Container Gardening Tips and Techniques
Many people believe that container gardening is simply a way to showcase a few flowering annuals or specimen perennial plants. Although it’s true that patios, balconies, porches and decks all sport an elevated ambiance when adorned with pots of colorful, thriving ornamentals, culinary herbs and vegetables can also easily be grown in containers. Urban dwellers who participate in the trend of inner-city personal food production often grow most of their own fresh vegetables in small outdoor spaces and even fill up available sunny windowsills with pots of herbs and vegetable starts. Those who live in rural areas or otherwise own homes with ample outdoor space for growing a large garden often use also use containers to grown specialty items in or to fill with commonly used herbs and place near the kitchen door for quick harvest during busy meal preparation times.
If sales of items such as heirloom vegetable seeds to city dwellers are any indication, urban farming is an important trend with the potential for serious staying power. Driving through any urban center in the country will show balconies and patio areas crammed with pots of edible vegetation. Even people who live in the tiniest apartments can find a way to grow at least a small portion of their own food.
Enhance Meals With Fresh Herbs Growing Outside the Door
Easy access makes home cooks more likely to use fresh ingredients in meal preparation, which is why growing a culinary herb garden as close to the kitchen door as possible is recommended. Containers can easily be used for this and are in fact a better alternative for plants used in cooking than growing them in the ground. Wandering neighborhood animals often mistake ground-level gardens for their own personal powder rooms, and that doesn’t enhance the taste of food prepared with plants that have been used for this purpose. Rinsing and washing leaves and stems after harvest is, of course, advisable, and there are effective ways of keeping cats out of culinary container plantings.
One of the easiest ways is to simply put a physical barrier such as a wire screen around the containers so that cats and birds won’t have access to the soil or the plants. Because it’s possible to grow plants much closer together in containers than in the ground provided top-quality potting soil is used and proper cultivation methods are followed, thick plantings that don’t expose the soil won’t make it easy for cats to misuse the area, and prowling neighborhood felines will probably move on to easier ground.
Location is important when growing herbs and vegetables, so gardeners are advised to choose the sunniest spot available. Herbs grown with optimal sun exposure contain more essential oils and lusher foliage than those left languishing in shade. Desert dwellers can place containers holding vegetables and herbs in locations receiving light shade during the hottest times of day. Those in other climates should take care to ascertain that their herb and vegetable crops receive at least six hours of sunlight per day.
Because all herbs grow well in containers, the best types to grow are whatever the gardener typically uses for culinary or medicinal purposes. Herbs can also easily be dried using a food dryer or simply hanging from the ceiling in bunches in well-ventilated areas. Clean glass jars with snug lids are excellent for storing dried herbs.
Growing Salad Ingredients In Containers
Having a fresh salad for dinner on a regular basis is easily accomplished by determined home cooks. Purchasing heirloom vegetable seeds from a reliable source is recommended as a way to get started. Heirloom varieties have better flavor and texture than hybrid vegetables, and they’re also more resistant to pests and pathogens. Seeds can also be harvested for later plantings and will sprout true-to-form, unlike offspring of F1 hybrids. Some excellent heirloom salad vegetables that are easily grown in containers are bibb lettuce, oakleaf lettuce, watermelon radishes and bambina carrots.
The best type of container for growing a salad garden in is the traditional whiskey barrel that’s available for sale in retail home and garden centers. One such container will grow an adequate amount of salad ingredients for one, two or three people, while two containers will be needed for those with larger families or who entertain often.
Starting Seeds Indoors
Gardeners who want to provide themselves with heirloom herbs and vegetables can sometimes find starts at specialty retail outlets, but selection and availability are often small. Because successfully starting plants from seeds provides many people with a sense of satisfaction and personal accomplishment, starting heirloom vegetable seeds indoors is recommended to those who desire the full experience of sowing, growing and harvesting their own food. Small peat pots are commonly used for this because seedlings are easily transplanted into permanent containers simply by placing the peat pot into the soil and covering to the base of the seedling. The peat will completely dissolve into the soil within weeks, allowing the seedling’s root systems to fully develop.
Seeds are typically started indoors several weeks before the first frost date. Sunny windowsills provide an excellent environment for seed germination, although some people may prefer to start seeds in home greenhouses or to use grow lights, particularly if they are living in a northern climate where frosts can last well into late spring.
Because root systems aren’t competing as heavily for available nutrients when planted in containers as they are when growing in average garden soils, it’s possible to derive more yield per square foot when growing herbs and vegetables in containers. Using a fortified potting mixture or a time-release fertilizer will ensure that plants have optimal access to nutrients.
Creating Edible Hanging Baskets
Hanging baskets full of cherry tomatoes can be placed near a kitchen window or door to provide the freshest possible tomatoes for use in salads, pasta primavera or breakfast omelets. Tomatoes that are grown this way require no staking or use of tomato cages and usually provide an abundance of fruit. Strawberries also perform well when planted in hanging baskets and make a delightful early-morning treat or accompaniment to an evening glass of wine.
Growing Ornamentals In Containers
Even though the convenience of having fresh, edible food growing in containers is appealing to everyone, ornamental container plantings greatly enhance the ambiance of any home’s outdoor living space. A small pot of annuals placed by the front door welcomes weary workers home after difficult days, and hanging baskets spilling over with colorful and fragrant blossoms provide even humble abodes with vibrant ambiance. Most people who garden with containers combine edible plants with those that function only to provide pleasure to the senses.
Getting Started Gardening in Containers
Anyone can create a thriving garden by using containers. Those on limited budgets are advised to spend the bulk of their financial resources on items such as top-quality potting mixture and premium seeds and starts. The containers themselves can often be bought inexpensively at yard sales and resale shops. Discarded household items such as five-gallon buckets can be recycled for use as containers also, although it is not recommended that old household appliances such as toilets and refrigerators be placed in full public view and filled with edible or ornamental vegetation. No matter what is used for containers, novice to expert gardeners can easily fill their personal produce needs during much of the year by cultivating edible vegetables, herbs and fruits in containers.