Are you wondering what container gardening is and the best way to do it? Do you envy the house on the corner of your street that looks fantastic with its wide array of colorful pots and plants? Here we discuss all you need to know about container gardening.
In areas where a planted garden is impossible, planting in containers or pots can be a perfect solution. Container gardens solve many gardening problems and are easy to care for.
Gardening is a great pastime. It is relaxing, beautifying, and provides food and shelter to beneficial species. But what if you cannot grow a traditional garden? Should you give up your gardening dreams? Pack in your flowered gloves and muddy spade? Wait just a minute; many of the hindrances to a traditional garden can be managed or eliminated by planting a container garden.
What Is a Container Garden?
A container garden is as it sounds; plants and vegetables are arranged and grown in flowerpots or containers.
The pots are often grouped together to make a beautiful flower or vegetable garden. They can provide a lush landscape to any location, from a patio to a perfectly manicured, bright green lawn. And why would raising plants in containers be preferential to planting them in the solid ground?
Why Use Containers For Gardening
Well, there are a few reasons. One of the best reasons to consider container planting is that you have complete control over the soil in the pots. And with a bit of research, you can tailor the soil to the exact needs of the plants that you want to grow. Your choice of plants could be drastically reduced if your yard contains poor, rocky soil, but if you use potting soil in the containers, you can still grow a wide variety of plants. If your yard is predominantly silt or clay, many plants won’t have hardy roots that could thrive in such conditions, but container planting solves this issue, too. In addition, roots can wreak havoc on concrete sidewalks and patios, but planting in containers will prevent this.
And, bonus, container plants are easy to take care of. Containers usually need very little in the way of weeding, and aggressive plants won’t take over your whole landscape when kept in containers. This cuts out a lot of the gardening chores. You will have to re-pot or replace the dirt in the containers each year as the plants use up the nutrients. And container plants often need more water and fertilizer to stay healthy because of the smaller amount of soil.
Plants For Container Gardening
You might be surprised how many plants grow well in containers. Most annual flowers grow exceptionally well in pots, often growing to striking and impressive size and beauty. Perennial flowers and grasses, and even bulbs like lilies and amaryllis, do well in pots as well. And since container gardening is becoming so popular, vegetable plants and even small shrubs are becoming more container-friendly.
If you lack space, have problematic soil, or are new to gardening and want to start slow, try out a small container garden around your home.
Vegetable Container Gardening For Beginners
Most vegetables, like peppers and tomatoes, need at least six hours of direct sunlight per day. Therefore, each vegetable will need to be accurately assessed to thrive. In addition, vegetable containers give you the ability to move them out of the sun into the shade when required.
As many vegetables love the hot sun, some do not like the cold soil. For many, the ground needs to be no less than 60 degrees. So when the temperature drop using containers allows bringing your vegetable plants inside.
Here are a few vegetables that generally grow well in container gardens; tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens, zucchini squash, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, peas and potatoes.
Tips For Beginners Using Vegetable Containers.
- Keep the soil evenly moist at all times.
- Use high-quality potting soil.
- Do not transfer the soil from your garden into the containers as you may be transporting soil-borne diseases.
- Make sure soil has fertilizer mixed in when starting, then every couple of weeks, provide them with the nutrition they need, such as diluted liquid seaweed or liquid fish emulsion. You can also buy or make compost.
- Make sure your container has the proper drainage. Make sure the container has holes and if the container already has holes. Place a coffee filter over to keep the dirt from coming out when adding the soil.
- Choose your container. There are wooden, self-watering, ceramic and DIY containers.
- Lastly, choose your seedlings or seed and enjoy.
If you are looking for landscape design and a maintenance company for your residential or commercial property, contact Fernandez & Sons today.
