Terracotta long toms

[willow]

Hello, I have a small collection of cacti, and have potted them up into terracotta long toms, they are approx 7cms diameter and approx 10cms deep. I have read in some places that terracotta is not good as it leeches out water and nutrients from the soil. I would like to keep them in terracotta long toms as I think they look nice! Is there a way to line the inside of these pots to make them non porous? At the moment the plants seem to be happy enough and an astrphytum rewarded us with a flower! The soil is a mix of John Innes no 2 , course sharp sand , red clay cat litter, and limestone chippings.
I would apreciate advice on this if anyone has lined their pots?
Many Thanks in advance!
Willow
PS Have read some quite heated discussions on the subject, so it seems that its neither right or wrong, personal preference. I do know my plants dry out fairly quickly.i

[greenknight]

You can paint them with a sealer, sure. Google "seal terracotta pots", you'll find a whole lot of advice about different products you can use.

[iann]

Only use long toms if they are appropriate for the roots. Useful for Lophophora williamsii, fatal to Mammillaria plumosa.

Using porous pots to compensate for overwatering is wrong, or to be as tolerant as I can be: "second best". If you water too much then the answer is to water less, or more probably less often. Watering and then deliberately evaporating the water is only really the way to go in exceptional situations. Quickly evaporating water is far worse than just being wasteful and teasing the roots, it leads to all sorts of problems such as limescale deposition, nutrient leaching, or salt build up. The "first best" way to do it is only to water when and as much as the plant is prepared and able to take up through the roots.

[willow]

Thank you for the reply. Looks like reptting next spring but into sealed terracotta! I have 2 ariocarpus agavoides and 2 astrophytum asterias and I think are slow growing.
Thanks
Willow

[greenknight]

Yes, they are slow-growing. Those both have deep roots, too; the pots you're using are appropriate (if sealed).