I have fond memories of our childhood garden in Alaska. Nothing tastes as sweet and crisp as a carrot straight from the cold ground in your backyard.
Unfortunately, we live in a townhome (for now) so we can’t plant a large traditional garden. But to be honest I think I only like large gardens for the romantic notion of it. In theory, a large garden to feed your family is wonderful but the reality is… well, hard work.
I don’t know about you but still there is just something about growing plants (especially if it’s edible). There’s a sense of achievement that often we can’t find elsewhere.
That’s why I’m going to explain today how to grow a container garden. Container gardens are easy to put together, add a green touch to your décor and you don’t need to own land to put it in!
My containers are purely for growing vegetables and fruit but you can use them for flowers too (whatever brightens your day!)
In this post I’ll explain what to look for when buying containers, best vegetables for container gardening, container garden ideas, how to fill out a container garden correctly and other container gardening tips.
Let’s get started!
Now, this is all going to be based on personal preference. These are the plants that I have found to grow best in containers (and I actually can get my money’s worth from it). Don’t plant a vegetable just because it grows well in a container. If you don’t eat it then it’s not going to be worth it.
The number one best vegetable for container gardening is tomatoes…can’t beat the cheap, amount you can grow and how easy it is to take care of it. Secondly, I would say to plant herbs. I use a lot of fresh herbs in my cooking so I planted rosemary, basil, marjoram, cilantro and two different types of thyme. I plan on adding sage and oregano next year.
Lettuce, spinach and kale also grow well in pots but they can be temperamental about their drainage and heat.
The next layer of plants that would require a little bit more work in pots are peppers and peas. There are a lot of other plants that can grow well in containers but what you have to consider is how much a single plant can produce. Containers don’t give you a whole lot of space to grow multiple plants, so stick with plants that produce a lot of produce. 😛
I’ll be honest, money got away from me when planting my first container garden. A lot of people think that gardening will help cut down their grocery bill. That depends. Have you heard the saying that a plant costs 10 cents but the hole costs $5.
Here’s how much it cost for my first container garden by item:
27 plants (The hanging strawberries which I counted as 1 plant were $15. The rest started as seedlings aka baby plants.): $65
5 plastic containers (1 small, 3 medium, 1 large): $55
3 bags of dirt (which barely filled all the containers): $21
All together it was $141…for a garden that produced probably around $20 worth of food. Despicable. But keep in mind, now that I have the dirt and pots I can use it for next year and the year after. So over time that initial investment will be worth it.
Step 1: Buy the dirt, pots and plants (be sure to make sure you have enough dirt and the plants you use will fit in the pots you buy). Drill holes on the bottom of plastic containers if they have them already.
Step 2: Place a few coffee filters over the holes at the bottom of your pots.
Step 3: Add sticks, cardboard, newspaper, or any other compostable items. I like to start collecting compostable items a few weeks before I start planting my container garden. Just make sure you have the appropriate balance between green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) compostable items in each container. Fill about halfway up your container.
Step 4: Begin packing in dirt on top of your compostable items. This step is optional but you can add a natural drip feeder to your container. I placed mine in the center. Take a plastic water or soda bottle. Poke holes in it enough to drain out slowly. Fill it up with water to test it and make sure it drains slowly and evenly on all sides. Put in when you have about 8 inches from the top of the pot.
Step 5: Fill in the dirt around the bottle (if using) till halfway up (about 4 inches from the top- this will vary depending on the vegetable you are planting). Add your plants making sure to abide by the spacing suggested (usually around 6 inches between each one). Finish filling up with dirt to the top making sure your plants are well supported but don’t pack down the soil.
-Get creative! You probably have lots of items in your home that could double as a pot. Things like old shoe organizers, toy boxes, or maybe that set of old mixing bowls you never use. Don’t forget to drill holes in them so the plants can have good drainage.
-Don’t let pots dry out between watering. I usually watered mine every third day, unless it was a particularly hot day and then every other day.
-Feed your plants. Plants in pots need plant food more than those in the ground because their soil’s nutrients are soaked up faster.
-If you’re putting different vegetables in one pot, make sure they are good companion plants.
-Container gardens are great to start seeds in the container inside your home (this is important if you don’t have a long growing season). Just make sure you slowly acclimate the container outside so the sun doesn’t kill baby seedlings.
-Use forks (sharp spikes pointing up) to keep birds away from eating your young plants.
Good luck with your container garden! For more container gardening tips, follow me on Pinterest.
Yup, I’ve gotten sucked in to Pinterest again. This time it was in search of ideas for my ugly and suffering indoor plants. I’d like to boast that I have a green thumb, but the truth is I kill the hardiest of plants. So, when I saw images of gorgeous hanging terrariums, I groaned with envy. I have the perfect spot in my house for that, but there was no way I’d keep them alive with my track record.
After a few day of chewing over it in my mind, I decided to make a faux terrarium with paper mâché and $20 worth of stuff from Michael’s!
Step 1: Find a design idea to inspire you – you can google hanging terrariums or find one on Pinterest – or, of course see images of my own creations.
Step 2: Collect materials. I used 3 latex balloons (use as many or few as you want, but I recommend an odd number) only slightly inflated, a recipe for paper mâché (half flour and half water) newspaper torn in 1 – 2 inch strips (enough for 3 – 4 layers on each balloon), moss from a craft store (or collect your own if you live near woods – which I do), packing peanuts (I’ll explain later), string, tacks, glue, brown paint, a screw for each pot, real or fake plants of your choosing. I’ve purchased real succulents here and they all turned out great.
Step 3: Assembly. Paper mâché the balloons leaving a hole for the flowers at the top (or paper mâché the whole balloon and cut the hole later). Let dry for a day. Paint the outsides brown and pop balloon then pull it out leaving the shell/pot. Glue moss to the outside of the pot. Wrap string around the pot at random then tie it off. Stuff pot with packing peanuts then stick your plants down into it to secure them. Use moss to hide the peanuts on top.
Now for the tricky part…
Step 4: Hanging the terrarium. I ended up pushing a long screw into the middle of the plants and tying the string to it then wrapping it around the tack and pushing it into the ceiling. The pots are fairly light, so the tack seemed to work for me. I’m sure there are many ways of hanging them… Find what’s best for you!
Voilà! A beautiful, inexpensive, and maintenance free terrarium that your friends and family will love!
Written by Jaimè Bell
Winter can really suck the life out of you, or at least out of your garden!
During these cold months I like to explore some unconventional approaches to gardening like indoor plants, mason jar herbs and preparing a straw bale garden!
Hay bale gardens are great alternatives when you don’t have good soil. They are cheaper and easier than taking the time to amend crappy dirt or build a raised bed.
Straw bale gardening is also a great way to use old straw bales that you might have used for decor during the fall (waste not, want not!). It’s also a great activity for kids to learn a bit more about how vegetables grow.
If you’re interested in creating your own hay bale garden, then now’s the time to start since it takes a few months to get the hay ready and straw bales are easier to come by at the end of fall. Fix.com put together a pretty fantastic straw bale gardening infographic so you can learn how to build your own straw bale garden!
Source: Fix.com
