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container gardening inspirations
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Container gardening can be a hobby in itself. It is one means of bringing life and colour into a concrete jungle. With this style of gardening, rooftop penthouses shine and unit balconies and window sills glow with vibrant colour. Yes, and indoor plant-life, too, will bring a smile. Reason? Container Gardens are easy to establish and maintain, taking up so little time, but rewarding you with so much. Put ‘em anywhere- well, almost. Plants in pots need not be limited to soil-less areas. They can be used to spice up entrances, terraces, patios, and to create lovely vantage points around the garden. So be creative. Be daring. Use your imagination. If it doesn’t work, all you’ll do is develop a bicep in moving them.
Tip.
Keep roots trimmed as they come outside the pot. Re-pot the plant when it becomes root-bound, and go up one-third the size the original pot when re-potting. Re-potting and prunning helps and encourages rejuvenation. In container gardening you need to prune and re-pot late in the afternoon out of the sun, or on cool days.
So many varieties of plants can be grown in this way. These include shrubs, small trees, herbs, vegetables, flowers, annuals, perrenials, bulbs, rockery plants and more. Whatever style you desire can be created using the correct techniques. So lets get to it! There's fun to be had and lot's to learn. And more Tips Keep pots out of the mid summer sun. Arrange it so they are placed to provide beneficial shade to one another. Choose a pot of suitable size for the plant. A guide to an adequate size container: it should be just a little wider than the spread of the plant. This prevents stagnation. Drainage is important. So please use a recognised potting mix and not soil from the ground. Ground soil is not designed for the use in containers. It becomes air-less and creates bad drainage. Ground soil is prone to becoming stagnant creating disease and an unhealthy, unhappy plant. How would you like to be in a confined spaced with mud up to your armpits? Even the bumbly bees snub a plant in this condition. Terracota pots are prone to drying out quicky so seal their insides with a quality sealant. Your local nursery can provide this. In winter let that pot plant almost dry out occasionally; short periods, only of course. Keep it so the soil is slightly damp to 5cm-7cm deep. Feed in Spring and follow requirements for individual plants. A general slow release potting fertiliser is okay for most plants. liquid fertilise every two weeks in spring and summer. Mozzies (For you non-Aussies that means mosquitos) Beware of mosquitos breeding in plates and trays that hold your plants. They love those dinky little resevoirs in which to lay their lavae.
The Herbs? For container gardening
Choosing the herbs to grow for container gardening is also easy. Most herbs are a snatch to grow, provided the conditions are suitable.
Where? Anyone with a balcony, veranda, courtyard, or small back yard can grow a splendid array of herbs in a comparatively small space by using a variety of containers: narrow, long, round, square, high-sided, low - fit ‘em in where you can. Perch ‘em on window boxes, in hanging baskets, urns, old sinks and laundry tubs. All of these can be made suitable homes for herbs. Just be careful that, in the summer months, not to let the containers dry out. . Testing for moisture content, i.e. saturated vs. too dry. How to test for dryness. Test it with your finger. Place you digit up to almost the second joint –that’s about an inch in the old scale, 2.5 cm in modern parlance- into the mix. If it feels dry, the pot needs watering. Remember, in general, the smaller the pot the quicker it’ll probably dry out. Hanging baskets, because of their exposure, dry out quicker than most. Line these with sphagnum moss, plastic, bark, or special fiber available at nurseries and garden centres.
Feeding their hungry mouths (container gardening) ‘course, we know most plants don’t have mouths – except those that gobble insects, such as the Venue Fly Trap. But they do get hungry So, during the growing season, liquid feed your plants every two weeks to keep ‘em healthy and vigorous. Repotting for container gardening ‘course they’re gonna grow So we’re going to have to repot them. Bit like moving baby out of the basinet into his first cot. So when’s the best time to do it? The best time for herbs to be repotted is in the Spring, just before they burst into vigorous life. Howja do it? Wash the empty pot you’re about to use in soapy water and let it dry. Be sure the pot is not holding any damaging microbes or spores. Yep! Clean out all the gunk. Now for the transfer: Cut away or pluck off all the old roots from the bottom of the container (they’ll be sticking out of the drainage holes if there are any) If it’s a soft pot, such as plastic, slightly squeeze the outside, as you invert the plant and it comes out into your hand. Be gentle, you don’t want to break up the soil from around the roots. Remove. Rootbound? Needs to be repotted in a bigger container So,keep roots trimmed and pruned as they grow outside of the pot. This is a good indication that the plant has grown to the stage where it needs repotting. The roots have now filled the pot and need expansion to grow further. Repot the plant when it becomes root-bound. You wouldn’t keep the baby in the cot when its now almost a teenager, would you? In repotting a rootbound plant it is customary to go up one third the size of the original pot. This is, of course, arbritary. Common sense is needed here. Are you repotting a giant fern, a clump of petunias, or Jack ‘n the Beanstalks Stairway to Golden Goose Land? Stumpy's "Container Gardening", top tips: 1.Beware repotting in the hot sun. Prune and repot late in the afternoon out of the sun, or on cool days. 2. Add a small amount of compost to the container, mix it through and put it on top to prevent weeds. This will also keep the roots warm in winter and cool in summer. 3. Place small attractive stones around the base of the pot and container to give the plant an attractive feature. White quartz will reflect light up into the lower leaves of the plant. Dark stones will store up heat and release through the night. 4. Keep a small body of water around for the plants to increase humidity, such as a mini waterfall or water feature. Water will also reflect light up onto the plants.
I hope you enjoyed this page all about container gardening. Happy Gardening Marty Ware PS: Stumpy's recommended retail read indoor gardening E-book- The home of Indoor Plant CareClick Here! Also the free E-book 5 can't miss house plants!
Container Gardening http://www.gardenersgardening.com
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