Posts Tagged ‘container gardening’

Must Have Tools For A Gardener

Sunday, June 27th, 2010


Gardening is 1 of the most delightful activities ever. The very thought of being close to nature by itself is so pleasurable. If you wish to double the delight of gardening, then there are a handful of tools which you must have. These gardening tools will simplify several tasks and make certain that you love every bit of what you’re doing. Here is taking a look at some of the must have tools for a gardener.

Talking of must have tools for gardening, the 1st thing that you cannot do without is a watering can. Plants require just some amount of water for their growth, but still they must be watered routinely. You always have the choice of using plant hose to water plants. However, in cases where you need less water, a watering can best serve the purpose.

Gloves are yet another thing that every gardener must possess. Since you are working in the garden, you’ll be constantly soiling your hands. So, in case you are not wearing gloves, you are bound to leave your hands in rough form. It is advised that you use gloves that are made up of sturdy or a strong stuff to ensure that your hands can withstand different hazards and harmful chemicals that they come in contact with.

While it’s significant to take care of your hands, you need to also pay equal attention to your skin as well. A lot of people tend to make the error of touching their face while gardening. This must be averted at all costs as countless bacteria from the soil can harm your skin. It’s even more critical for you to adhere to this rule in case you are already suffering from skin problems such as acne. Ideally, you must employ effective anti acne solutions such as Zenmed Derma Cleanse system and also stay away from touching your skin with dirtied hands to keep your condition in control.

A garden fork is still another gardening tool which you must possess. You’ll need a gardening fork when you are trying to make a flower bed. They help you plough soil in the exact method as desired. Apt for smaller areas, these garden forks are a must have in the garden. Make sure that you keep one handy at all times. When looking for garden forks for your garden, ensure that you select the ones that are durable.

Not many people are aware of the fact that besides being an enjoyable activity, gardening could contribute to fascinating weight loss too. If you are on lookout for measures offering faster weight loss results, Caralluma Burn Appetite Suppressant is the alternative to vouch for. So, in case you wish to make the most out of your gardening endeavors, it is in your best interest to make use of all the given gardening tools.

Here are a few more ways to know about Caralluma Burn Appetite Suppressant and Zenmed Derma Cleanse System.

Caring For Your Container Garden And Garden Pots

Sunday, March 21st, 2010


With some basic gardening skills, you can ensure a successful container garden. Starting with the containers themselves, make sure that any garden pots made from porous materials (such as terracotta or wood) are sealed on the inside with a quality water sealant. Otherwise, the pots will soak up much of the water meant for your plants.

Watering Your Plants

It is just as important not to over water as it is not to underwater. Most garden pots will have a saucer or bowl underneath to catch any extra water and keep it from rotting your patio or deck. The best way to water your container garden is by filling the saucers up with water. This helps you avoid over watering and the water from spilling over the top of the saucer. The water will seep up through the hole in the bottom of the pot feeding the roots of your plants.

Another method of watering is to water your plants at the surface. If you do, however, make sure you fill about a cup at a time and watch how much water ends up in the saucer. You want to avoid overfilling the saucer. Spraying your plants with water from a hand sprayer is always welcome by your houseplants. Try to avoid using hard water though so calcium won’t build up on the leaves.

Food

Because garden pots are generally small, nutrients don’t last much more than five or six weeks in most potting soils. Vital nutrients in the soil will need to be replenished with plant food. It usually comes in either a granular form or a liquid form. For really low maintenance, it is recommended that you use slow-release granules since they last a long time and they keep a steady supply of food going to the plants.

Controlling Insects

Systemic and Contact are the two main types of insecticides. Systemic is poured right onto the soil and is then absorbed into the soil to the root system of the plant and right on up through the leaves. This type of insecticide works best for bugs under the soil that are hard to get to and for leaf eaters as they ingest the poison when they eat the leaves.

The other type, contact insecticide, is sprayed directly on the pests. You may need to repeat this method depending on how much infestation there is but contact insecticides work rather quickly.

With loving care (and sufficient monitoring), you are sure to have satisfying results with a thriving container garden.

David Haines has been working in gardens since his early childhood and has always been interested in educating others on gardening and landscaping techniques. If you would like to know more about garden pot and landscaping, visit AllGardenPots.com

Top Ten List – Container Gardening With Garden Pots

Friday, March 19th, 2010


Container gardens have been around for quite some time and are gaining in popularity. In many instances, such as high-rise or apartment living, the only option for a garden is to place your plants in garden pots. Here is a short list of considerations on using garden pots in your own garden:

1. Choosing the Proper Material for Your Garden Pots

Garden pots are made from a large variety of materials, like clay, plastic and stone. Some of these materials are more durable than others and some more stylish. How you will use the pots will help you narrow down the options.

