Things You'll Need:
- Containers in a variety of sizes and shapes
- Seeds and nursery plants
- Small rocks or pebbles
- Dirt, potting soil
- Plant food
- Large bucket (optional) for mixing dirt and soil
- Scissors
- Garden trowel
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Step 1
Organize your containers by size. Unless you’re concerned about how the containers look, you can use almost any plastic container to grow herbs and vegetables as long as you match the size of the plant to the container. Glass or pottery containers should probably only be used if they were designed for growing plants, because proper drainage is very important. Most glass or pottery plant pots already have drainage holes and trays built in. Plastic containers, on the other hand, can easily have drainage holes cut into the bottom and a plastic plate or bowl can be used as a basin underneath.
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Step 2
Using small rocks or pebbles that are slightly larger in diameter than the drainage holes for each pot, place a pebble over each hole before putting any soil in the pot. Do not use flat pebbles that will completely cover the drainage hole! Your goal should be to prevent soil from escaping when you water the plant, and slowing the escape of the water, too. You want to allow drainage of excess water, but allow the plant to take up as much water as it needs. If you have plenty of pebbles on hand, go ahead and throw a small handful of them into the bottom of each pot. A layer of pebbles will provide a final layer to capture moisture and allow the excess water to drain easily.
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Step 3
My vegetables seem to grow better in a combination of both dirt and potting soil. If you have some real dirt available, you might want to try mixing some dirt in with the potting soil. Equal amounts of each can be used, but if you have only a limited supply of dirt available, use a larger percentage of potting soil. This is a good time to “amend” your soil, too, unless you’ve purchased one of the super-growth-formula potting soils on the market. Refer to the label on your bottle or bag of plant food to determine how much to add to your soil mixture.
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Step 4
If you are planting some seeds to produce herbs or veggies that don’t require much soil depth (radishes, for example), use your shallow containers for these. Plant seeds and water the soil according to package instructions. Bring these containers indoors if possible, until plants have sprouted nicely. To encourage quick sprouting, cover the container with plastic wrap and poke some holes in the plastic wrap to allow air to circulate. Put the container in a sunny location, where the warmth and moisture will help seeds to germinate quickly. Remove the plastic wrap and move the container out of direct sunlight as soon as sprouts are visible. Water lightly and allow plants to grow for a couple of days before trying to move them outdoors. Put them outside during the day (avoid direct sun) and bring indoors overnight for about a week, keeping the soil damp but not wet. Once plants are fully established, just thin them, feed and water as needed.
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Step 5
Transplanting nursery plants into your containers is an easier task than growing from seeds. Make note of how far the soil is up on the stalk of the plant when you remove it from the nursery container. Don’t plant it any deeper than that in the new container unless the original plant depth has left some roots exposed. If there are any splindly little shoots growing up from below the soil, snip them off with scissors before transplanting to your containers.
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Step 6
Allowing about an inch of “head space” between the top of the rootball and the top of the container, hold the plant next to the container you plan to use and note where the bottom of the root ball is. That’s how deep you want to fill the container with soil before putting the plant in it. Once the soil base is in (press it down with your hands or knuckles until it feels firm), hold the plant upright while pouring soil all around the sides of it. Again, press down on the soil to provide a firm surface that will support your plant. Keep adding soil until it reaches about an inch below the top of the container. At that point the soil should be flush with the top of the root ball of the plant. Press down to firm up the soil again and add more if needed, then give the plant a thorough watering. That inch or so of headspace in the planter will provide room for you to add water without any runoff.
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Step 7
Keep all of your transplanted containers out of direct sun for a few days after this. They need some time to settle into their new surroundings, and hot sun or other temperature extremes can kill or damage them due to “shock.” Gradually expose them to more sun each day. Keep soil moist but not wet to the touch, watering in the morning so they have plenty of moisture in the heat of the day and won’t mildew at night. If some plants seem to droop or get brown edges, move them to an area with less afternoon sun.
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Step 8
Water your new plants, feed them according to the plant food package directions and watch them grow until they’re ready to be eaten! There’s a special satisfaction in eating what you’ve grown and knowing exactly what you’re consuming.
Comments
gahazeleyes said
on 5/28/2009 Nice article. Thanks for sharing. I like gardening. You have very good tips and advice.
cygnetbrown said
on 5/28/2009 Well written article. Thanks for the tips on growing a garden in containers.