Organic Container Gardening
Organic container gardening is actually one of the easiest forms of gardening. It’s great for people with limited space outdoors but would like to grow beautiful and vibrant flowers, and fresh and lush vegetables. Organic container gardening is also suitable indoors as you can transform ordinary household containers into organic plant containers, which can be placed anywhere inside the house.
If you’re seriously considering organic container gardening, here are some things you should know about:
Containers
You would want to use containers created from natural materials such as clay, and wood, or recycled products like food-grade plastic pails, buckets, and tin cans. Actually, your choices are limited by your imagination. Just keep in mind that keeping it all natural is the key.
But you should also be aware the soil in containers made of porous materials such a terra cotta pots tend to dry out faster. Likewise, dark colored containers has a drying effect because they absorb more heat than light colored pots. Size also matters because soil in small containers cannot hold too much water and nutrients. Choose containers that are appropriate to the size and needs of your plants.
When choosing an organic container, especially if you prefer to recycle, make sure that it can be fitted with drainage holes to hold the soil back and drain the water. Filters or screens can also be used to keep the soil in place and prevent it from being drained with the water.
Soil
Soil is also one vital element in organic container gardening. A good organic potting soil must always be free from chemicals and artificial fertilizers. Aside from that, potting soil must be light and porous to allow air to circulate and retain moisture twice as much as regular garden soil does. Soilless organic compound containing peat moss, perlite and vermiculite is a favored potting soil mixture because it is sterile, pH adjusted, holds water well and allows for free airflow. Mixing two parts of a good potting soil with one part compost improves the quality and fertility of your soil.
Location
Organic container garden thrives best in areas with sufficient light. So whether you’re putting your potted plants indoors or outdoors, make sure they will have enough sun exposure. But being under the sun for too long can also cause your plants to wilt. During the peak of summer, you can conveniently place your potted plants in shaded areas if you think they have been exposed to the sun too much. Consequently, you can also bring them indoors to protect them from frost during winter season.
Water
Plants in containers cannot expand their roots deeper to search for moisture in the soil and will only have as much water as their soil can retain. So they need to be watered more frequently than plants in the ground. Don’t wait till they start to wilt before watering. One way to check if they already need water is to put a finger 2 to 3 inches deep into the soil. If it’s dry to the touch, then it’s time to water your plants. Other indications are if the container feels lighter when you pick it up and if your plants looks pale and dehydrated.
Remember, you need to feed the soil in order to feed the plant. Use slow release organic garden fertilizers to provide a steady supply of nutrients to the soil. And the best organic fertilizer for the job is the fish emulsion. Fish emulsion is a natural liquid fertilizer from the byproducts of fish oil and fish meal industries that is readily absorb by the soil. Lining the surface of the soil with compost is also a good idea to boost its organic matter content.
Having an organic container garden is not really complicated because you’re tending smaller pots than a large garden area. Unlike with a regular garden, you can easily monitor leaves for pests and other plant diseases, and deal with them right away before they start to seriously affect your plants. In fact, containers act as barriers that prevent soil-borne diseases and pest from infecting you plants.
And the best part is, because they are in containers, you can easily move plants around which makes gardening and landscaping a more flexible activity.
The plants and vegetables that grow best in organic container gardens are tomatoes, peppers, beans, herbs eggplants, greens such as swiss chard and lettuce, and zucchini.
For effective and proven ways on growing any plant in containers, I highly recommend you check out the information I’ve collected here.
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