Strawberry's And Lead

[cjphx]

So here is the deal this year our family decided to turn the cabbage we grew into sauerkraut. For this my mother decides she needed a sauerkraut crock, so she sent my father to the store to purchase one. Well he didn't want to spend the money on it so he ended up at the swap market and came home with this 20 gallon planter pot thinking it was a crock. It is glazed on this inside and it would probably work for sauerkraut but we decided the other crock would be better. Needless to say we can not return the original pot he purchased which is now sitting in the backyard. As I mentioned it is glossed but we do not know if it was coated with a lead based coat or another potentially dangerous product. So I wanted to fill it with soil and grow some strawberries in it but was wondering if it was coated with lead would it affect the strawberries. Thanks

[Kisal]

Pottery is one of my hobbies. It has been many years since I mixed my own glazes, but I'm pretty sure the planter will be okay to use. The only glazes I know of that are risky are some of the reds/oranges. Even those are mostly safe, except when used to serve acidic foods, such as tomatoes. Years ago, there was a problem with the orange glaze used for the original Fiesta ware dishes, but the glaze formula has been changed and the modern ones are food safe.

I think the most important question would be does the container have drainage holes in the bottom? If it doesn't, you can use a power drill with a masonry bit to create some. Your strawberry plants will not do well in the container if it doesn't provide good drainage.

[cjphx]

Yes your right, I did not mention that I have already drilled holes in it because it will be used as a planter no matter what the only question involves will the plants produce fruit or just flowers. Thank you for your answer

[Tom the Elder]

I don't know the odds that your pot has a lead glaze, but why take a chance? Lead is more hazardous than most people realize. I'm not sure of the numbers but, as best I can recall, studies have estimated that something like 15-20% of the reduction in crime over the past 10(?) years is likely due to cleanup of lead based paint. Testing by an analytical lab is probably about $15. You need to ask them how much you would need to scrape off to provide a large enough sample.

[applestar]

I've never tried using them so I don't know how effective they are, but you can buy lead testing kits. I think they only cost around $10~$15. They're usually described as for use in testing ceramics and glass....