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Container gardening is a great way to be able to garden in small apartments or homes that have no yards. Additionally, plants in containers can be used to enhance your garden, porch or patio. They offer great versatility as they can be moved to suit and the containers themselves can add to your outdoor decor. Here are 7 great tips that will allow you to get the most out of your container gardens.

1. Use good quality containers with wide openings for best results. Cheap plastic containers can deteriorate in sunlight and wooden ones can rot over time so you might consider ceramic pots for better durability. Clay pots are good too, but they are very porous and can absorb a lot of water so be sure to check the soil often if you use a clay pot container.

2. Drainage is key – standing water will encourage root rot. Make sure your container has holes in the bottom and add some marbles or stones at the bottom too. Make sure the holes are about ½ inch and you can line the bottom of the container with newspaper or burlap to keep the soil from seeping out.

3. When container gardening, you want to have good soil to provide nutrients to your plant. Also, you want a loose mixture that will allow the water to be distributed evenly throughout the entire soil base as this will help with even root growth.

4. Most container plants should have around 5 hours of sunlight each day and may need to be watered each day. Make sure the soil stays moist but not wet. To test for this, just stick your finger down into the soil – is it dry down deep? Then it needs water. If it is still moist on the top or just below the top than hold off watering until tomorrow.

5. Container size depends on what you will be growing. Vegetables are going to need big deep pots. Depending on the size and amount of plants you will have in the container, you want to choose containers that are somewhere between 15 and 120 quarts.

6. Hanging baskets are great garden containers but you have to keep a close eye on the soil as they can tend to dry out. One way to help is to line them with sphagnum moss since this will help to keep water loss down. Also, you should try to move them out of the direct afternoon sun if possible.

7. When placing your containers in arrangements, always use different size containers and odd numbers of them. For some reason, a grouping of 3 or 5 containers will look much better than 4. If you will be putting them on a hard surface like cement or wood, place them up in bricks or blocks to help with drainage.

So what plants can you put in your containers? Here is a short list of some plants that do very well with container gardening:

Alyssum

Begonia

Geranium

Marigold

Pansies

Petnuias

Zinnias

If you want more tips on starting your garden including the key elements you need to know about when gardening, how to grow plants in containers and tips on growing herbs and vegetables sign up for my free gardening tips report at http://gardening-ez.com/gardeningtipsreport.php

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It does not matter if you live in the country or city; you can find somewhere to grow a container garden, even if it is just a small one. If you do live in the city, instead of using your balcony to store bikes or your barbeque, create a gorgeous, relaxing outdoor retreat by using container gardening and following a few tips. Choose containers that are colorful but won’t detract from the plants you plan to use. Use pots that are different in shapes and sizes. Select your plants carefully so that they compliment each other and fit well in the spot designated for your container garden.

For gardening on balconies that are very long or narrow, use shrubs, different height trees and plants at the ends and corners, to add interest and round out the hard lines. Create points of interest by grouping bright colors and interesting shapes together. More tips for container gardening are to keep repeating a plant grouping or plant throughout your balcony area and use colorful flowers for accents only. Show off your large plants, shrubs and trees, by using interesting shapes and bright, beautiful colors. For gardening on your balcony, consider how your garden looks from inside your house. Buy trees and shrubs that not only bloom in the spring but also display wonderful fall colors. In climates that are cold, move your container garden indoors or line containers with builders foam and set your plants in them.

Here are some more good tips for gardening on balconies. For height, hibiscus blooms the entire summer and grows up to three or four feet tall. Dwarf Alberta white spruce have beautiful gray-green dense needles that add interest and are very soft. At maturity, they reach heights of up to eight feet. Ornamental sweet potatoes are a light colored vine that grow over the pot edge and look wonderful with darker plants. Use ornamental grasses in the background for a graceful, interesting look.

