Hot Trend in Urban Gardening – Container Planting
Gardening is no longer just for people who live in the country.
Growing trees, flowers, fruits, or vegetables, through container
planting, can be grown easily even in large cities.
The biggest trend in gardening today is container planting. If
you have even a small porch, balcony, or patio, you can have
containers to hold and grow herbs, vegetables, and flowers.
Options for containers are practically endless, from half whiskey
barrels, to metal, plastic, wood, baskets, or regular flowerpots.
The following guidelines will help you choose the right
container for your space.
Container Selection
The opening of the container needs to be wide enough for the top
of the plant to fit, while having enough room for your hands to
work with the plant as well. Containers with narrow openings are
not good options.
Avoid using cheap plastic containers. They are weak, deteriorate
in sunlight, and simply don’t look very nice.
A reasonable option are clay and terra cotta pots. They quickly
lose moisture because of the pores in the clay, so you need to be
careful that your plants are getting enough water. Glazed
ceramic pots work really well as long as they have drainage holes
at the bottom so the plants aren’t sitting in too much water for
too long.
Any wooden container can rot over a long period of time, but
redwood and cedar planters resist rot well. If the wood is
treated, choose ones that are not treated with creosote or other
toxic compounds. They can create vapors that damage your plants,
and if you are planting things to eat, the chemicals will be in
the food as well.
Your containers should hold from 15 to 120 quarts. If the
container is too small, the roots won’t be able to spread out
enough, and the soil will dry out too fast. Plants, such as
vegetables, that have deep roots, will need deep containers.
Like a captive fish or reptile in a pond or cage, the larger your
container is, the larger the plants will grow. Use smaller
containers to keep your plants small (about a 12″ diameter pot).
If you want a plant to grow larger to potentially transplant
later, use a large container that is at least 24″ in diameter.
The drainage holes in the container should be 1/2 inch wide. The
inside of the pot should be lined with newspaper so the water can
drain, but the soil will remain in the pot.
It the container will be subjected to a lot of direct sunlight in
hot climates, use light-colored containers so that it absorbs
less heat. This will help encourage root growth.
In order to allow the container to drain freely, you should set
it on bricks or blocks.
In hanging baskets, line the container with sphagnum moss and
keep it out of direct late day sun. This will help to retain
moisture and keep the plants from drying out.
Soil or Potting Mixture
When choosing a planting mixture, you
need to find one that drains quickly to avoid over saturation,
but retains enough moisture so the roots can remain moist
throughout the container. Compost should be used in your
container to give your plants nutrients. Use very good potting
mixture if no compost is available. Because the container will
drain more quickly than the earth, the fertilizer will wash away
more quickly. You should fertilize more often because of that.
