Container Gardening Basics for Beginners

Container Drainage Is Key. ...
Calculate Sun Exposure. ...
Choose A Fertilizer Method and Stick With It. ...
Choose Container Plants Wisely. ...
Pick Your Plants and Group Them According to Care and Needs. ...
Keep a Cheat Sheet for Each Plant You'll Grow. ...
Acclimation and Hardening Transplants and Seedlings.

How do I start a container gardening?
What are the fundamentals of container gardening?
How deep does my container garden need to be?
What vegetables are best for container gardening?
Do I need to put rocks in the bottom of a planter?
Do plants grow better in pots or in the ground?
Is it safe to grow vegetables in 5 gallon buckets?
What are the easiest flowers to grow in pots?
What are the benefits of container gardening?
How many bags of soil do I need for a 4x8 raised bed?
How many tomato plants can I grow in a 4x4 raised bed?
How do you fill a raised bed cheaply?

How do I start a container gardening?

Find a sunny spot for your herbs and vegetables. Herbs and lettuce need at least a couple hours of good sun per day; tomatoes need full sun. Fill the container with 2-4 inches of compost soil. If you're planting sprouts, make sure to give them a few inches of space around the roots.

What are the fundamentals of container gardening?

Selecting containers

Be sure your container has good drainage. The container should be slightly larger than the combined rootballs of the plants you will put into them. Containers that have a lot of unfilled space retain too much water and encourage root rot.

How deep does my container garden need to be?

Soil depth of at least 8 inches/ 20 cm will hold sufficient soil, nutrients, and moisture to support a good yield from almost every vegetable and herb grown in a container. (Expect to water two or three times per week.) Smaller containers holding less soil may require more frequent watering and fertilizing.

What vegetables are best for container gardening?

Vegetables that are ideally suited for growing in containers include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green onions, beans, lettuce, squash, radishes and parsley. Pole beans and cucumbers also do well in this type of garden, but they do require considerably more space because of their vining growth habit.

Do I need to put rocks in the bottom of a planter?

A: For years, experts told gardeners to put a layer of gravel, pebbles, sand or broken pieces of pot in the bottom of the pot before potting up houseplants or outdoor plants. The idea was to improve drainage. But research shows that this advice is wrong. Water doesn't travel well from one medium to another.

Do plants grow better in pots or in the ground?

In comparison to the ground, containers hold substantially less growing media. This means their surface-area-to-volume ratio is far greater, which causes them to heat up and cool down far quicker than the ground. These fluctuations in temperature can damage plant roots and compromise overall growth.

Is it safe to grow vegetables in 5 gallon buckets?

Five-gallon buckets make terrific containers for a huge number of vegetables. Not only do they hold just enough potting soil for roots to thrive, but they don't take up a lot of room on a crowded patio or deck. … Using 5-gallon buckets, you can grow as many different vegetables as you'd like.

What are the easiest flowers to grow in pots?

Easy Flowers to Grow in Pots

Geraniums. Classic geraniums like these, 'Dark Red' and 'White Watermelon', look as natural on porches in summer as pumpkins do in fall. ...
Petunias. ...
Mandevillas. ...
Hydrangeas. ...
Chrysanthemums. ...
Begonias and Coral Bells. ...
Impatiens. ...
Sedums and Coleus.

What are the benefits of container gardening?

Going the container route saves space, helps control pests and overcome soil issues, enabling the availability of home grown fresh produce without a yard. But it is important to choose a seed or a plant that was specifically developed for the compact container space.

How many bags of soil do I need for a 4x8 raised bed?

How much soil? For a 4x8–foot raised bed with a 10” height, about 1 cubic yard of soil is needed.

How many tomato plants can I grow in a 4x4 raised bed?

A 4'x4' raised bed can accommodate 4 or 5 tomato plants. For USDA zones with longer growing seasons, & for indeterminate tomato varieties, only 2 or 3 tomato plants might fit in a 4'x'4' raised bed. Determinate tomato plants typically require less space than indeterminate varieties.

How do you fill a raised bed cheaply?

First, dig a trench that's about ten inches deep and two feet down the center of your raised bed. Put down a few layers of cardboard to kill any weeds or grass. Then, fill the core of your raised bed. The best option for this is to use straw bales, but you can also use leaves, grass clippings, or old twigs.