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Organic Container Gardening – Simple and Easy Ways to Grow Vegetables and Flowers in Pots
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Home Page > Home Improvement > Gardening > Organic Container Gardening – Simple and Easy Ways to Grow Vegetables and Flowers in Pots
Organic Container Gardening – Simple and Easy Ways to Grow Vegetables and Flowers in Pots
Posted: May 25, 2010 |Comments: 0
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Organic container gardening is an excellent way to grow flowers and vegetables at home. It has removed the limit that associated home gardening with a large yard space. It makes possible for urban gardeners to grow plants in their high-rise apartments and compact condominium units. It is so space efficient and beneficial that even countryside gardeners still have some plants growing in pots despite owning a sizeable garden area.
The biggest and obvious difference is that instead of planting directly in the ground, you’ll be using containers to grow your plants. But using containers is where the added benefits come into play.
Containers double as barriers protecting plants from soil-born diseases and pests larvae that are present in the soil. It offers flexibility to move plants around as and when needed, to protect from unfavorable weather conditions such as hot summer and freezing winter days, for example. It allows for easier plantscaping, giving you more freedom to design a functional and attractive organic garden, as often as your whim dictates. Best of all, organic container gardening makes it possible to bring your garden indoors where you can enjoy the same benefit as you would outdoors.
And if that’s not enough, growing plants in pots is also fairly easy and requires no special effort. To illustrate the point, here are seven simple ways to grow vegetables and flowers in containers.
1. Choose the size of the container based on the size of the mature plant and its root system. Plants with expansive root system need large containers. The size and material of the container affects its ability to hold moisture. But moisture-retention capability can be improved through the soil or by lining pots with non-porous and non-absorbent materials. Choose decorative pots with provision for collecting drained water for indoor plants. Choose durable containers that can withstand the elements for outdoor gardening.
2. Ensure that containers are fitted with enough drainage holes to prevent standing water. Line the bottom of the container with coarse gravel to ensure proper drainage.
3. Start with a good standard potting soil mixture. Add compost to the potting mix to supply nutrient to the plant. Use organic liquid fertilizer to give your plants instant boost. Use slow-release fertilizers for a steady and longer nutrient supply.
4. Place plants in containers where they can enjoy adequate sun exposure everyday. Five to eight hours are recommended depending on the plant’s light requirement. Turn your plants regularly for equal exposure of all side to the sun.
5. During extremely hot days, move your plants under a shade to avoid wilting. Consequently, move them indoors to protect them from frost once winter sets in.
6. Water plants in containers more frequently than you would plants in the ground. Containers can only hold relatively small amount of soil and dry out quickly. Don’t water too often. Overwatering will suffocate the roots causing them to rot. Frequent watering also washes away the fertilizers in the soil. Don’t wait until your potted plants start to wilt before you water them.
7. Maintain 1:1 plant-container ratio for bushy flowering plants and vegetables. If you’re going to grow more than on plant in a container, make sure that they have the same sun, water and fertilizer requirement. Don’t have too many plants in a single container. Overcrowding impedes good air circulation that plants need.
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Nova Person is an organic gardener and has tried different ways of growing plants, flowers and vegetables at home. She found out that it’s even easier to grow plants in containers that’s why she became an advocate of organic container gardening
.
To get a free copy of her newsletter or to read more articles about her organic gardening secrets, visit Nova’s The Organic Home Gardening Secrets site at: http://theorganicgardeningsecrets.com/.
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Nova Person is an organic gardener and has tried different ways of growing plants, flowers and vegetables at home. She found out that it’s even easier to grow plants in containers that’s why she became an advocate of organic container gardening
.
?
To get a free copy of her newsletter or to read more articles about her organic gardening secrets, visit Nova’s The Organic Home Gardening Secrets site at: http://theorganicgardeningsecrets.com/.
Hot Pots: Container Gardening in the Arid Southwest
Price: $11.62
Hot Pots: Container Gardening in the Arid Southwest
Product Description
Bring life to your outdoor space: detailed information about creating a decorative yard, patio, or balcony in arid climates and discusses the variety of plant options available. Award-winning author, Scott Calhoun, and local nature expert, Lynn Hassler, provide a unique approach to container gardening by creating a title that is specific to the Southwest region. This publication provides detailed information about creating a decorative yard, patio, or balcony in arid climates and discusses the variety of plant options available—from vegetables and fragrant flowers to colorful containers that create an atmosphere of tranquility and attract nature. 90 color illustrations.
