Container Garden 411

Vegetable container gardening is a fun activity. Although it eliminates the thrill of traditional vegetable gardening, growing vegetables in containers make the activity more challenging. However, with so many available materials to read, a novice gardener can get overwhelmed by all the tips or pointers that are presented by these materials. But the good news, gardening is actually easy as 123. If you are like me, you don’t want to reinvent the wheel, or spin your wheels. Right. You see, the methods of garden preparation and maintenance are thoroughly discussed in detail and in so many versions, but the basic knowledge that is applied in gardening is actually the same. Here are some ace in the hole points that you can use in starting up and ensuring the success of your vegetable container garden.

• On soil type selection. Since you are gardening in containers, choosing the best type solid for your garden will be convenient. All you need to do is step out and reach the nearest garden shop. The lack of yard space is sometimes an advantage; it eliminates the trouble of soil testing and preparations prior to gardening. Ask for the most experienced shop keeper’s advice on container vegetable gardening. Allow him to help you select the type of soil that you need. Also, be guided by the soil type recommendations that are placed at the back of the label of vegetable seed packets.

• On pots and pot sizes. The size of the vegetable dictates the size of its container. As long as the container provides ample space for the vegetable to grow, you can virtually grow anything on the container. For shallow rooted crops like lettuce, peppers, radishes and herbs, it is advised to make use of a container that has a minimum of 6-inch diameter with a 7-inch soil depth. Gardening containers are basically offered in various sizes, shapes and materials. Whether you choose clay, wood, plastic or ceramic containers, what’s important is its drainage capacity. The container has to have enough holes to allow excess water to drain rapidly and prevent over watering- a common container gardening problem. The material and the type of container are irrelevant as long as it sits right and allows proper drainage.

• On your vegetable selection. The choices for vegetable container gardening is diverse; ranging from beans, to leaves to fruit bearing shrubs and herbs. However, here are some of the ideal choices for gardening beginners. Green leafy vegetables as in leaf lettuce will do great. These vegetables just keep growing. Having them cultivated in your garden allows you to fill up your salad bowl every time. With regular watering, a garden of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers will do great. In growing beans, you may need to have a trellis which also makes a charming accent for any garden. For ease in cultivation, many of the vegetables, with seeds available in sealed packs, is especially bred or hybridized for container gardening.

• In actual gardening, all you need to do is proper placement or containers. Ideal vegetable container garden setup requires 5 hours or more of exposure to sunlight. Make a routine schedule of weeding, cleaning and fertilizer application to ensure healthy growth among your vegetables. The only downside of this type of gardening is that frequent need to water. Vegetables are 95% water; avoid drying them out for it can drastically reduce your yield. Similarly, over watering can be disastrous. As a rule of thumb, stick your finger into the soil to effectively determine whether the soil is moist enough or already dry. 

So there you have it. Follow these pointers and you can ensure success with vegetable container gardening. The more you do, the better you will get and the more you will the produce you grow.

When you want to grow tomatoes but have very little space then you can always use containers for them. Container growing tomatoes will grow just as well as those grown in the main garden but you need to do a couple of things a bit differently to have good success.

Container growing tomatoes

The first thing to do is grow the right variety. Some varieties have such large fruits that this makes them unsuitable for growing in pots and containers. If you have ever grown tomatoes you now how much the y need feeding and watering. only marrows and pumkins come close. The large varieties need a larger root system to sustain the plants long enough and well enough to give you the large tomatoes you would want.

What you can grow very well in pots, tubs and containers are cherry tomato types and medium size tomatoes like Moneymaker and Ailsa.

The second thing you must do is to use only your largest containers and pots for tomatoes. Your plants need regular watering and feeding and to get really good plants the roots need plenty of space. Tomato roots that are restricted will reduce the size and quality of your fruits.

The third thing to do with them is to feed them weekly once the first flower set appears. I do this at the same time every week until the harvest season in almost over. Then you just continue with water. I use a dedicated tomato feed. I also use this on sweet peppers and cucumbers.

Growing tomatoes in pots

My last hint is to ensire thay are watered daily. Even in a dreadful wet summer like we are having in england this year you must water and water daily. the foliage of the plants protect the soil from the water so you need to check it. This does not happen with those grown on the ground. Container growing tomatoes for small gardens work very well as long as you follow these simple tips.