5 Very Useful Container Gardening Tips | Institute of Ecolonomics

It’s really easy to grow plants in containers, indoors or outdoors. But a few useful tips couldn’t hurt. We’re here to help! Here’s some reasons why container gardening is gaining popularity.

Containers can be used to grow your herbs and vegetables and also several of the ornamental plants.

Container gardening is ideal for small areas. You can grow gardens in spare corners of your apartment, next to your sink, or outside in a barrel. It’s never been easier to start growing your own fresh herbs and vegetables comfortably in or outside your home. Guess what that means? Lower grocery bills. Do we need to say more?

Aside from giving you fresh herbs and vegetables, they are also an excellent way to decorate your home and improve your indoor air quality. You can easily grow food for your family, your friends and neighbors and save literally hundreds of dollars on food. Here we have 5 tips for beginner container gardeners.

1. Prepare First

You need to add some nutrients to your potting soil to create the healthiest environment for your plants. Most plants will thrive well when fertilizer is added. You can buy organic potting soil and organic fertilizer and mix them together in a big bucket before using it as your potting soil. There are several options of slow release and liquid organic fertilizers available in the market. Making your own organic fertilizer from your household waste, kitchen waste and yard waste is also easy.

2. Choose Carefully

To choose the best plants for your container garden you need to consider your area, your temperature and the amount of sunlight you receive for your containers. Some plants need plenty of sunlight and will not thrive well if they have too little sunlight. Other plants do well in little sunlight and can be grown in shady areas; for example, lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula, endive, radicchio, mustard, and cabbage. Herbs like cilantro, chives, mint and lemon balm will also grow in these shadowy conditions.

When your plants are young and tender, you may need to protect them from frost or too much heat. Keep them moist when they get too much sunlight and cover them at night to protect from frost.

To determine what plants to get, first evaluate the amount of sunlight you would be getting on your deck, patio, and windowsill or wherever you are planning to place your containers. You can grow most of the tropical plants or desert plants indoors without much trouble.

3. Be Gentle

Be gentle when you pull your plants out of the nursery pots. If you pull your plants by their stems at the top of the plants, you can separate their roots and kill them before planting. Instead, squeeze them out of the soil by holding them close to the surface soil. Try squeezing them out of their flexible plastic holders from the bottom.

4. Don’t Drown Them!

Be careful not to drown your plants. All your containers should have holes in the bottom for drainage. Your plants wouldn’t like to sit in a soggy mess. You want large drainage holes at the bottom because smaller holes get clogged up too easily. Make your holes at least half an inch for smaller pots and an inch wide in diameter for larger pots.

If you are planting in a container that does not have holes, you should drill holes yourself. You would also want to cover your holes with some kind of netting or stones that are just a bit larger than the holes. Plastic or metal window net is perfect. It would keep your soil in and drain the water out. Place saucer under your pots to keep your floors clean.

5. Make Room

Choosing the right container is very important for indoor container gardening. If you are planning to grow fruits like apples or lemons indoors, you might consider getting a bigger container. Also, consider bigger containers for growing plants that take longer to mature. Use long containers for growing microgreens or seasonal herbs. You can get a continuous supply of herbs and vegetables from your indoor container garden that way.

Growing your own food or growing some amazing plants indoors or outdoors is fun and easy. All you need is some containers, some starter plants or seed and some care for your plants. You can easily benefit from your plants as they grow and bear fruits and flowers. Some herbs and vegetables can easily cut your grocery costs. Start growing some plants today. You will absolutely love it.

To learn more on growing plants, indoors or outdoors, in containers or in water, call us at 303-495-3705 or Click Here to book a meeting with us. We’d love to hear from you. Check us out on Facebook.

Source: Institute of Ecolonomics