Container Gardening - A how-to guide for the novice gardener
A great way to spruce up a back porch, patio, or pool area at your home is by decorating with containers of flowers. Don’t have a lot of room for a garden your yard? Container gardening is a great way to grow vegetables as well. Containers aren’t limited to flower pots. You can use planter boxes, wooden barrels, baskets, aluminum tubs, buckets and many more. Take a look around your garage, you just may find something that is suitable for container gardening.
When beginning container gardening, there are some things you should consider and some simple guidelines to follow.
First, you need to choose containers. Following are some hints when choosing containers for container gardening:
- Pay attention to the type of material flower pots are made of. Cheap plastic pots may crack and deteriorate in hot sunlight, and terra cotta pots may dry out quickly. Using a glazed ceramic pot with several drainage holes is a good choice.
- Avoid containers that are small and restrict root growth. A good size to use is between fifteen and 120 quarts in size. Also avoid containers that have narrow openings. When growing vegetables that grow deep roots, be sure to use containers that are deep.
- You can build your own wooden containers for container gardening, but you must be careful of the type of wood you use. Some types of wood are susceptible to rotting. Redwood and cedar are strong woods that would not have to be stained or painted.
- Be sure your pots and containers have enough drainage holes to allow water to drain properly.
- Lighter colored containers are a smart choice in hot summer weather as they absorb less sunlight thus extending the life of the containers.
Another consideration when container gardening is the type of soil you will use. Compost is a great choice for flowers and vegetables. You can also buy potting soil or make your own from sand, garden soil and peat moss. There are also “soil-free” potting mixes available from garden centers that are great to use because they drain quickly.
In general, the average amount of direct sunlight needed for container gardening is at least five hours. Whether growing flowers or vegetables, be sure to check the sunlight requirements when choosing the area for your container gardening. Most plants in containers will need to be watered daily in hot and dry weather and if they get a lot of direct sun.
Some great flower choices to plant are begonias, petunias, geraniums, marigolds, pansies, snapdragons, alyssum, and zinnias. A few vegetable choices are tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, and beets.
For more information about container gardening, go to your local lawn and garden center or do some research online.