How to Prepare a Successful Container Garden

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Garden Container
A potting medium
Fertilizer
Plants
Hand trowel
Water
Sunlight

Step 1

Container Options for your Container Garden

Picking the Right Container for your Container Garden:

A successful container is sturdy, tasteful, and at least 15 quarts, but can range up to 120 quarts. Containers should also be non-toxic to plants, so it should not include any creasote, penta, or other toxins that are usually used for treating wood. Additionally, a proper container will be light colored to prevent excess light/heat from being absorbed. Another thing that should be considered is drainage, which is best implemented by drilling or purchasing containers with 1/2" holes along the bottom.

Excellent options are:
- Clay pots
- Glazed ceramic
- Cedar or Redwood (Great for creating custom containers)
Step 2

Growing Medium for Container Garden

Growing Medium:

A proper growing medium (soil) for containers is light weight, porous, well drained, has adequate water holding capacity, is inert, and easily replicated. Commercial potting soils are generally adequate, but may be slightly acidic so adding lime may be necessary. They may also be expensive so making your own mixture is, not only easy, but recommended. A good home mixture is one part sphagnum peat, one part perlite or vermiculite, one part garden loam. All of these components can be purchased at your local gardening center or home & garden center. Once your mixture is made fill to 2" within the top of the container.
Step 3

Fertilizer for Container Garden

Fertilizer:

The first thing to understand is that each plants nutrient requirement is unique. It is a good idea to ask the person who you purchase the plants from what the requirement are. If you still do not feel confident the information can be easily obtained by a basic internet search or by simply looking at the label that comes with your plants.

OK, you have a couple basic options for fertilizer to chose from. One of these is a slow release fertilizer. These are best used when incorporated into your growing medium before planting. Slow release fertilizers are great because they require little work. The downside is that it may be difficult to add additional fertilizer as the original amount is used by the plant or leaches out with watering. If this is the route you choose to go the amount required is based on the size of your container. This can be found on the packaging. If you do not know what ratio to use (e.g. 20-10-20) I would recommend a balanced 14-14-14.

Your other option is to use a liquid formulation that can be found in the same ratios as with the slow release formulations. If you want to put in the extra work I would recommend using this method. The reason is that when you water your plants fertilizer is leached out of the growing medium. So, with liquid formulations it is generally recommended to add fertilizer every few waterings.

A couple tips:
1) Make sure to keep an eye out for salt build up from over fertilizing that will appear as a white residue on your soil surface.
2) Don't forget to provide your plants with micro-nutrients (nutrients not in conventional 20-20-20 N-P-K - Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium fertilizers.) These formulations can also be purchased where you find your macro-nutrient fertilizer.
Step 4

Watering Your Container Garden Plants

How to Water Your Container Garden Plants:

Amount of water needed depends on how much sun your plants are exposed to, humidity, wind, growing medium, species grown, and container size. This may seem overwhelming, but in reality it is very easy to keep your plants hydrated. Just try to keep it basic, most container plants are pretty hardy and will bounce back if your miss a watering or two.

First of all make sure to keep an eye on the plants. Look for wilting/wrinkling in the leafy tissue as this may be a sign your plants are not getting the water they need. Next check your growing medium for a nice dark color that is moist. There should not be any standing water and the medium should not look like a soup. This is a sign of inadequate drainage or too much watering. Be wary of this because it is a great way to invite plant disease, breed pesky mosquitoes, and choke out your roots. If you are not sure if your growing medium is moist enough poke your finger into the top of the soil and check for moisture in the top 2" of the soil.

If you have determined your plants need water use your watering device to add water to the container. It is usually best to add water until you notice it begin to drain out of the bottom of the container. Be careful not to wash away your growing medium in the process.

Additionally, attempt not to water directly over the top of your plants, instead do so near the soil around the plant foliage. This is done to prevent the spreading of disease or development of mildew. Also, plants in the sun during hot days can be damaged by increased heat caused by too much water being retained on the plant surface.

I know a lot of folks stress about watering there plants, but trust me you will do fine with just a little observation and care.

Additional Tips:
- Never use water that you do not consider safe to drink
- Never use water that has passed through a water softener
Step 5

Pest Problems in your Container garden

Pest/Disease in your Container Garden:

Generally container garden plants are at less risk to pest problems, but when there is damage it is more easily noticed. This is not a bad thing because it will help you to fix the problem quicker and allows for quick quarantine. Keep an eye out for odd foliage spots, chew marks, and mildew. A good at home remedies for fungus or mildew is one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide mixed to every one gallon of water. A good general insecticide is 1/2 teaspoon dish washing liquid, 1/4 teaspoon cooking oil, and 1-quart warm water. Both of these at-home remedies can be applied as needed in 10 day intervals.
Step 6

Select Plants for Your Container Garden

Picking your Plants for Your Container Garden:

Picking your plants is the best part of the process and lets you add a little more originality to your plantings. In general, container plants are usually small in size, colorful/graceful, and have similar needs when planted with other species/varieties.

Some good combos are:
1) Supertunia, Sanvitalia, Nemesia, and Bractantha
2) Pennesitum, Verbena, Lamiastrum, Nemesia
3) Supertunia, Micro Bells, Verbena
4) Geranium, Verbena, Bacopa, Vinca Vine

For Vegetables (not combinations)Try:
Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Baby Carrots, Radish, Onions, Herbs, Spinach, Cucumber, and Squash.