How to Choose Plants for Container Gardening

Though you can grow any type of plant in containers (provided you have given the proper growing condition), it is always a good idea to start with the container friendly varieties. While choosing transplants ask for those which are container friendly. If you are growing from seeds; look out for words like bush type, dwarf, container friendly etc. In the seed packet.

Before choosing any plant you need to consider the placements of those containers. If you have planned it for indoor gardening then not all plants would be ideal. Here is a list of top indoor gardening plants which you might wanna try. Whereas if you are putting those in a place where they will receive ample sunlight the range is much broader. Here are some of the options which generally goes pretty well with the containers:

Growing vegetables is probably the most popular form of container gardening. It gives you fruits and veggies at your convenience. Veggies such as Tomato, Okra, Spinach or Onion can grow really well.

Herbs is a very good choice for planting in containers. They are good aesthetically and also easy to grow and can be a great substitute for vegetables. You can definitely try your hands on Oregano, Thyme, Cilantro etc.

The next choice can be Perennials. There are many reason to grow perennials in the first place. They can be like herbs or fruit bearing or can be just simply woody.

Last but not the least you can try your hands on bulbs and rhizomes like ginger.

Type of containers:
Depending upon your plants variety you need to choose the containers accordingly. For instance plants which are perennials or shrubs or some big plants like tomatoes you need to choose larger pots. There are various types of pots available in the market. A rule of thumb is that the container should not be less than 12 inch depth and 8 inch wide. Sometimes you have to switch to larger pots.

Make sure the containers have drainage hole at the bottom.

Potting mix:
You can buy them from any nursery store nearby or you can make your own. Here is a list of different growth media which you can try. It is always beneficial to add compost with the potting mix.

Type of compost: 
You can choose to prepare it by yourself or you can also opt for the commercial one. Once you have decided on the type one option is to mix a good amount of it with the soil mix at the time of planting or you can also plan to fertilize it once it starts growing rapidly.

Taking care of your plants:

you need to add slow-release fertilizer from time to time depending on the the type of plant you have planted. Fruit bearing plants require a lot more nutrients and water than the rest of the plants. So take that into consideration.

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Container Gardening A great Motivator

As the name suggests, Container Gardening refers to growing plants in different containers rather than planting them directly into the ground. In todays world when the limitation of time and space has been felt like never before, container gardening seems to make more and more sense. It allows you to grow any plant in anywhere in the world which earlier was never thought of. Poor soil, lack of space are no longer an excuse for abandoning the excellent hobby of Gardening.

As I am writing this article, the popularity of container gardening has exploded through out the world. Plants in different pots and containers can be seen from lawns of bungalows to the rooftops of urban apartments in every country. Those have given an entire different color and texture to the landscaping.

But before going any further let me first give you some reasons for starting your own container gardening:

Container Gardening can be the best gardening option for the beginners. Even a rookie can start gardening in very little time.

It can be very economical. No need to waste much more time and money with starting with normal garden. Where most of the initial costs involved preparation of soil bed, weeding, fertilizing, suitable area for gardening etc. you can start with a single pot, little bit of soil or soil-lessmix, and some seeds or just one or two sidling.

You don’t need big space to do container gardening. You can use your terrace, stoop etc. Just make sure you are getting ample sunlight there. When you are having space constrains the container gardening is the best available solution to your problem.

Container gardening can liberate you from the geographical problem you faced while gardening in your traditional garden. It is said that “you can grow Cactus in Alaska” by using container gardening method.

Portability is another big advantage of doing container gardening. While teaching your child Botany, you can definitely give some live example by bringing your container to the study room, make your child associate with the plants without leaving the study room.

You don’t need to worry about critters which may have destroyed your garden earlier.

Here are some nice looking containers available on Amazon

There is almost no plant that you cannot grow in a container. Vegetables, herbs, flowers plants, even trees can be grown through container gardening. You just need the container of appropriate size.

So if you found yourself  interested in pursuing container gardening, I request you to please read on. Container gardening process is very similar to that of  traditional gardening with little fine tuning.