Hot Pots: Container Gardening in the Arid Southwest
Check out this video about gardening:
Information about making paper pots and gardening at Dave’s Garden.
Ensure a successful container garden with some basic gardening skills. If you start with the containers, make sure any garden pots made from porous materials (such as wood or terracotta) are sealed with a quality water sealant on the inside of the pot. Otherwise, a lot of the water meant for your plants will be soaked up by the pots.
Water
Not over watering is just as important as it is not to underwater. Placing a bowl or saucer underneath your garden pots will catch any extra water and keep the water from rotting and staining your deck or patio. Filling the saucers up with water is the best way to water your container garden. By doing it this way, you avoid over watering and you keep the water from spilling over the top rim of the saucer. The water actually feeds the roots of your plants by seeping up through the garden pot’s hole in the bottom.
You can also choose to water your plants on the top surface. If so, make sure to fill it a little at a time (about a cup or so) and keep an eye on how much water ends up in the saucer. Its best not to overfill the saucer. Your plants will always welcome a fresh spray of water from a hand sprayer. If you have really hard water from your sink, use bottled or rain water so calcium won’t build up on the leaves.
Plant Food
Since pots are generally small, the nutrients in most potting soils don’t last much more than five or six weeks. Therefore, you will need to replenish the soil with vital nutrients. Plant food generally comes in liquid or granular forms. Slow-release granules are recommended as they last a long time and keep a steady supply of food going to the plants.
Pest Control
Systemic and Contact insecticides are the two main types. The first, systemic insecticide works by pouring it right onto the soil where it gets absorbed through to the root system of the plant. From here it goes right up the stalk and to the leaves where it is ingested by the bugs when they eat.
The other type, contact insecticide, is sprayed directly on the pests. You may need to repeat this method depending on how much infestation there is but contact insecticides work rather quickly.
With sufficient monitoring and loving care, you are sure to have a thriving container garden with satisfying results.
David Haines has been working in gardens since his early childhood. He has always been interested in learning new gardening and landscaping techniques and helping educate others. If you would like to know more about the subject of garden pots, visit AllGardenPots.com
For container gardening ideas, search the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a pleasing container garden design. There are an unlimited variety of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small house-plant pots to large boxes and planters. Equally variable are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. What you select will depend on availability, cost, background, and appeal not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.
Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to traditional circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms—square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jelly tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, old sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to roadside mail receptacle. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists, are worthwhile if painted or covered to improve their appearance. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas.
Where to find your container supplies? Start with what you have. If you scout cellars or basements, attics, garages, and sheds, you will doubtless encounter something interesting. Old-fashioned pots and kettles, often sold in antique shops at country auctions or seen at old New England inns, have much appeal.
Other container garden ideas are to consider old cookie and bean jars, pickle and other types of crocks, wash tubs, coal pails, jardinières, and ceramic bowls. For drainage, spread a thick layer of large pebbles or broken pieces of pots or bricks at the bottom and then water plants with care. In large containers of this kind, drainage material should be several inches thick. Where rainfall is heavy, be sure to keep garden containers without drainage outlets on porches, under awnings or the broad eaves of houses. With pails and old galvanized wash tubs, holes can be easily punctured at the bottom.
Plants in containers without drainage openings remain moist longer. Some of these—crocks, jardinières and cookie jars—are heavy enough to be secure against wind in outside container gardening.
What constitutes the ideal container for your container garden ideas? A container must be attractive, even if it is not an object of art. It should be strong and durable and able to resist all kinds of weather. This is especially true of the large sizes, which usually remain outdoors all year around. In the North, alternate freezing and thawing is a problem in winter (and could cause cracking); in tropical climates, excessive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered (and could cause fading). And in semiarid areas, there is the effect of scorching sun to keep in mind, another cause of fading. All these things must be kept in mind when coming up with your container gardening design.
The ideal container must be large enough to hold a substantial amount of soil. It should have good drainage facilities through holes or other openings at the bottom or sides, though this is not absolutely necessary. It must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a wide enough base to rest firmly wherever placed. Besides, it ought to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe storms, like hurricanes and tornadoes, movable containers can be shifted to temporary safety. All of these things should be factored in when you are coming up with your container gardening ideas.
