I kinda had an a-ha moment, or maybe it's a duh moment. There has been much discussion about what is the best type of pot or bag in which to start cuttings. There are the little baggies, there are plastic cups, 32 ounce clear containers, etc.
I'm sure there are many good ways to do it, but I had sort of settled on 32 ounce clear plastic containers with a bunch of holes in them (I use a soldering iron to make the holes).
They work pretty well for three primary reasons:
1. they allow me to see what's going on and
2. they are large enough that the cutting can stay in there for a long period of time, probably until it is time to go outside and
3. they are durable enough to be re-used for many years.
However, they have some drawbacks as well. The three major ones are:
1. They are very stiff, which means it can be difficult to take the cuttings out when the time comes. I have had to actually use a knife along the sides to cut them out.
2. They promote circling of the roots.
3. It is easy to over-water and create a soupy mess that can hurt cutting success rate.
I've started using fabric grow bags/pots and have been pleased with the results. So I thought why not try something similar for rooting? What if I took regular plastic mosquito screen from the hardware store and cut it into rectangles? For example, If I wanted something 4 inches in diameter and 10 inches high, I would just cut a rectangle 12 inches high and 4 X pi (12.56 inches) long. In other words approximately 1 square foot. Then roll it up and staple it together. Fill with potting mix, and voila. I can get a 100 sq ft roll for $20, meaning $0.20 per pot.
I would retain all the benefits of my clear plastic containers except durability. But at that price, who cares if they only last one season? Seems like they wouldn't really have any drawbacks, except possibly they could dry out quickly. However they could be placed in a humidity bin if one was going out of town for a couple weeks, and I'm sure they'd be fine.
Anyway, seems like a very cheap and effective solution with readily available materials.
Any thoughts? Has anyone tried anything similar?