2. Size Does Matter

The kind of plant you will be planting (and the number of plants) will help determine how big the pots you will need to have. Obviously, small trees will require a larger pot than, say, a tulip.

3. Vary the Pot Sizes

To give your garden an eye-catching appearance, vary the sizes of pots and plants. Larger pots work better farther away from the viewer and smaller ones work great up close.

4. Grouping Your Garden Pots

Add interest or a focal point to your garden by grouping smaller and mid-sized pots around a large pot.

5. Group Plants Requiring Similar Watering In Each Pot

Obviously, you shouldn’t put a water-loving plant (like a fern) in with a group of cactus. Watering requirements should be the same for all the plants in a single pot.

6. Select Plants That You Put In A Pot That Require The Same Amount of Sunlight

The same goes for how much sunlight your plants require. If you place your pot where they are in direct sunlight for most of the day, they will dry up quickly.

7. Choose Plants That Don’t Require Much Watering

Since pots are relatively small, they tend to dry up pretty fast. Choosing plants that require less water will make your container garden easier to maintain and will also be more forgiving.

8. Proper Drainage Is Essential

You will have to drill holes in the bottoms of your pots if they don’t already come with one – most do. Now place a shard from a broken pot over the hole to keep the soil from spilling out the bottom but allowing excess water to drain.

9. Add a Water Sealant to Terracotta Pots

Terracotta left unsealed (on the inside of the pot) will soak up a lot of your plant’s water before the plant does. Brush on a good water sealant to prevent this from happening.

10. Use a Good Potting Soil

Use potting soil instead of regular dirt. Potting soil is specially blended for the purpose of putting in pots. Its made to hold water better than normal soil and its considerably lighter in weight.

Before you decide to purchase any garden pot for your container garden, visit Keith Maiden’s web site: All Garden Pots for more information on container gardening.

Container Gardening With Simple Alternatives to Ordinary Garden Pots

Friday, March 12th, 2010


A great and versatile way to bring new life to your existing garden is with garden pots. However, there are several items that you can use in place of your standard garden pots. For example, use an old rusty watering can to place your plants in. Just drill a hole in the bottom for water drainage and you have yourself a charming plant container.

If you have a large stump close to, or in, your garden, you can hollow it out to put a pot into. Use a wide boring drill bit and drill out several holes that make up the outside diameter of the circle. Once you have most of the material drilled out for the circle, continue boring out the material on the inside. Using a chisel, remove all the remaining wood that is left between the holes. Put in the pot and fill in any gaps around it with dirt.

If you break a large garden pot, another trick that a lot of gardeners do is to cut the bottom off at an angle or bury the pot halfway into the ground. This gives the illusion that the pot is more like an artifact that has been unearthed.

For a less permanent but really fun idea, take a pair of old cowboy boots, fill them with dirt and top with your choice of plant. You can even spray paint the boots to make them blend in or stand out.

A common alternative to garden pots is a wooden barrel that is cut in half. Although they are made to hold liquids, it’s a good idea to still coat them on the inside with a water sealant to protect them.

A simple idea is to lay down a used car tire and fill it with dirt. You can even stack four or five tires to make a very interesting garden feature.

If you look around you’ll see plenty of ordinary objects that you can use as containers for your garden. Your imagination is your only limit.

Daniel Rapier has been working in gardens since his early childhood. He has always been interested in learning new gardening and landscaping techniques and helping educate others. If you would like to know more about the subject of garden pots, visit AllGardenPots.com

Short on Space? Grow Your Vegetables in a Container!

Thursday, April 30th, 2009


Container vegetable gardening has so many benefits, it’s hard to believe more people aren’t doing it. Saving space is the greatest benefit of container vegetable gardening. Many people live in apartments or in homes with very little yard space. Container gardening allows you to have a vegetable garden on your porch or patio, or even indoors.

Many people have small container gardens in a sunny windowsill in their kitchen, or in a sunroom or spare bedroom. Some people even grow plants in a closet by using a grow light.

Another major benefit of container gardening is the ability to move plants if you need to. If you’re growing your plants outdoors and bad weather comes, you can bring them inside where they’ll be safe. If your vegetables are getting too little sun or too much, you can easily move their containers to a better location. And you can even move your plants on a whim if you decide they’d look better elsewhere.