Resistance to rot is another requirement. Wooden containers—except those made of rot-resistant redwood, Western cedar, and Southern red cypress—will need to be treated with a wood preservative. Except for permanent containers, the ability to move your container garden is another feature, and sometimes a safety precaution, of portable container gardening. Large boxes and planters can be fitted with wheels, and garden centers have redwood tubs that rest on platforms with wheels. A hole in the platform corresponds to the hole in the tub. Large containers without wheels can be pushed on iron or wooden rollers by two or more persons; however, if you live in an area prone to disastrous storms it is best to keep your containers small.
Smaller containers are ideal for growing herb container gardens. If you plan to plant an herb container garden be imaginative Here are some container garden ideas for herbs that go well together.
For an Italian selection try Sweet basil, Italian parsley, Oregano, Marjoram and Thyme.
For a lovely scented container use Lavender, Rose scented geranium, Lemon balm, Lemon thyme, and Pineapple sage.
For really great salads try Garlic chives, Rocket, Salad burnet, Parsley, Celery.
And to say “We love French Cooking!” use Tarragon, Chervil, Parsley, Chives and Sage.
Any of these will liven up your cooking and please your family.
So these are just a few container gardening ideas. Get out a pad of paper and make up a container garden design that will please the eye and maybe even the palate
Happy Container Gardening!
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com, http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com, and http://www.GardeningHerb.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews.com
When you are ready to mix ingredients for your container garden, be sure the soil is damp and workable. To determine this, take a handful, squeeze it and allow it to drop. If water comes out, it is too wet; if it breaks apart, it is too dry. But if the lump of soil retains its shape or cracks just a little when it is dropped, it is in good condition to work into your gardening pots.
Be certain your garden containers are clean when you start. Soak used or new clay gardening pots overnight so they will not draw moisture from the soil after planting. This is a very important step when you are beginning your plants life. If the pot draws off the moisture the new plant will be deprived. Clean dirty clay pots with a stiff brush and hot, soapy water. Clean gardening pots will be much more attractive in your container garden.
Though redwood, cedar, and cypress gardening pots may be left natural, they may also be stained or painted. First clean the surfaces then apply one or two coats of stain or paint. Let dry completely before planting. Concrete, metal, plastic, fiberglass, and similar materials all need cleaning before planting your container garden.
Suiting plants to garden pots is very important in container garden design. Consider the shape of each container, its color, and texture in relation to the color of flowers and foliage, as well as the ultimate size of each plant in your container garden. Don’t choose material that is too small, and if you want a group of plants for a large container, select one tall specimen for the center to give height and scale. Don’t forget that you can plant vegetables in container gardens; try to incorporate them into your container garden design. And, for a tasty addition to your container garden plant herbs in garden containers or even hanging baskets, your recipes will become marvelous.
In low pots or bulb pans and in tubs, use low-growing plants like fancy-leaved caladiums, petunias, verbenas, Iantanas, ageratum and wax begonias. Hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils are also appropriate. In tall containers, plant specimens of geraniums, heliotropes, coleus, balsam, dwarf dahlias, fuchsias, and marguerites. Reserve the larger container pots and boxes for trees and shrubs or roses.
As a gardener, keep in mind the form of plants, particularly the evergreens which stand out boldly in winter. Rounded types, as clipped yews or globe arborvitae, look well in angular containers. Hollies or yews, sheared into squares or pyramids, look better in circular tubs. This contrast of the curving with the straight always gives interest to the garden and those guests that visit your container garden.
The first step in potting for a gardener is to place sufficient drainage material in the bottom of each garden container, allowing the water to pass through freely, but not so much as to interfere with the roots. An inch or two of flower pot pieces (rounded sides up), or chips of brick or flagstone, pebbles, gravel, small stones, or cinders can be used. The larger the container, the larger the pieces should be. Some gardeners spread a piece of coarse burlap and a layer of sand over large drainage pieces. A layer of Vermiculite or sphagnum moss over the drainage material is also fine to keep soil from clogging holes. If the holes clog the roots will drown in their gardening pot.
Above the drainage, spread a layer of soil, the amount depending on the size of the container and the root ball of the plant. Place the plant in position so that the surface of the soil will be an inch (more for big plants) below the rim of the container. This space is needed to hold water.
Fill soil in around the roots, firming gently with your fingers or a piece of wood so as to eliminate air pockets. Add more soil and firm, but do not make the soil too tight for fine feeding roots must be able to penetrate it with ease.
