J.D. Rockefeller - Container Gardening for Beginners: How to grow a bounty of food in pots, tubs and other containers

How to grow a bounty of food in pots, tubs and othercontainers

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015 by J.D. Rockefeller. All RightsReserved.

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Photo 1: Container gardens add to the beauty of yourfront porch

Are you really interested in growing your ownfood? Would you love to have your own vegetable and herb garden,right at your home? If yes, what is it thats stopping you? Is itbecause you dont have a backyard to have your own garden or is itbecause you have limited space in your small urban high-riseapartment?

Limited space should not restrict you fromhaving your own garden. All you need is a little bit of planningand you can have your own container garden!

Container gardening is perfect for thosepeople who just dont have any ground space available. You can growyour own flowers, your own herbs, and your own vegetables. You canuse planter boxes, hanging baskets and large flowerpots. Small,hanging and gorgeous looking containers and baskets actually add aunique and natural look to your home decor as well.

It is not at all a difficult task to getstarted with gardening in containers and pots. But you will achievemore success if you keep certain things in mind while planning yourown sweet little garden. The purpose of this short guide is to helpyou get acquainted about how to choose the right containers, how toprovide the right food for your plants, and how to select the rightplants for your garden.

Use the container garden ideas given in thisguide and in a few months time you may just be using your ownhome-grown herbs and vegetables in your meals and your own flowersfor decorating your home!

The first thing that you need to get startedwith your container garden is the right pots. You can either buynew containers and pots for this purpose or just pick a broken orunused one lying in your home. Just keep a few things in mind whilechoosing your containers and you will surely get the best resultsin gardening.

MATERIAL OF THE POTS

Pick a container that suits your style andthe decor of the place where they will be displayed. You can choosebetween wood, terracotta, ceramic, clay or metal.

Plastic pots are not a good idea for plantinga vegetable or flower garden since the ultra-violet rays of the suntend to damage them.

Wood tends to rot. So, if you plan on usingwooden containers, use redwood and cedar. The pot should not betreated with toxic compounds since they may damage the plants.

Clay is quite porous, so if you plan on usingclay pots, watch out for moisture loss.

SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE CONTAINER

Pick a container that has a wide opening anda capacity of about 15-20 quarts. This provides ample space toaccommodate the roots and allows the plant to grow freely.

The size and shape of the plant you wish toplace in the container will also determine the size of the pots. Tobe on the safe side, choose a container with the maximum size thatyour place can accommodate. This ensures that there is enough rootspace for all types of plants to grow.

The size of the container will also depend onthe structure where you wish to place your plant. The structureshould be able to hold the container easily without anypressure.

If you plan on moving your pots, avoid largepots since these can be difficult to move around.

WATER RETENTION

Heat can cause quite a lot of damage to theroots of your plants. If you live in an area where the sun is quitehot, go for light-colored containers since these reduce heatabsorption.

If you are using a hanging basket, you canuse sphagnum moss to improve the retention of water for yourcontainer plants.

DRAINAGE FOR THE POTS

Drainage could be a matter of life and deathfor your plants. So, make sure that your plant has a drainage hole.If it doesnt have one, you should be able to drill a hole into thecontainer to make it suitable for your vegetable gardening.

For medium and small-sized pots, the diameterof the drainage hole should be at least half-a-inch. If the pot islarge, consider a hole with a diameter of one inch.

For preventing soil loss, line the base ofthe pot with a newspaper.

Drainage can be further improved by settingyour containers and pots on bricks.

Photo 2: Lovely flowers can bloom in the rightcontainer

Once you have chosen your containers and arequite sure that these will be perfect for your home as well as forthe plants that you wish to place in them, it is time to get themready for planting. Here are few things to consider while gettingyour pots ready.

PLACING THE POTS

Once filled with soil, the containers will beheavy and you will find it difficult to move them around. So, placethe pots in the right place and then begin filling them willpotting soil.

Afternoon sun is not ideal for your plants.So, look for a place where your plants receive the morning sun butare shaded in the afternoon. This will allow the plants to receiveample amount of sunlight and also reduce the amount of moisturerequired by the plants.

GETTING THE CONTAINER READY

Once you have placed the containers in theideal place, it is time to get them ready for planting. Some peoplebelieve that adding pot shards or gravel in the pot to cover theholes is a good idea. Actually it is not. This does not improvedrainage and they may actually block the holes.

If you want to prevent the potting soil fromdraining out of the holes, place a layer of paper towel ornewspaper over the drainage holes and then add the potting soilmix.