CONTAINER GARDENING Keegan Varner Johnston County Agriculture Agent & Pamela Varner, CFCS Cotton County
REASONS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING Allows you to garden in almost any location. City, suburbs, country. Poor growing conditions: soil, sunlight, space. Good for people with disabilities or mobility problems. Low cost/low input. Easy to be successful. Start sooner in spring.
WHAT DO YOU NEED? Plan Place Pots Potting Media Plants or Seed Provide Water & Nutrients
CONTAINERS?
CONTAINER TIPS Choose the right size container for the plants that you want to grow. Don t grow a tomato in a container that holds less than 5 gallons of soil. Pot sizes: 1-2 gal.: pepper, chard. 4-5 gal.: tomato, cucumber 6-10 diameter pots: greens, beets, radish, onion.
TIPS.. Scrub old pots with a 10% bleach solution before re-using. Season new clay pots by submerging them in water for 15 minutes before filling with soil. Add sand to bottom of container for tall plants to keep them from tipping over. Use non-biodegradable styrofoam packing peanuts or pieces of styrofoam instead of stones for drainage in bottom of pots to reduce weight.
TIPS Slightly pre-moisten soil before putting it in the pots. Sphagnum peat works best with warm water. If possible drainage holes should be on sides of containers rather than on the bottom so excess water can drain out.
THE RIGHT SOIL FOR CONTAINERS Container soil is challenging because of the small volume of media used to support plant growth. Desirable traits: Water and nutrient retention. High porosity to ensure good aeration and root growth. Low bulk density (fluffy and light). Free from weeds, diseases, and human pathogens.
THE RIGHT SOIL Don t fill containers with garden soil. Don t use peat moss too acidic and doesn t retain water. Growing mixes containing a blend of peat, perlite, and vermiculite are best with the addition of 25% compost
THE RIGHT SOIL Commercial mixes such as Container Mix or Self-Watering Container Mix. Organic Blend: 5 gallons finished compost, 1gal. sand, 1 gal. vermiculite or perlite, and 1 cup granular all purpose organic fertilizer. Garden Soil: 25% sand+25% garden soil+50% compost.
WATER AND NUTRIENTS
WATERING INNOVATIONS FOR CONTAINERS Self-watering containers: inner pot with outer pot or reservoir that holds water. Water-holding crystals that retain up to 200 times their weight in water such as Terra-Sorb. Drip irrigation systems
WATERING TIPS Containers generally require more water and nutrients. Water until all the soil in the container is moist and water runs out the drainage holes. Water from once per week to twice per day depending on container and weather. The greatest water need is at flowering and fruiting. Use saucers or trays to catch excess water. Evaporation in large containers can be reduced by covering the soil surface with a thin layer of mulch. Don t use softened water to water plants since it contains dissolved salts. Cluster pots to minimize moisture loss.
NUTRIENTS Your plants are totally dependent upon you for their food. Add slow-release fertilizer at planting. Water weekly with half-strength, watersoluble fertilizer.
PLANTING IN CONTAINERS Plant seeds and plants in final location. Fill to within an inch or so of top of container. Don t crowd plants.
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Vegetables: -Bush Beans -Bell Peppers -Beets -Summer Squash -Carrots -Tomatoes -Cabbage -Turnips -Swiss Chard -Eggplant -Cucumbers -Kale -Leaf Lettuce -Green Onions
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Herbs: -Anise Dill -Basil Coriander -Chervil -Summer Savory -Caraway Parsley -Chives Mint -Fennel -Tarragon -Thyme -Marjoram -Winter Savory
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Fruits: ---Dwarf Apple Trees (spur-type). ---Blueberries ---Strawberries
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Plants For Sun: Dwarf dahlias African daisy Heliotrope Petunia Verbena Calendula
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Container Plants That Tolerate Dry, Sunny Sites: Zinnia angustifolia Ivy geranium Sedum Gomphrena Texas sage (salvia greggii) Scented geraniums
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Container Plants for Shade: Impatiens Begonia Hosta Caladium Coleus
PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS Plants That Look Good Alone: Agave Yucca Bamboo False Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca) Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum ) Tufted Fescue (Festuca amythystina) Bougainvillea Fuchsia Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) Common Boxwood Banana Pygmy Date Palm
QUESTIONS?