A Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening
Many people view container gardening as something you would only do if you can’t grow your plants in the ground. While it is true that there is something to be said for working in a garden bed, a container garden can have a lot to offer. You can even use garden containers as a way to supplement your garden bed or enhance your backyard landscape.
Container plants can be more space-efficient than a garden that is in the ground and it also comes with the added benefit of making the plants portable. You can move them inside or outside, or to different areas of the yard depending on your needs or preferences. You also have a lot of container planting ideas that can give you more options for the types of plants you can grow.
If you are new to container gardening, you do need to understand that it is different from gardening in the ground. You will need to learn how to plant a plant in a pot and how to care for your container plants.
Choosing Garden Containers
You are going to need to learn a little about the containers you are going to use in your garden. Drainage is one of the most important points for DIY container gardening. If the pots don’t have good drainage, the soil will get waterlogged and it can damage the roots of your plants.
Size is another important consideration. Some plants will be fine in small garden containers, but others may need more space for the roots. If you are growing trees, weight can be important. If the pot is too light, the weight of the tree can make it top-heavy.
You should be able to find good pots at your local garden center or home improvement store. If you’re looking for garden planter ideas, make your own pots out of things like coffee cans or a 5-gallon bucket. All you will have to do is clean the container out and use a cordless drill to make drainage holes at the bottom.
Soil
Whether you are working on a patio garden or growing indoors, soil quality is going to be important. In general, finding a good potting soil means looking for soils that drain well and resist compaction. With that said, there are different types of plants that may require different types of soil.
When you do fill your garden containers with soil, you want to fill them to about an inch or two from the top of the container. You also need to understand that you may need to change the soil or repot your plants every few years.
Light
Make sure to place the container in an area that will have enough light for the type of plant you are growing. Some plants might need sunshine for most of the day, but there are plants that will do better in the shade. Additionally, you might want to rotate your pots occasionally. By giving your container plants a small turn once a week, you can provide even sun exposure to the entire plant.
Watering Your Container Garden
Container plants usually need to be watered more frequently than your traditional garden. Instead of watering on a schedule, you should go to your DIY container garden once a day and feel the soil. If it is dry, you should provide water.
When you do water your plants, you want to water the soil evenly until you see water starting to come out of the drainage holes. If the weather is very hot or dry, you might want to consider giving the plants and their leaves a light misting, too.
A tool like the Hydroshot 20V Portable Power Cleaner can be good for providing your DIY container garden with a mist. Along with different pressure settings for cleaning, the adjustable wand also has a watering setting that creates a gentle mist.
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is another important concern for container gardens. The first thing to know is that container garden fertilizer is different from the fertilizer you would use on your lawn or in a garden bed. Depending on the types of plants you are growing, you would usually want to use a water-soluble fertilizer or the slow-release fertilizer pellets.
Sharing a Pot
One of the nice things about container gardens is that you can allow different plants to share the same pot. With that said, this can make things a little more difficult. If you are going to put two or more plants in the same pot, you need to make sure they have similar needs for things like sunlight, watering, and fertilizer.
Container gardens can work for a wide variety of plants. You also have a range of garden planter ideas that can work in almost any yard. Once you get the hang of the basics of container gardening, you might even find that it provides better results for some of the plants you wish to grow.
Create a beautiful DIY container garden with tools from WORX!
