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Container Gardening – All You Need To Know

November 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Days are gone when anyone without adequate space could not practice gardening. Today all you need is a balcony, deck or a patio to start your own little beautification program through a wonderful process called container gardening. This article provides more information about this great pastime.

If you are keen on gardening yet do not have adequate space to accommodate your ‘green’ desires, do not fret, help is at hand. You can actually run a lovely indoor garden, also known as ‘container gardening’ in your own patio, balcony, and deck or even on the ledge of a window that receives a lot of sunshine! So, are you ready?

There was a time was gardening was a hobby pursued only by people who owned little or big plots of land. Today, the scenario has changed. Even residents of small flats can grow their own landscape garden in their own little flat. It is called container gardening, or put more simply, it is growing plants and flowers in a container. One of the biggest benefits of container gardening is that you need not toil out in the sun, with the weekly mowing schedule, etc., yet enjoy all the benefits of a beautiful scenery right inside your home. You could grow some of the perennials, annuals and even small shrubs and trees in your containers.

While container gardening is a definite possibility, never presume that it is going to an easy task. Just like traditional gardening, container gardening also requires meticulous planning. This planning involves finding out from USDA, the specific climate zone that you live in. finding this critical information will help you to choose the right types of plants for your house. Secondly you need to be sure that your home or at least some parts of it get enough sunlight during the day. After ascertaining all these factors, you can go out and get the plants you so desire for indoor gardening.

The first advice to start your container gardening is to buy the plants from the local nursery. Otherwise you ought to have adequate facilities to go for indoor seedlings. You should never expose the tender plants outside if the temperature is below 45° F or the weather is highly windy. You should also remember not to keep your plants outside overnight, or else your plants may get damaged by frost.

Many people falsely believe that any plant that thrives on the ground will not be suitable for container gardening. This is completely untrue. If you do not believe, try it out yourself. Moreover, any plant will grow well if kept in containers which have holes at the bottom, for proper water drainage.

Not only does most container gardening require very little fertilizer and water support, depending on the variety that you have chosen, it also requires very little budget as starting expenses and has very low maintenance costs.

Not just flowers, you could grow many types of pot-growing vegetables as part of your container gardening. All that these plants need are water and plenty of sunlight. If you can provide these two basic ingredients then you could grow your own bunch of your own favorite vegetables for your ratatouille or salad. Its time to surprise your friends, right?

Even if you do not have the right balcony or deck, you could manage a special sanction from your landlord and install window boxes, a modern version of container gardening. Your sunny window could be the idea venue for growing some annuals or indoor vegetables. Another type of garden called community garden also exists, which can make any city dweller happy.

Once autumn dawns, there is no need to stop your container gardening activity as then you can continue with plants which can resist frost. Few of the common plants which can withstand frost are: Eulalia grasses, Mexican feather grass, Cornflowers, Lavender cottons, Jasmine, Million bells, Stonecrops, etc.

There is a unique way to extend the lifecycle of you container garden from early spring to late fall. Simply replant to tally well with the surrounding environment and weather conditions. To get a good design idea for your container garden, you could get in touch with some of America’s leading gardeners online. These remarkable gardeners offer advice on caring and choosing plants for pots, tips on how to grow vibrant roses and bulbs in small containers, and more.

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Growing Vegetables In Your Home

November 13, 2010 By 1 Comment
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Even if you do not have a yard or a lot of space, you can grow some vegetables in your home. Here are a few tips and tricks to get your indoor vegetable garden going.

With so many people living in apartments now with the rising costs of homes and well the rising costs of everything. More people have turned to apartments and condos to lower their costs and of course there is a way to lower the costs further by growing your own vegetables inside your home.

Growing plants in containers open up many possibilities, since you can grow them throughout the year. The only limitation that you have is how much work you want to put into your indoor garden and the amount of space you have available.