Vegetables grown in containers don’t contract diseases as easily compared to plants grown directly in the soil. It’s true that plants grown in containers can still become infected with diseases, but you will find the probability is much less than if you had grown them in your landscape. Potting soil is generally free of disease-causing organisms, so your plants will be safer.

Keeping your vegetables well-fed is also easier when they’re grown in containers. It’s much easier to ensure the fertilizer you use gets to your plants if they’re confined to a small area of soil. When you fertilize plants that are growing directly in the soil, the fertilizer may drain away or be absorbed by other nearby plants. This is not as likely when plants are grown in containers.

Of course, when the soil area is relatively small, there is a chance the fertilizer can be washed out of the soil faster. Because of this, you do need to fertilize more often than you would a traditional vegetable garden. But you can rest assured that your plants are probably getting more of the fertilizer before it does wash away than they would if they were in the ground.

You’ll also be able to extend the growing season of your vegetables when you have them all in containers. You can wrap the pots that your plants are in with blankets or other materials for insulation that will help keep them warm. This way you can easily start plants inside and then move them outside when it gets a bit warmer. The right use of insulation can allow you to keep growing your vegetables outside even after the first frost. Also, you can easily bring the plants inside if it gets too cold for them to be outside, even if they are well insulated.

Another advantage to container vegetable gardening is that it increases the accessibility of the hobby. For persons with physical disabilities and impairments, using containers allows them to enjoy and tend to plants in convenient locations. If a person uses a wheelchair, they can put the pots on a short table to make them easier to tend to. Elderly gardeners who are finding it more difficult to enjoy typical outdoor gardening will find that container gardening offers the same joys but with less work. Even small children find container vegetable gardening to be fun and easy, since they don’t have to have someone till the soil and there isn’t raking, weeding, and hoeing to worry about.

Growing vegetables in pots really makes it easy to have a garden when you don’t have the space for a traditional one.

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Which Plants are Best for a Container Garden?

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009


If you’re looking to grow some fresh fruit and veggies but don’t have a lot of space, container gardening is the answer. A wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit can be grown in pots. Herbs are the most popular, followed by vegetables. People don’t choose to grow fruit in containers as frequently as the other edible plants, perhaps because it’s considered to be too difficult.

However, strawberries are an excellent choice for a container garden, and they grow very well in an assortment of different pots. This is a very resilient plant, and is sometimes grown in “grow bags” made just for that purpose, which can be hung up just about anywhere outside.

Another fruit that lends itself well to container gardening is a dwarf fruit tree. A number of small citrus trees develop well in large pots, and if you trim them frequently they can make a gorgeous addition to your interior decor. Quite a few varieties of dwarf berry bushes will also grow quite successfully in containers, including raspberries and blueberries. One drawback is that they typically weigh a lot and can’t be moved around very easily.

Herbs are the first choice for container vegetable gardening because they do so well in this environment. Popular choices include parsley, basil and chives. Cilantro is another herb that takes well to being cultivated in a container. Indeed, most herbs thrive in containers.

The trick is to select a container that’s not too small for the variety of herb you’re growing. Some herbs, because of their smaller size, are better suited to a small pot, for example chives, parsley, and basil. But many herbs grow much larger. For instance, sage needs a large container because it’s a bush. Another space consuming herb is oregano, so you’ll need a larger pot to grow it.

Even though it’s actually a fruit, most gardeners include tomatoes in their vegetable plot. And there’s no reason not to add them to your container garden, as well. Great tasting tomatoes are hard to come by. The tomatoes you buy in the store are harvested when they’re green and become ripe through artificial means so that they can be transported with less risk of damage and extend their shelf life. Many types of tomato take well to being grown in a container, particularly small varieties such as cherry, grape and roma tomatoes.

Other veggies that are frequently planted in containers are carrots, peas, beans, cucumbers, lettuce, squash, radishes, peppers and scallions. Even potatoes and corn have been known to grow in a pot! In fact, almost all vegetables can be planted in a container if you maintain them properly.

You can start your plants from seedlings that can be obtained at the local nursery, but some people like to grow their own starter plants in small pots inside, transplanting them into a larger container when they’ve matured sufficiently. Another option is to plant seeds directly into a full sized pot, but there’s a chance you might damage the fragile seedlings while you’re thinning them. It’s simpler to just buy a seedling and plant it, but you might find more pleasure in starting from scratch.

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