Container Gardening
However tiny your gardening space, size is no limit when
gardening in a container! You can harvest a crop of vegetables
or enjoy a whole garden's worth of colorful flowers from even the
smallest patio or balcony when using containers. Ceramic pots,
wooden boxes, barrels, wheelbarrows even old bathtubs are just some
of the containers suitable for planting. The only limit is
your imagination!
Choosing your container
Make sure your container has adequate drainage.
You may have to drill holes in the bottom to make sure excess water
can drain away. Place gravel or broken pot shards at the
bottom before adding soil so that water can escape, but dirt
won't wash out.
Be aware that some wooden containers may eventually
rot. Unfortunately, treating the wood with preservatives may cause those
chemicals to leach into the soil of your container and damage plants,
so instead try to choose a rot resistant wood like redwood or cedar.
Experiment with whimsical containers like bathtubs,
wheelbarrows, old stoves, metal buckets or a birdcage lined with moss.
Even an old workboot can be charming with a delicate flower trailing
from it! Just make sure your container allows for adequate
root growth, especially if you are growing root vegetables like
carrots or potatoes.
Soil mixtures
Although you can use soil or compost from your garden,
you will get the very best results by using soil made especially for
containers. Purchased soil means that you are getting the clean,
weed and disease free mixture that is so important when growing in
containers. As well, if you have been troubled by any type of
blight or disease in your regular garden area, you want to avoid
reusing that soil in your containers.
Be sure to fertilize
Fertilizer is essential when growing plants in a
container. Add a mild solution every time you
water or feed the plants once a week with a slightly stronger mixture.
For any fertilizer, read the directions carefully as plants in containers
can be more susceptible to burning if you put on anything too strong.
Sunny or shady?
Beautiful containers can sit in sunny or shady areas. Just make sure that the plants you choose are right for the area you
plan to place your container garden. Generally vegetables
will need lots of sun, but there are many colorful flowers,
vines and smaller trees that will thrive in pots placed in your shady
areas.
Whatever you plan to grow you will be delighted when
you discover the fun of growing plants in every size and shape of
container. For more
container planting ideas visit some of
these retailers that we have reviewed.
