How To Plant A Container Garden

Container gardens are a good option for those who want to have a flower garden, but do not have the space for a flower bed. Container gardens are also good for those who may have the room for a regular flower bed, but want some flowers in other locations, such as a patio, or a corner of the yard away from a planting bed.

Obviously the first thing that you’ll need for a container garden is a container. Practically anything that will hold soil can be used as a container garden. You can choose something like a terra cotta flower pot or ceramic container that you can find at your local gardening store or you can choose something more unusual. If you want something unique, your options for containers are almost unlimited. Whatever container you choose, just be sure that it will drain water. A few holes drilled into the bottom should suffice.

A container garden can be used to add your own unique touch to your garden; you just have to choose a container that reflects your personality. For a slightly whimsical garden, you can use an old watering can for a container garden, or perhaps an old bowl and pitcher. For something even more unique, you can let your imagination run wild. A pair of boots, an old claw foot bathtub, or even a toilet can be turned into interesting container gardens.

Once you have your container, you need to fill it with soil, and start planting. You may want to put some landscaping fabric in the bottom of the container to prevent the drainage holes from getting clogged with soil. If your container is large, you may want to partially fill the container with empty water bottles, or Styrofoam peanuts, and then fill the rest of the container with soil. This will reduce the weight, and make it easier to move your container garden if you want it in a different location.

When choosing plants for your container garden, you can either choose plants with contrasting colors and textures, or plants with complimentary colors. Try to vary the size of the plants in the container. Plant something tall in the center of the container, or in the back of the container if it will be against a wall or a fence. In front of this, use a smaller plant for some variety. Along the edge of the container, use plants that will spill over the side. This three layered planting method provides some interest to the garden.

You don’t necessarily need to follow the planting instructions exactly. If you are using annuals in your container garden, you can pack them together, since they will not have the chance to grow and spread. Just give them some room to spread, but do not leave gaps.

A container garden is ideal for adding a touch of color to a corner of a patio or yard. You can even plant it several times a year, using different flowers for different growing seasons. With the right container, your garden can even reflect your own unique personality, making your garden your own.

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Container Gardening Can Be A Profitable Hobby

Many people are getting into gardening these days, partly because it is a great outdoor and family activity, and partly because it is convenient to have fresh produce in the backyard. Nearly anyone can grow a few veggies whether they have a garden space available or not. It only takes a small area to create a garden plot; just 10' x 12' would supply the needs of a small family. Even those people who rent an apartment or live in a condo can try container gardening to grow a few salad vegetables.

With today's rising food costs, it makes sense to purchase a few packets of seeds and a few potted plants to get a garden started. It is not necessary to have a lot of garden equipment to be successful at growing a small garden. Just a hoe, grub rake, a small spade and a water hose are enough once the garden space is prepared.

If you are starting from scratch by digging up a small area of the lawn, there will be some energy and muscle required. The sod should be completely removed, deep enough to make sure all the grass roots are gone. These roots regenerate quickly even if they are covered by dirt, so make sure there are none left. Then add enough garden soil and peat moss to refill the hole, using about four times as much garden soil as peat moss. If composted manure is available, use some of that for fertilizer. You can also use commercial fertilizer if no compost is available.

It is exciting to finally plant your garden, but it is important to plan before you plant. Make sure you purchase seeds and plants that will grow well in your climate, and carefully follow the directions on the seed packets and potted plants. Tomatoes are a healthy fruit (although most people think of them as a vegetable), and they grow in nearly any climate. Most do not need a long growing season, they can easily be grown in a container and they yield a lot of produce. Tomatoes are tasty in salads, sandwiches or just sliced with a sprinkle of salt.

Do not forget the other salad veggies that are easy to grow. They include several types of lettuce, carrots, radish and onions. Beets are also easy to grow and you can add the small leaves to a salad, cook the root as a vegetable or pickle them for later use. All of these vegetables can also be grown in containers, so even if you do not have garden space you can still grow the ingredients for a great salad.

Green and yellow beans are very easy to grow, either in a garden or in a container as a pole bean. They are healthy as well as tasty, and any excess you have can easily be frozen or canned.

Unless you are someone who is away from home most of the time, growing your own vegetables during the warm months makes a lot of sense, is fun and also economical.

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Improve Your Home And Diet Through Container Gardening

Once you have been container gardening for a while and had some success, you may be ready to ramp up your efforts by going for style as well as nourishment. You may be surprised to learn that lots of veggie plants are not only edible, but also attractive. In this article, we’ll give some recommendations for some of the best looking edible additions to choose for your container gardening project.

Presentation is a very important part of attractive container gardening. You may be tempted to just line all your containers up against a wall or put them all on a balcony rail, but this is not a very creative idea. Instead, try ranging them out at different heights and levels. Place some of your larger containers at ground level, but do creative things with larger containers on racks, shelves, tables and railings. Hanging plants are attractive and fun, and hanging pots make a great way to grow strawberries and even tomatoes.

