Basic Guidelines for Container Gardening
Container gardening can be a fun and innovative way to garden. It is an ideal way to garden whether you live in a big or small house. Container gardening can be done on a porch, patio or even a balcony of a small apartment in the middle of the city.
Container gardening can be done with practically any type of container, be it hanging baskets, wooden barrels, planter boxes, flowerpots of all different shapes and sizes, porcelain bowls, apple barrels, terracotta pots, urns and even old boots or shoes!
Do you know what type of container you should buy in order to get started in container gardening? Read on for some suggestions:
-Choose containers that have a capacity in the range of 15 to 120 quarts. It is important to be aware that small container pots do not allow the roots room to spread out. As well, planting in smaller pots will cause the roots to dry out far too swiftly.
-Consider the size and the quantity of your plants in order to determine what size pot will work the best for you. If you choose to plant deep rooted plants, then choose deep pots.
-The drainage ability of a pot is important. The holes at the bottom of the pot should be approximately one half inch across. In order to decrease the chance that you will lose soil, line the pot’s base with an old newspaper.
-If you live in a very hot climate, then choose planters that are light colored as opposed to dark in order to reduce the amount of heat that the plant absorbs and also to help prevent the roots from growing out in an uneven direction.
-If you choose to use hanging baskets, do not expose them to the hot afternoon sunshine.
-Your hanging baskets should be lined with sphagnum moss in order to help them retain as much water as possible.
-If you choose containers that will sit on the ground, place the planters on either cinder blocks or bricks in order to permit free drainage.
-If you like clay pots, they are perfectly fine to use for container gardening. Just bear in mind that clay is a very porous material and for that reason, water can escape easily from the sides of the planter that you use. Keep a close eye on the plants in clay pots, and replenish the water as needed.
