Repotting Setup

dlayton

dlayton

Mame
Messages
240
Reaction score
331
Location
Northeast Georgia
USDA Zone
9
Let’s see your repotting setup.

Personally, I’ve always struggled here and it seems like everything I try makes a huge mess, it’s unorganized, and totally inefficient. Feels like I’m all over the place.

I’ve seen some cool tables but they are overseas and I can’t find one in the US.

I thought it would be fun to see how everyone has their setup.

Dare I say, pic required???
 
For years I was happy with this setup. A simple board with two wood cleats glued and screwed on either end. When I was done working on my trees, it was very easy to just set the board to the side. Not in the picture, behind me were two garbage cans - one full of bonsai inorganic mix, one full of 100% pumice. Then I had outdoor shelves loaded with bags of various soil components, fertilizers, etc. I kept my bonsai tools just inside a garage door that was also behind me - close at hand for when I wanted to work. There was a huge advantage to having this board/garbage can setup, because it allowed me to repot my trees while standing, and reduced the time I spent bending over or squatting. When I was working on a lot of trees it made a huge difference.

Note also this was in California where all my green waste had to be picked up. I could not just toss it in the woods like here in NC.

I will have a little bit more sophisticated setup this spring... but still pretty no-frills. And in case you were wondering, no I did not send that orange price tag to the green waste dump :)

repot.jpg
 
Last edited:
I don't have pictures handy, but my favorite way is to get a barber chair w/ a tabletop attached and put a large concrete mixing tub on that. Set a crate inside that and away from you. Then work the rootball on the crate, toward you. This catches all the soil in the crate and eliminates almost all of the cleanup.

I'll try to get a picture when I start (early!) in a few days after this cold is out of here.
 
jeremy_norbury said:
I use a Tidy Tray (made by Garland in the UK) on top of my green recycle wheely bin.
IMG_4317 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

I got 2 more black ones for Christmas this year from my son.

IMG_5411 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

I have smaller trees and everything I have fits in the Tidy
Click to expand...

Very nice. Found the tidy tray on Amazon for anyone wondering! I had seen those before but didn’t know the name!
 
Bonsai Nut said:
For years I was happy with this setup. A simple board with two wood cleats glued and screwed on either end. When I was done working on my trees, it was very easy to just set the board to the side. Not in the picture, behind me were two garbage cans - one full of bonsai inorganic mix, one full of 100% pumice. Then I had outdoor shelves loaded with bags of various soil components, fertilizers, etc. I kept my bonsai tools just inside a garage door that was also behind me - close at hand for when I wanted to work. There was a huge advantage to having this board/garbage can setup, because it allowed me to repot my trees while standing, and reduced the time I spent bending over or squatting. When I was working on a lot of trees it made a huge difference.

Note also this was in California where all my green waste had to be picked up. I could not just toss it in the woods like here in NC.

I will have a little bit more sophisticated setup this spring... but still pretty no-frills. And in case you were wondering, no I did not send that orange price tag to the green waste dump :)

View attachment 580848
Click to expand...
Mine is similar. I have a board over a large sturdy trashcan. Only old soil or mix goes in it though. When it is partially full I use the old mix to fill in holes in the yard or take it into the woods and dump it. When I am ready to pot up or work on the tree, I move over to a work bench with a large dog crate pan underneath. I can pick up the whole pan and take it to the garbage can where it is dumped in with the mix I'm discarding.
 
Bonsai Nut said:
For years I was happy with this setup. A simple board with two wood cleats glued and screwed on either end. When I was done working on my trees, it was very easy to just set the board to the side. Not in the picture, behind me were two garbage cans - one full of bonsai inorganic mix, one full of 100% pumice. Then I had outdoor shelves loaded with bags of various soil components, fertilizers, etc. I kept my bonsai tools just inside a garage door that was also behind me - close at hand for when I wanted to work. There was a huge advantage to having this board/garbage can setup, because it allowed me to repot my trees while standing, and reduced the time I spent bending over or squatting. When I was working on a lot of trees it made a huge difference.

Note also this was in California where all my green waste had to be picked up. I could not just toss it in the woods like here in NC.

I will have a little bit more sophisticated setup this spring... but still pretty no-frills. And in case you were wondering, no I did not send that orange price tag to the green waste dump :)

View attachment 580848
Click to expand...
I like this set up... Will probably make a similar option for over my wheel barrow.
 
Wires_Guy_wires said:
View attachment 580884

I bought a couple of these mats and they're pretty handy.
Folded up they take very little space.
Since they're water proof, I also use one as a tray for indoor plants. It's been holding up for 8 months now.
Click to expand...
This is exactly the same as what I have. I use it mainly for repotting. It's only $10 on amazon and very handy. It holds all the old soil and pruned roots. Then I just unsnap one corner and can neatly pour into the waste pile.
 
Orion_metalhead said:
I like this set up... Will probably make a similar option for over my wheel barrow.
Click to expand...
Check this out, this is my teacher's set up for larger trees. I think its just old shelfing on top of a wheelbarrow, but it works wonders for larger trees you can't easily lift.

1737577514112.png1737577551407.png
 
Orion_metalhead said:
I like this set up... Will probably make a similar option for over my wheel barrow.
Click to expand...
Do the cleats on both sides of the board. When one side gets wet or muddy, you can flip it over and voila! Clean work surface!
:)
 
I'm Hi-Tech... Upside-down trashcan on a tarp...

When done, just pick out large root clumps and other junk, and leave on the tarp in the sun for a day or two (to dry and disinfect with UV). Then sift and store away for use with pre-bonsai that doesn't deserve nice soil yet 🤣

PXL_20230412_151846738.jpg
 
A dedicated repotting station.... *facepalm* Why didn't I think of this? This will cut down on the piles of pumice randomly scattered around my yard!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Matt3839
SoCal conifer repotting questions
Replies
7
Views
524
Wulfskaar
Wulfskaar
James W.
Korean lilac repotting
Replies
7
Views
301
James W.
James W.
WIlliam_Butler_Yeets
Half bare root repotting pines?
2
Replies
24
Views
686
Gabler
Gabler
E
Bought a A. hornbeam @ Kannapolis- I have a repotting question.
Replies
11
Views
524
Shibui
S
A
Repotting Dwarf Jade soil!
Replies
8
Views
301
dbonsaiw
dbonsaiw
Back
Top Bottom