The first thing you need to start a container garden is to find an suitable Container. You can use almost anything in the world as a container as long as it is big enough to sustain the root growth of the fully mature plant and it has proper drainage. As they say in case of container gardening “size does matter”.  Try not to use a container smaller than 12’’. Even a five gallon plastic bag can be used as a container to start gardening.

Drainage is very essential in container gardening. Make sure your container has sufficient drainage facility like some holes at the bottom.

Try to use quality potting soil or make your own by using different soil-less media which I have discussed earlier. You can use your garden soil also but make sure that drainage of the soil is maintained. Using your garden soil also restricts your vegetables or other plants choices as per you local geographic.

As the source of nutrition is limited inside the container, you need to add fertilizers from time to time. Try to use organic fertilizers(like compost), as it will benefit you in the longer run.

You can start from seeds or by transplanting seedlings. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Choose the option that better suits you.

If you are growing vegetables it is almost necessary to put your container where there is ample sunlight. Plants which are only cultivated for leaves or stems can grow without direct sunlight. You can check the effect of sunlight on the growth of different plants in my earlier article Sun or no Sun.

Unlike traditional gardening you need to take proper care in case of watering plant. As there are no source of water which the roots can reach you need to put water at regular interval. The details of watering techniques can be found here.

As I am a strong believer of “slow but steady” style of growth I will always suggest you to start with small and then achieve the bigger goal with continuous growth. Try to start your container gardening with plants which are easy to grow such as tomato, pea, eggplants  etc than move up to the higher difficulty level such as squash or melons.

Thanks for reading. Like to receive your feedback on this.

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Which Container To Use In Container Gardening

Container gardening these days is very common. Gone are those days when a strip of land was necessary for practicing the wonderful habit called Gardening. Now anybody can start their own garden if he/she has the interest to start. When we talk about container gardening, the most important word is container. Many people have asked me in the past about the containers. What material is good for the plants? is it necessary to plant in earthy pots only? Can we plant in metal containers? So I have decided to write an article on the very basics: About the various containers which you can use for planting.

Following are some of the various materials used for making the containers which we use in container gardening.

Terra cotta: These are good value for money. Usually in reddish orange in color, these can be in found in many color and texture. Their earthy looks make them suitable for almost any garden. The porosity of the material helps the excess moisture to evaporate and allow plant roots to breathe.  To make their water retention capacity better, the unglazed side of the pots is sometime fired with glass like coating. These are waterproof and can hold moisture better than the normal unglazed one.

Plastic pots:Plastic pots are very common these days. They can be found in many shapes and sizes. You can also use your old bottles to plant. They are clean and non-porous and easy to move from one place to another.

Wooden pots: Pots made up from rot resistant red wood or cedar can be useful for planting. They provide very good insulation from weather outside. To prevent the pots form rotting you can also add some sand (at least an inch deep) at the bottom of the container and then put the soil.

Fabric pots: These are ultimate portable containers. These are made up of fabric these are rot proof as they are usually made up of polypropylene. They look much more like terra cotta or wooden containers.

Concrete pots:  You can prepare concrete pots of your own or you can buy it from outside. These are weather resistant and durable. On the other side, these can be heavier than the other pots.

Metal pots:  Pots made up of brass, copper iron etc can look aesthetically very superior.  Many planters use them to enhance the beauty of their gardens. If you are using metal containers it is advisable to keep your containers far from the direct sun light. These containers can get very hot in the sun and can harm the plant. It is also not easy to make drainage hole in the metal containers.

Biodegradable pots: these pots are made up from bio degradable materials like peat moss or coconut coir.  These biodegradable pots are very useful for sensitive plants like Lupins. These pots are designed as such that you can put them into a larger pot. The roots grow through the material and after some time the pot decomposes and thus it minimize the root disturbance.

If you are doing container planting it is a good idea to use self watering containers. We have discussed the basics of seal watering container in our last article. You can find it here. 

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