Soil in patio tubs

Is it possible that this would leach out from the bottom of the tubs? they all have stones at the bottom with the soil on top but I always seem to have this mud on the patio which I sweep up, where is it coming from? after heavy rain it is splashed up the sides of the tubs as well. I have a few raised beds but they have bark chips on the top. Does the rain bring mud down?

Val

 

Rain is not clean water
Some soil will wash through, there also could be ants or woodlice under the pots

 

Well I have just looked at the pots again and the soil is definitely leaching out!!!!!! So how do you prevent this from happening? What should I cover the drainage holes with which will stay in place when I put the soil in? Can't believe it, I have about 14 tubs out there and they are all leaking soil.

Val

 

How thick is the layer of stones? I put quite a thick layer of horticultural grit or polystyrene in my tubs and I don't think I've ever had one that leaks.

Also, how long have the plants been in the tubs, ie when was the last time they were re-potted? Could it be that the roots have taken up a lot of the space and are forcing the soil out?

 

The layer of stones isn't very thick I didn't think it needed to be, just to cover the drainage holes!
The plants were only put in last year so it def. isn't that, no you are right there isn't enough stones at the bottom!! I can hardly bear to think about the solution though which would be to tip them out one by one and re-do them!!!!!

Val

 

can you lift the pots up on to something, have you any plastic saucers if you have then you can place the saucer under the drain hole and catch the soil and tip out when full for the time being

 

Val , can't understand why the soil is washing out , with or without stones / crocks in the bottom of your planters . I have quite a few planters and don't really notice any wash out . You could try putting the planters on pot saucers like below . They are available in all sizes and a few colours.

 

I did think about saucers and looked for some square clear ones but on Amazon they are over £10 per saucer!!!!! The tubs are quite big so needed big saucers. There's no way round it other than to re-do them but I'm thinking of using something else to cover the holes as well as stones like some membrane or J cloth material. This stuff looks excellent but you can't buy it here!
http://www.betterthanrocks.com

Val