a lot of hard work. And the shells have a much cleaner finish! Adding to that, I also finally got around to buying a decent saw so I was finally able to cut the shells more neatly.
The results are in the photo... I also recut the older shell so that the opening was larger as I realised that it the potting material did not dry out properly otherwise. The top part of the shell is also used as a stand so that the shell doesn't roll on its side.