Finally, water your garden container plants well, let them drain. If water passes through the gardening pot very rapidly, press soil again to firm it; that means there are air pockets. If the soil holds water too long, loosen it a little.
Place the container garden in a sheltered spot out of sun and wind for the first week while they make new root growth and adjust to new conditions. This also helps to avoid shock. Once your plants have settled in, you ready to arrange your container garden according to your original container gardening design.
Happy Container Gardening!
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews
About the Author
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com, http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com, and http://www.GardeningHerb.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews.com
For container gardening ideas, scan the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a lovely container garden plan. There are a widespread collection of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small-scale house-plant pots to sizeable boxes and planters. Equally varied are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with select advantages and disadvantages. What you choose will depend on availability, price, background, and attraction not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.
Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to run-of-the-mill circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms such as square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jam tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, aged sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to a roadside mail container. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists are worthy if painted or veiled to upgrade their exterior. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas.
Where to find your container supplies? Begin with what you possess. If you explore cellars or basements, attics, garages, and sheds, you will doubtless encounter objects of interest. Old-fashioned pots and kettles, usually sold in antique shops at rural auctions or observed at old New England inns, have much attraction.
Different container garden ideas to ponder are old cookie and bean jars, pickle and other types of crocks, wash tubs, coal pails, jardinières, and ceramic bowls. For drainage, scatter a thick layer of substantial pebbles or shattered pieces of pots or bricks at the bottom and then moisten plants with care. In substantial containers, drainage material should be many inches thick. Where rainfall is hefty, be certain to keep garden containers without drainage outlets on porches, below awnings or the under sizable eaves of house. With pails and old galvanized wash tubs, holes can be easily punctured at the bottom.
Plants in containers without drainage openings stay wet longer. Some of these—crocks, jardinières and cookie jars—are massive enough to be secure against the elements in exterior container gardening.
What constitutes the perfect container for your container garden ideas? A container needs to be attractive, even if it is not an object of art. It should be sturdy and lasting and able to resist all kinds of weather. This is especially true of the substantial sizes which ofttimes continue outdoors all year around. In the North, alternate icy and thawing is a predicament in winter (and could generate cracking); in blazing climates, intensive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered (and could cause fading). And in semiarid areas, there is the impact of searing sun to keep your attention, another source of fading. All these things need be kept in mind when coming up with your container gardening design.
The perfect container must be vast enough to hold a sizeable quantity of soil. It should have super drainage facilities through holes or various openings at the bottom or sides. It must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a wide enough base to perch firmly wherever placed. Further, it needs to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe storms, like hurricanes and tornadoes, movable containers can be shifted to interim safety. All of these things should be factored in when you are coming up with your container gardening ideas.
Resistance to rot is another requisite. Wooden containers—except those made of rot-resistant Redwood, Western Cedar, and Southern Red Cypress—will require treatment with a wood preservative. Except for lifelong containers, the capability to move your container garden is another quality, and sometimes a safety precaution, of portable container gardening. Sizable boxes and planters can be equipped with wheels, and garden centers have redwood tubs that perch on platforms with wheels. An opening in the platform corresponds to the hole in the tub. Sizeable containers without wheels can be pushed on iron or wooden rollers by two or more people; however, if you live in an area inclined to severe storms it is best to keep your containers small-scaled.
Smaller containers are ideal for cultivating herb container gardens. If you plan to plant an herb container garden be imaginative. Here are some container garden ideas for herbs that go great together.
* For an Italian selection try Sweet Basil, Italian Parsley, Oregano, Marjoram and Thyme.
* For a pleasing scented container use Lavender, Rose Scented Geranium, Lemon Balm, Lemon Thyme, and Pineapple Sage.
* For utterly extravagant salads try Garlic Chives, Rocket, Salad Burnet, Parsley, Celery.
* And to say “We love French Cooking!” use Tarragon, Chervil, Parsley, Chives and Sage.
Any of these will liven up your meal and please your family.
So these are just a few container gardening ideas. Get out a pad of paper and make up a container garden plot that will add to the view and conceivably even the palate.
Happy Container Gardening!
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com To read more of her articles go to http://www.ArticleBazaar.net
For my whole life I’ve loved being in the garden. When I was young it would be impossiable to get me out of the garden, where I spent most of my days with my grandmother. All summer I would spend the days of summer at my grandparent’s farm. My grandfather game me a proposal, work in the garden or study American histroy. It was simple in my mind because I loved being outside in the garden and didn’t like school at all.
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