Container Gardening

Veggies, herbs and fruit can be grown in containers.  This is a great option for people that have a small or limited area and would like to grow on a patio or in a sunny window.  It's also good way to extend your growing area and makes it easy to move plants around to take advantage of sun or shade. 

Growing mixes...  1 part sterile, clean sand (play sand)1 part composted cow manure, 1 part milled peat moss and 1 part compost.  Mix well and water, place some gravel or small rocks in the bottom of the pot to hold in the soil, about 2".  Add your mix, plant,  water well and watch them grow! 

Water....containers dry out really rather quickly especially in hot weather.  One of the easiest ways to determine whether your container needs water or not it to purchase one of those really inexpensive moisture meters or if the first inch or so is dry it probably needs to be watered. 

Water Quality....the Best to the Worst..... pond, rain, well water or if all else fails tap water.  Do not use softened water on plants, it will kill them.  Reverse Osmosis is good pure water also, a good hydroponic nutrient or aquarium supplement should supplement the watering.  

Fertilizer....The more you need to water the more you are flushing important nutrients out the bottom of the pot.  In hot 90° weather you will need to fertilize with a good organic fertilizer about every 2 weeks.  Only use organic fertilizers, the non-organic ones can accumulate inside the pot and weaken the roots.   Hydroponic fertilizers are good, check if they are organic.

Supports....Large plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers or any others that you are growing vertical can fall over.  Try using large 6' plastic coated metal supports, stick into the pot all the way to the bottom and out one of the drain holes into the ground. 

Pollination....If you are growing inside, keep in mind you will not have the pollinators, bees, wasps, etc. and may need to be done by hand.  Lightly shaking the plant or using a small brush to spread pollen from flower to flower will work.

Pests.... Inside gardeners especially...scale and aphids love them.  If you get attacked use insecticidal soap or pyrethrins.  Repeated soaking of weekly should keep the little buggers under control.  Fungus gnats are tiny flies who lay eggs in organic moist soils.  This can be controlled using Bt soil soaks.  Works very well.  Outside containers attract slugs, the drain holes are a really nice moist refuge to hide in during the heat of the day.  You can control with iron phosphate that is available or I also use plastic plant bottoms and keep water in them.  I grow in the south which is high 90's to 100's during the summer and can get away with it.  If you are in a cooler climate this is not recommended.  Make sure you have a good layer of rock or clay pellets or perlite down first so the soil mix is not sitting in the water. 

Light....Again for the inside gardeners...if you want veggies to flower and fruit you must use HID lighting.  Metal halides are specially designed bulbs that will mimic full spectrum sunlight.  In the summer leave on for 12 hours in the winter 14.  There are all different types of bulbs, the ones you want will go more toward the red spectrum for flowering.  And the outside gardeners...Keep in mind that most veggies need at least 6 hours of sunshine to flower and fruit especially in Northern climates.

Heat Buildup... If you are using lights inside especially halides, they give off a lot of heat.  You may want to consider an addition small air conditioner unit or fan.

Airflow....Also important for growing inside.  A good ceiling fan or other one blowing across the veggies really helps them stay healthy also and cuts down on fungus diseases.

Container Size.... Always consider the size of the root ball of your plant, look at the top and the roots will should be similar or larger. The larger the plant, the larger the container. 

What Type of Container?.... Plastic will retain more water than clay.  Clay will "breathe" more getting more air to the roots.  Depending on what you want to grow some are better than others.