Container Gardening For Beginners

Container gardening is a great way for beginners to get growing. Many popular herbs, vegetables, and flowering plants can be grown with ease in container gardens. The first step starts by deciding what you want to grow. Just about everything commonly grown by gardeners can be grown successful in containers. Herbs are perhaps the easiest plants for container gardening for beginners to start with. Growing tomatoes in pots is always a great choice. Once you decide on what you want to grow, it is time to connect the rest of the dots. Here’s a summary of the general guidelines for container gardening for beginners.

Choose The Right Potting Mix

Choosing the right potting mix is escecially important when it comes to container gardening. There are many potting mixtures to choose from. Choose a mixture that is best suited to what you want to grow. This will ensure your plants get the right combination of essential minerals and organic materials they need to grow. As a general rule of thumb your soil should be well aerated, not compacted. It should feel almost fluffy as it sifts through your hands. Soil that is not well aerated or too densely compacted may have problems draining. This can lead to problems with the health of your plant’s root systems. There are special mixtures formulated for container gardening for beginners that come enriched with fertilizers. They’re a good place to start.

Choose The Right Gardening Container

Choosing the right container garden planter is very important. Portable planters can extend the growing season since you can move them indoors and outdoors as needed. Some plants are sticklers when it comes to their ideal growing temperatures so having a portable planter at your disposal is very handy.

Elevated planters are great for growing on balconies or patios. They’re higher up so they’re not shaded by railings and are more comfortable to garden in. Your lower back and knees will love them. They’re also less accessible to common garden pests, weeds, as well as, house pets. As such, they cut down on maintenance quite a bit. They’re a great container gardening option for beginners and experts alike.

Vertical gardening planters are a great choice if you’re tight on space. They’re especially handy if you’re interested in growing tomatoes. Growing tomatoes upside down offers many advantages over growing them right side up. Upside down tomato planters eliminate need to support the vine. They’re a must have if you have pets.

Pick the Right Spot

The old adage that a gardener with a green thumb can grow anything is not always true. Some plants just simply don’t do well under certain conditions. Find out how much light your plants require and choose a growing spot accordingly. Most plants come with a tag which specifies their light and growing requirements. If your location choices are limited, a good container can offer unique options. For example, if you’re growing plants on a balcony which is shaded by a railing, an elevated or vertical garden planter may be a good way to go.

The Right Amount of Water is Essential

Water is the source of life. The trick is getting the right amount of water your plants require right. Before you even begin, make sure your planter has proper drainage to reduce the chance of root rot. Overwatering your plants is a common beginner mistake. It leads to many critical root problems and should be avoided at all cost. It is usually best to let the soil in your container to dry between watering.

Container Gardening for Beginners

In summary, container gardening starts with choosing what you want to grow. A potting mixture must then be chosen to best suit the needs of your plants. A suitable growing spot along with an appropriate container garden planter must then be selected to meet the sunlight needs of your chosen plants. Last, but not least, your plants must be watered according to the needs of your plants.

Thank you for reading my article on container gardening for beginners. I hope you found my advice helpful enough to get you started. As always, I invite you to share your experiences, comments, and suggestions with me using the form below.