The Basics of Container Gardening
Containers are a great way to surround yourself with green and colorful growing things when space and gardening time is a premium. Plantings in containers can be moved to enjoy full sun or take refuge in cooler shady spots. They can be located on balconies, rooftops, porches, decks, patios or front steps. They can block out an undesirable view or act as a privacy screen.
By planting tender perennials or herbs in containers, you can move them into shelter in winter, and keep them alive for years. A pot of cooking herbs set near the kitchen door will provide easy snipping for your meals. Plants in containers can even go with you when you move, and give you a familiar cheery touch in your new home.
Almost anything can be used as a container for plants, providing the pot fits the plant. Halved whiskey barrels make great containers for small vegetable patches. Strawberry jars with pockets can double as a herb garden. Stone troughs, large drain tiles, wheelbarrows, old metal boilers and even large tin cans can be used as containers. There are many containers available to make a cover-up for plants in their black plastic nursery containers.
In choosing containers for your plants, make sure they provide good drainage for water. They must also be large enough to hold soil to support the plants you will be putting in them. Most plants will need soil at least 8 inches deep. Remember that small pots and earthenware pots will dry out quicker than larger ones of plastic. One way to prevent the soil from drying too quickly is to set a container within a larger one, so the sun’s heat does not directly heat the container with the soil.
Good drainage is vital. Roots need air in the soil to survive, and waterlogged soil will soon allow the roots to rot. This can happen very quickly. If you buy a container with no holes for drainage, drill a large hole in the center of the bottom or several holes in the midline of the bottom. Decorative cans such as large olive oil containers can have the bottom cut with a can opener. Cover any drainage holes with a piece of screen or spread a layer of gravel or long-fiber moss to prevent soil from washing out the bottom
Because the amount of soil in a container is limited, and the roots can not extend freely to find necessary nutrients, you will find that container plantings will need more frequent feeding than garden plants. Plant a container with groupings of plants with similar needs of sun, water and soil type together.
Container plantings do best if they are not allowed to dry out. They may need watering every day in hot weather. By grouping potted plants together, you can moderate the drying effects of the sun and wind, and also make watering simpler. Plants in clay pots dry more quickly than those in plastic. If a lot of bare soil is exposed, they will also dry out faster. Mulching the surface can reduce water loss.
Container plantings can solve many of your landscaping problems, filling in odd spaces, adding interest and color to a front stoop, or just livening up a balcony or patio with refreshing greenery.