You can also create interesting planters for strawberries and other clingy, climbing sorts of small plants by creating a planter wall. You can do this with wire hanging shelving, with wooden palettes or with just about any other kind of building material your imagination can come up with. Just be sure there is enough room for roots to grow and plants to spread. This can be a freestanding divider or you can attach it to a galvanized metal or concrete wall that will not be damaged by the dampness.

If you want something big and beautiful that can actually give you some privacy on your balcony or patio, try planting some big pots of okra. This vigorous plant is great looking and a tremendous producer. There are lots of great ways to eat okra. It can be added to soups, lightly stir fried or sauteed, or deep fried.

If you do decide to plant okra, be sure to gather it all when it ripens. It will quickly become too tough to eat. Luckily, okra is easy to preserve by freezing or pickling. Pickled okra is very delicious to snack on!

Just because you are focusing on veggies doesn't mean you shouldn't have some flowers, too. Adding self-seeding annuals such as marigolds, zinnias and various wildflower mixes can fill in blank spots in your veggie planters and add color and variety to your container gardening project. As a bonus, you can enjoy cut flowers for your table and, with care, these additions will return each year so you won’t have to plant them over and over again.

You may also find some very attractive and unusual kinds of fruits and veggies by exploring the world of heirloom seeds. These are becoming more and more popular as people become frightened by the specter of genetically modified foods. Heirloom varieties are old-fashioned varieties that have not undergone any genetic modification or research. They produce the kinds of fruits and veggies your great grandparents enjoyed - natural and safe!

Container gardening is a lot of fun. Just as with anything else, the more you practice, the more proficient you will become. Follow the tips presented here and use your imagination to create an attractive and edible container garden.

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Everything You Need To Know About Container Gardening In A Small Space

Quite often, people start out with container gardening with great intentions but don’t really have the know how to make a go of it. It can be quite common for a hopeful container gardener to do very well with one kind of plant and  not well at all with another but, what do you really need to know and what do you need to do to be successful at container gardening? In this article, I’ll share some great ideas for successful and productive gardening in your little corner of the world.

You may be surprised to find out that there are lots of easy-to-grow plants out there. For example,you can grow a wide variety of vegetables in containers. The key is knowing what kind of soil to start with and what kind of placement of the containers will work best. After all veggies are like people; they know what they like!

The best way to determine where to put your containers is to simply consult the information on the back of your seed packet. The packets will tell you how much sun each type of  plant needs and you will also learn what kind of soil you need as well as how often to water. What could be easier than that?

I think its a great idea to set up several mini-container gardens around your home to accommodate all the different types of fresh vegetables you want to plant. For example, you could keep all your herbs in a nice rack on a sunny kitchen windowsill. Just line the rack with peat moss, add the right kind of soil and plant your seeds or seedlings. For minimum mess, it’s best to put this kind of arrangement above your kitchen sink for easy, tidy watering.

Put larger containers out on your patio or balcony. Patio tomatoes are perfect for this. Be sure to choose the type that is intended for container gardening. These shorter, bushier tomato plants don’t need to be staked to stand up straight, and they are stellar producers.

Make the most of your tomato containers by adding radishes at the base of your tomato plants. They are fast and easy to grow, and they help keep bugs away. For a pretty touch, add some marigolds for more natural bug repelling power.

Bell peppers are another pretty (and tasty) choice for outdoor container gardening. Choose red, yellow, green or all three for an attractive display that are, of course, a tasty addition for salads, soups and other dishes.

Be sure you get the right kind of soil for your container gardening project. Its important to avoid heavy soil. You can get a good commercial mix and add vermiculite, perlite or peat to lighten the soil and provide good drainage - something that also helps to avoid root rot.

You can also compost your own soil mix from kitchen scraps by establishing a compost bin or small compost heap if you have the room. Invest in a batch of garden worms to help you compost your kitchen waste super-fast and make rich potting soil. Remember, though, that you will still need to add vermiculite, perlite or peat to lighten the mix.

It’s also a great idea to use large, high quality planting containers outdoors so that you can easily return to them and change the soil year after year, just like in a standard garden. When you place your containers, don’t worry too much if you can’t provide full sun all day - most plant will still thrive in a mixture of direct sunlight and shade. In fact, six hours of good sun is really plenty for most types of veggies to grow well

Container gardening is really quite simple and lots of fun even in an apartment or home with a small yard. You can amend your family diet and enjoy a relaxing hobby with simple and easy use of a few inexpensive resources. Follow the tips presented here, or visit my other backyard landscaping blog for more information and have  fun with container gardening in a small space.

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