How To: Container Gardening Part 1

One thing that is so great about gardening is anyone can do it. There are plenty of different methods when it comes to gardening, but they all follow the same basic principles: plant seeds or a plant in the dirt, water it, and let it grow. I know that a big concern for a lot of people who want to garden is space. Many people have small yards, rent their homes, or live in apartments which would quickly rule out an in ground garden. But never fear, just because you are short on space doesn't mean that you can't grow yourself some food.

the large pot was $10 at lowe's - they were on a big flat
in the outside garden area and were all very brightly colored

First off I just want to throw it out there that I do not have much experience growing in containers. I am hoping to remedy that this year; I am growing cantaloupe, cucumbers, lettuce, dill, cilantro, oregano, basil and strawberries in containers this year. I might even pick up one more big pot and see how one of our tomato plants does in a pot vs the garden. But the internet is a wealth of information so I've tried to round up some good information on the subject. As usual I wrote far too much, so I have broken this up into two posts. I am also seriously crunched for time this week so the next post will come at the beginning on next week, I am shooting for Monday but bare with me!

First off let's talk containers. They can be almost anything so don't be afraid to get creative. Here are some cost effective options:

• Cheap pots: I can't find a link, but I found the huge pot in the photo above for only $10 at Lowes 
• Flea market finds: think wooden boxes or metal pails or buckets
• Five gallon buckets
• Making planters with or from pallets like this or this
• Plastic storage tubs: this would work of you wanted something wider but still deep, or if you have some extras lying around
• Upcycling! Find containers that would normally be thrown away and get to planting. If you don't like the way they look Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint ($4 at Walmart) works wonders. The large pots I got from Lowes were bright blue which I wasn't digging (garden puns!) so I spray painted them.
• use old kitty litter containers (the big ones)
• use tire as planters in your yard
• apparently you can go to bakeries (like the Walmart bakery) and ask for icing buckets which are large buckets that they will often give away for free
• grow food in a reusable grocery bag like this tomato plant and this lettuce
• grow directly in a bag of soil

Whew! So many neat ideas. It's nice for gardens to look pretty (I am guilty of that!) but at the end of the day whatever you use is filled with a bunch of dirt. It doesn't really matter how it looks, as long as you can grow food in it. One thing to keep in mind: it needs drainage. If your container doesn't have any holes grab a drill and drill several in the bottom.

can you spot our first red romaine sprouts? they are tiny!

The next big consideration is light. Lettuce, spinach and leafy greens will tolerate shade. Root vegetables like carrots needs at least part sun. Tomatoes, peppers, most herbs, cucumbers, squash, beans and most other veggies need full sun. This means at least six hours of direct sun a day, and they will certainly take more. If you are container gardening because you are in an apartment this is something you really need to consider, as many patios are somewhat enclosed. It's important to understand that there is a difference between direct and indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight that is completely unobstructed is what you need. That being said it's a bit hard to estimate how much sun you are actually getting so by all means give it a try, but understand that certain plants (especially tomatoes) need lots of sunshine.

I have more topics I want to get into but I am going to stop here before this post gets too lengthy. In the next post I am going to cover what kind of dirt to use, how watering plants in containers is different than plants in the ground, what plants you need to cage, and several tips and tricks that are specific to container gardening. I know some of you have been waiting for these posts for a while so I just want to say I appreciate your patience. I've loved every minute of blogging about my garden so far and it's something I plan to continue for quite a while, but some days another thing on my to do list is the last thing I need. Soon I will be able to go sit in my garden to de-stress...and probably think up more blog post ideas as well! Thanks again for reading!



-Kelly

PS: Is there anything container related that you'd like me to cover in the second part of this post? If so let me know, I am always open to suggestions!