Once you have all your new plants arranged on your balcony, follow the maintenance tips on the label of the plant, to keep them healthy and beautiful. Container gardening is the same as traditional plant and flower gardening, as they require water, soil and sun. Purchase a hose that attaches to your kitchen sink because this makes watering your balcony plants far easier than carting pails of water outside. Plants in containers dry out far quicker than plants do outdoors, in the ground. Check each plant daily to see if it requires watering. Use fertilizer monthly or check the label to see the recommendations and follow them. Weeding is usually not a problem with balcony gardens. The last two tips for gardening on your balcony are to remove any dead or yellowing growth and sit back, relax and enjoy your garden.

Container gardening on your balcony will bring you lots of satisfaction and enjoyment. Once you get the hang of it why not plant some herbs too. They will add yet another hobby, gourmet cooking! You can also use herbs for medicinal and beauty recipes. There is no end to what you can do with a container garden. Use your imagination and have fun.

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at Container Gardening and Gardening Outside
and Herb Gardening

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Every type of plant needs a basic amount of nutritious ingredients, much like the human body, in order to function and grow. It doesn’t matter if you plant in the spring, summer or fall; plants need a continuous flow of nutrients to keep them healthy and strong.

Some of the most vital elements to healthy plants of all types are nitrogen, which helps stimulate growth, and phosphorus, which helps plants to form healthy, strong roots and potassium to help develop bloom and foliage. In addition to these basic necessities, plants also need a wide range of micro nutrients, or trace elements, that may be lacking in many garden soils and fertilizers, as well as potting mixes. The most common of these trace elements are copper, magnesium, boron, and iron. These trace elements serve plants in the same way they serve humans. Such invisible yet vital elements help to fight against disease.

Seasons have a lot to do with the need for extra nutrients as well. For example, the rising temperatures of late spring and early summer helps buds grow. Still, those buds will need extra nutrients to form properly. In addition, the root of the plant will grow longer as well, seeking out those extra nutrients so that it can send them to the buds. In a container, there’s nowhere to go – so you need to supply those extra nutrients to the soil for that wonderful growth spurt.

If the soil in your container pot is well drained and rich in nutrients as well as moisture, those buds and roots will develop into healthy, beautiful plants.

Because container plants have even more specialized needs and because they are only able to utilize the soils and mixes that are available in its container, it is up to the gardener to know how and when to provide those extra nutrients. Because of this, and the fact that even the best potting soil may be lacking in some of the basic essentials for optimal growth and health, and those nutrients tend to leak out as you water, a container plant needs special attention and care.

Using a specially formulated and high-quality potting mix will give your plants a good head start, because they contain continuous release ingredients that will feed your plants slowly and steadily over a period of time.

However, feeding your container plants, vegetables and herbs doesn’t stop there. You may need to water certain types of plants on a weekly basis to ensure a constant flow of nutrition into your container. There are many different types and forms of plant food, from slow release to liquid and dry forms. We’ll introduce those in a moment.

However, no matter which form of plant food you end up choosing, it’s important to know how often to add these nutritious elements to your plant. For example, vegetables and annuals and perennials often need to be fed weekly, while herbs can be fed around every other week according to need. Trees and shrubs can get by with an extra feeding once a month. Before you start feeding everything in your container garden, make sure that you are neither under nor over feeding specific plants.

While plant food adds nutrients and enzymes to your container plants, which is a good thing, as with anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. The same goes for plant food. Too much plant food can kill your plants. It may cause the edges of leaves to yellow and curl, and even stunt the growth of certain species. It’s always a good idea to follow package directions of any type of plant food or fertilizer and if you’re still not sure, ask an expert.

Copyright © Larry Gildea, All Rights Reserved.

Dr.Larry Gildea has authored several articles on gardening. Dr. Gildea has created these gardening websites, [http://www.gardeningbonanza.com]

Gardening Bonanza.com covers many types of gardening, including, bonsai design and cultivation, container gardening, flower gardening, rose gardening, hydroponics gardening and several others – [http://www.organicgardensystems.com]

Organic Garden Systems.com is dedicated exclusively to organic gardening. And in his blog, [http://larryseasygardening.com]

Dr. Gildea discusses all types of gardening.

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