Use Pots, Barrels, or Cedar Boxes to Add Color and Creativity to your Home
We all love growing our own vegetables as well as flowers when the warmer temperatures are here. However, with the type of soil here on the coast and the temperamental climate it is a challenge to get good crops. The area where you live may have sandy soil, poor sunlight exposure, as well as limited space. You may have a deck, which you may want to fill with plants. A good alternative to growing in the ground is to use containers to plant your vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Plant containers come in all types of sizes, shapes, colors and textures. The containers are very versatile, you can plant them in groups to add beauty to your outdoor space. They can be used for a variety of groupings, different flowers and herbs placed in the same pot. Containers can be placed in a favorite location, which can take advantage of sunlight and ease of care, and harvest.
All types of containers such as ceramic, terra cotta or plastic pots; wine barrels; cedar boxes will work as long as they have a drainage hole. Think about large plastic tubs like a large ACE container, and drilling a hole underneath. You can paint and decorate them as your creativity desires.
Generally, large plants require wider and deeper growing spaces than small plants. Large containers are more space efficient, and smaller containers are easier to move for example rotate with the sun exposure. Shallow containers, 8 to 10 inches deep, are fine for some vegetables, but they dry out faster than deeper ones. The deeper containers are preferred for crops such as tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and other long-root or large-growing crops.
Choosing the soil will be most important. It is recommended not to use your ground garden soil, which may have unwanted weeds and possible disease carrying insects or fungus.
The best soil choices are commercially grown garden soil mixes, which have the appropriate blend of soil moisture retaining properties, are light and free of disease. You can also blend your own with any combination of soil, peat moss or coconut coir, you may have to look online for the proper proportion.
The website https://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu, has many topics which will you give evidence based accurate information. The need for fertilizer during the growing season is very important, but be careful not to over fertilize and burn the plants.
In planning your container plantings, decide on what you want to grow and what the growing conditions will be for the plants. Are you interested in having your favorite herbs and spices?
Choose the area in your deck or space with the best sunlight and check the seed packet for the amount of sun the plant will need. The time of day it is sunniest and how many hours of sun the plant will require. Where is the water source? Container soil will dry up quicker and needs more frequent watering.
To have a better outcome you can start plants indoors and move them outside as the temperature warms up. Starting plants inside early will give you a head start. However, plants must be hardened a bit at a time to prevent permanent damage from the change in climate. Place plants in a protected area outside and bring them inside for a couple of days. Also, there are some vegetables which won’t survive transplanting, such as carrots, which will grow deformed. When you read the seed label it will say the length of time to germinate, and whether it can be planted indoors and replanted or only planted where it will grow. You can also buy starts and place them outside when the soil is warm, and no frost is expected. In our area protect them from too much water from the rain because they will drown and cause roots to rot and die.
Container gardening is a creative way to have greens, vegetables, or flowers and with care and attention can be very fulfilling.
Happy Gardening!
This article was originally published in the July 2024 Ocean Observer.
