This week’s selection is the 3D printable Seed Starter Pot by Printables contributor LaForest Labs.
This 3D model is exactly what its name suggests: it’s a plant pot designed for starting garden plants in the spring.
The 3D model is broken into two parts: the corrugated wall and a removable bottom. The design recognizes the needs of early spring plants, where one risks ripping off roots as they are removed from the pot. However, this pot’s removable bottom eliminates that possibility.
LaForest Labs recommends printing this item in TPU, and for a good reason. Removing the pot for re-planting must be done quite delicately, and the flexible nature of TPU should allow that to happen easily without damaging the plant.
The corrugated walls are also designed to encourage root growth, according to LaForest Labs. Note the location of the new roots in the image at top, where the wall shape clearly has focused growth.
In my experience with regular plant pots, the roots tend to collect around the bottom edge, but this design clearly will result in a more healthy plant with a far superior root structure.
It is spring, and many are now preparing their gardens for the 2023 growing season. It’s time to get those vegetables in motion, and now you can do so with 3D printing.
Via Printables