There is also the benefit of saving money since you will be growing some of your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs indoors. Once you have your garden set up the cost is very little, if hardly any at all. Your plants need watering, sunlight, shade, and fertilizing occasionally. Your plants will also be much more natural with less pesticides and chemicals in them since you will be growing on a much smaller scale and indoors. Indoor gardening means less bugs, diseases, and small creatures like snails and worms getting into your garden. Eliminating the need for pesticides and chemical sprays on your foods and flowers.

Indoor growing can offer optimum growing conditions for your plants, since they are indoors and can always receive premium sunlight and food. Especially since when need be you can move your plants for more or less sunlight or to a different locations for warmth or cold. Indoor gardening gives you many options that traditional outdoor gardening does not provide.

Furthermore, container gardening is suitable for many people. Regardless of age or gender you can participate in container gardening.

If you are elderly or have limited mobility you can still have a container garden since it does not take a lot of time or effort to have one. You can keep your garden small and easily manageable depending on what your needs are.

Or if you have never had a garden before, it is a good way to get started and begin experimenting and trying new things. Again, you can start small until you get the hang of it.

It is a great way to get children of all ages involved. They can learn about nature and how to take care of plants, while learning about responsibility and sticking to a schedule. Growing a garden is a great way for children to get involved and have a lot of fun doing it, since they will get to eat what they have grown.

Also, you can grow your vegetables throughout the year since there is no limit because of season changes. Making container gardening great for people who live in extremely warm or cold places that do not usually have great growing conditions.

Lastly, you can reuse many household containers and pots to grow your plants. Saving you time and money.

Regardless of why you have decided to start an indoor vegetable, fruit, herb, of flower garden the benefits are numerous. With so many ways to start your garden and all the creative ways to design it, indoor gardening may be just your home and your heart needs.

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What You Need To Begin Your Container Garden

November 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There are only a few items you will need to begin your container garden. Here is some more information on container gardening and the supplies recommended.

Simply put container gardening is growing plants in containers instead of in the ground. It became very popular in the 1950′s in California when people living in apartments and other shared spaces begin growing plants in pots and containers to put on their balconies and entryways. Container gardening only needs a few things, which are:

The containers themselves. You may have already decided which type of plants you want to begin growing. Picking a container that can hold the size of plant you want is important. However, choosing a container that works well with the colors of the plants and also with the place you are planning on putting the container too. You may need to move your plants from one container to a larger one as they grow. So, keep that in mind and maybe buy different sizes so whenever necessary you can transfer the plants to the larger pots. One other thing, there are pros and cons to any type of container you use, so depending on where you live and again the plants you have chosen will make a difference in the type of containers needed. They all need plenty of holes in the bottom for drainage. Here are a few examples of the different types of pots.

Plastic will break down and dry out when out in the sun a lot. However, it is easier to move since it is lighter.

Wood does rot and grow fungus. But, Redwood and Cedar are bit more sturdy and it does not happen with them as quickly.

Terracotta dries out very quickly and will develop rings on them from calcium deposits.

Ceramic pots are a good choice, however they are slightly heavier.

Soil and nutrients. The best to use for indoor gardening is soil less potting mix. It will drain better and there will be no diseases or weeds. When you fill the container, leave about two inches between the top and mix, that way you have room for the mulch on top.

Water and food. You will need to the water the plant based on the size and type. Those instructions will actually come with each plant and they will need to be followed. This holds true for the amount of sunlight they will need and shade and the time of year they grow best in. When you do water make sure all the soil is moist and when there is water coming from the bottom you know you have given the plant enough usually. Also, because the soil is very light your plants will more fertilizer. A slow-release or water soluble type works best.

The right temperature and space. When you plant vegetables, flowers, or herbs you will put them one third closer than you would if they were in a garden. With trees and shrubs they should be centered in the pot or container. Any plant will need to be re-potted whenever necessary. Since you are container gardening, you will be able to protect them from extreme heat and cold. Move the plant whenever necessary to keep the temperature right.

Pruning and preening. Making sure you trim your potted plants regularly and remove any dead or brown parts is important also. There will be less mess and your plant will do much better since there will be no bugs or fungus growing.

Creating a container garden will add color and life to any area. This is a hobby anyone can get into and as you can see it is not difficult to start.

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