Notes From the Sink: Cleaning Garden Pots

In Spring & Summer I start to think about planting for the patio. Specifically, the terracotta pots that have spent the winter looking sorry for themselves — caked in moss, algae, and the general residue of last year’s planting. 

Before you plant anything new, it’s worth giving your pots a proper clean. It’s not just about appearances — removing old soil, moss, and algae also reduces the risk of transferring fungal disease or pests from last season’s plants to this year’s. A clean pot gives your new planting the best possible start.

My go-to combination for this job is the LoofCo Gardener’s Brush and a bucket of warm water with a good rub of the LoofCo Washing-Up Soap Bar. The Gardener’s Brush has a rubberwood handle and robust coconut coir bristles — firm enough to shift stubborn moss and dried soil from both the inside and outside of a pot, without scratching the terracotta. The Washing-Up Soap Bar lathers up well in warm water and is completely natural, so there’s no concern about residual chemicals near your plants.

I also keep the LoofCo Scrubbing Brush to hand for the inside of pots — it’s a handheld brush with no handle, which means you can apply direct pressure without spraying yourself in muddy water. Satisfying in a way that’s hard to explain to people who don’t do this sort of thing.

Both brushes rinse clean easily, dry quickly, and are 100% plastic-free — so the whole operation, from dirty pot to clean terracotta, involves not a single piece of plastic. Which feels right, given that the whole point is to grow something.

I’m planning red annuals this year. Geraniums, gerberas, busy lizzies, petunias. The pots are ready. Bring on the colour.

— Matthew Clark, Co-founder, LoofCo