Container Garden 101
Container Gardening Basics
If you grow plants in containers you will have the same benefits as growing plants in the ground, and much more.
This is a Quick guide of container gardening for beginners.
By growing in containers you will have so much freedom to move your plants and have a continuous changing display, you will never get tired of looking at your plants.
Container gardening is no different than a regular garden in the importance of knowing your plants.
You will need to know how the plants grow to provide the best possible conditions, keeping your plants healthy and looking their best.
In order to achieve a healthy happy plant when designing your container garden you need the right container for your plant, sufficient space, adequate drainage, and selecting a suitable container mix (soil). This will give you the best advantage at having a successful container garden.
Gardening in Containers
In the late 17th century Italian, Dutch, and French containers and pots made a huge impact on English gardens with ornate containers, pots, tubs, and vases.
Today modern gardeners share many of the opportunities and challenges faced by these historic gardens. We can grow plants in containers that normally would not grow in your region, including inside our home.
You can create an artificial environment that will fit the needs of almost any plant. However container grown plants are more dependent than plants outside in the ground. Those plants outside in the ground can stretch their roots to seek out water and nutrients. Container Garden plants are dependent on you the gardener for all its needs.
The versatility of containers in container gardens
As stated above growing plants in container gardens gives you flexibility. If your plants do not look good in certain spot you can move them. If your plants are not getting enough sun or to much sun you can move them. You can also arrange your plants to show off your favorite or to high light plants for the season.
Space saving
Having a container garden allows you to garden even when you have little space. If you live in an apartment or condo, if you want to have a garden on your balcony or deck, around a mobile home or rv, or in a tiny yard, container gardens offer you all kinds of gardening possibilities.
The mobile garden
If you are renting, or if you move often you can take your garden with you. The only down side is if you have larger plants in bigger containers. They can be moved but will become quiet heavy. So the size of your plants can be restricted or you will need help to move them.
Terraces and Balconies
Having a container garden on terraces and balconies can provide shelter from wind or protection from the sun for sensitive plants. The only down side with terraces and balconies is you will be restricted to the size of pots or tubs.
Getting started container gardens
Many people with container gardens start off by receiving a plant as a gift. This is a great way get to know the basic needs of plants IE the soil how much light, fertilizer, how much water, humidity and temperature.
Types of containers for container gardens
It is a good idea to have water tight sides and a fairly stable base so the container does not tip over. A good container should resist rot and corrosion.
The number of containers for container gardens are vast, from classic terracotta pots and tubs to colorful ceramic pots and much more.
There is no need to limit yourself to commercially produce containers.
If you look in your house, in your garage, or in the shed you can find many items to make containers for your plants.
Some examples of found items to use as containers could be old coffee pots, old tea kettles, old basins, old wheelbarrows, and even old boots. When it comes to containers for your container garden you are limited only to your imagination.
Selecting the right size container for your container garden
Containers should be large enough to hold the minimum amount of container mix needed by your plants to grow in until they are mature or until you repot them.
Consider the material of your container for your container garden
The material that a container is made from can be just as important as its size. Each kind of material has advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you're growing and where you're growing it.
-Containers made from clay or terracotta look very attractive and they have an extra heavy bottom so plants do not tip over. However containers made of terracotta and porous materials can absorb water that may be needed by your plants so you will need to water your plants extra. If the temperature drops below freezing this can crack your terracotta pots.
-If you have containers made of plastic and fiberglass this allows you to move your plants inside and outside for different seasons easier because they weigh less. Plastic and fiberglass containers will not dry out as fast as those made of clay plastic and fiberglass is usually much less expensive.
-The containers made of wood have the advantage of insulating the roots from overheating in the summer sun. However wood can be a problem because wood does rot. You can use cedar or Redwood because they do not need to be painted and they are brought resistance but many of those are chemically treated and they should be avoided.
Even though some wood planters can be beautiful and different the downside is you will have to replace them every few years.
-Containers made from metal such as lead, cast iron, galvanized tin, wire work, and many other metallic plant containers can look very beautiful. However in hot climates metal containers heat up and cause the plants to dry out quickly.
for more details go to our blog post: What to look for in a Container for Container Gardens
here is a quick blog post on things to avoid in a container
Selecting the right soil mixture for your containers
Using commercial container mixes
for annuals you can use any well drain commercial container mix. Most mixes don't have any complex post or soil in them. They are primarily composed of peat in some vermiculite and Pearl light for drainage. If you use the soil less mixes straight from the bag you'll need to fertilize your plants regularly.
To improve a commercial mix for growing perennial shrubs and trees you can add up to 20% compost or a combination of 10% compost and 10% garden soil. Decompose in the soil provide slow release nutrients and it generally improves the ability of the mix to hold moisture and nutrients. One big bonus of adding compost to your mixture is the microorganisms in the compost. These microorganisms in the compost help to prevent diseases keeps your plants healthy. One of the best potting mixes for containers will always be miracle, like the bag amazon carries below.
Making your own container soil mixes
Making your own container mixes for your container garden allows you to custom blend A variety of different ingredients to match the needs of your plants. Your main goal in making your own mix is to combine ingredients that have a variety of particle sizes. You will also need to add compost as stated above, the compost provides slow release nutrients it also helps to prevent diseases.
Basic Container Mix
This simple blend will work for a variety of container plants.
You will need:
-4 parts peat Moss
-1/2 ounce of dolomitic limestone per gallon of peat.
-1 part compost or half part compost and half part garden soil.
-1 part perlite or vermiculite.
Put all these ingredients in a tub or large container and mix thoroughly. These materials can be very dusty so it's a good idea to wear a dust mask when mixing together
Deluxe container mix
This blend is good for long term plantings including trees shrubs and perennials in larger containers.
You will need:
- 4 parts sphagnum peat Moss
- two parts compost or one part compost and one part garden soil
one part small bark chips
one part perlite
combine materials as you would for the basic mix. For each cubic foot of mix mix the following slow release organic fertilizers:
-4 ounces of dolomitic limestone
-4 ounces of bone meal or one pound of rock phosphate or colloidal phosphate
-1 pound of green sand
-1 ounces of blood meal
- 2 ounces of kelp meal
With this mix your plants will have plenty of nutrients to get off to a great start and you shouldn't need to supplement fertilizing until at least a month after you plant.
Fertilizing container garden plants
Even the best mix can't provide all the nutrients that your container garden plants need. For a nutrient supplement use a liquid fertilizer poured onto the container mix. You can use fish emotion, seaweed extract, or a combination of the two.
For best growth you should feed your outdoor container plants each week. House plants vary in their appetite. Some people feed house plants with very diluted fertilizer each time they water. Regardless of how you fertilize remember to cut back or stop fertilizing during the winter when low light slows growth.
Over fertilizing can produce week lanky plants that is acceptable to disease and insects. Also over fertilizing can make salts accumulate in the soil creating conditions do you roots like. The sure sign of salt buildup is a white crust on the soil surface or on the surface of clay pots. Neptune makes outstanding fertilizers. Below is an organic fish and seaweed emulsion fertilizer I found on Amazon check it out if you need fertilizer.
In summary container gardening gives you the freedom to create beautiful and innovative combination of plants and attractive containers that can be moved around like furniture to brighten up areas of the house and garden. Plants have a huge range of growing habits as well as seemingly endless variety of leaf and flower sizes shapes colors and textures. For the most stunning displays it is helpful to study the decorative quality of plants so you can create the most harmonious and eye-catching blend of plants and containers and achieve A planting thing that enhances the particular style of your home and garden. If you a container garden begginer and are looking for more click creativity and container gardens
