Repurpose: Korean Hot Pot becomes a Cachepot

I found this vintage Korean hot pot at a stoop sale – Brooklyn’s equivalent to a garage sale – just as the seller was packing up. He said if I wanted to carry it home, I could have it. 

The pot is about 10 inches wide and 7.5 inches deep and with the lid, it weighs a little over 30 lbs. I just love the rustic look of the rough granite and it’s 3 handles meant to rest on a metal stand over an open fire. It was destined to be a Cachepot; meaning in French cache to hide and pot a pot. A Cachepot is a planter without drainage. It will hide a plastic pot with drainage holes.

Drainage is a must for both indoor and outdoor plants. I plan to keep this planter in a sunny spot inside. I have a 9 inch wide plastic pot with drainage holes and I cut it to 7 inches tall. It is not visible when it is in the planter and I can take it out, water away in the kitchen sink  and let it drain for a good hour before putting it back.

River rocks are another way to help with drainage. Anywhere that sells pots and planters will sell river rocks. River rocks are best used with plants that like it dry such as succulents. River rocks are layered at the bottom of the planter, under potting soil. Therefore, nothing is removed for watering.

An advantage of the Cachepot/planter with a removable interior pot is that you won’t get water marks or mineral build up on the planter. 

The plants featured here are Black Sweet Potato Vine/Ipomoea Batatas and Variegated Sweet Potato Vine/Tricolor Ipomoea.

Images by the author.