Starting your own garden is both exciting and daunting at the same time especially when you want everything to come out just the way you have in mind. Just imagine being able to grow plants from seedlings and being able to harvest from them too if you’re planting vegetables, herbs, and even fruit bearing plants in containers. The question, however, is how you’re going to get started.
For those who want to start a container garden, here are a few tips that you should take into consideration.
- What to plant. The first thing that you need to ask yourself when starting a container garden is what you want to plant. This is important because knowing what kinds of plants you will be growing will give you an idea on the materials you will need, where to place them, and so on.
- Choose your containers. What’s great about starting your container garden is that you can use almost anything as plant pots. If you have some colanders that you’re not using or even some old cups that you want to dispose of, as long as you know how to create a draining system for the plants then you are good to go. Of course you can buy containers from your local plant shop if you like for a more unified look.
- Get the right soil. As much as you would like to use your existing soil in your garden, it is best that you get a potting mix instead because it already contains all the essentials like perlite, peat moss, sand, mulch, and the like. This mixture gives your soil the right nutrients that will aid your plants to grow better. You can get vermiculite, perlite, and the like separately but they may be difficult to find if you are living in the city.
- Know how to water. Most people will say that it will be difficult to overwater your container garden and there is truth in this but of course, there are those who are not really aware of how much water their plants can hold. Also, there are those who tend to forget to water their plants for a few days. Truth be told, watering your plants once a day is actually enough but this can depend on the weather and temperature in your area.
- Check drainage. Before you pot your plants, you need to make sure that your containers have sufficient drainage to them. This way, any excess water gets eliminated so as not to rot the roots of your plant. Skip the gravel or pot shards at the bottom of your container because they don’t really help much with the drainage. The soil that you are using actually acts like a sponge that absorbs the amount of water the plant needs while eliminating any excess. Just make sure that there are enough holes at the bottom of your container.
- Give your plants enough sun. Plants need sunshine for them to grow which means you need to make sure that they get ample sunlight and shade at the same time. This is one of the reasons why you should learn which plants require plenty of sunlight and which ones thrive in the shade. It will help you get the right combination for a beautiful container garden.
These are just the basics of starting your own container garden. From choosing the plants that you will grow, to the pots that you will use, all the way to their placement in your garden, everything must be taken into account to get the best results.
