Gardening in Pots Containers to the Rescue!
—By Dan Potts
everything from plastic pots to old racing tires — anything that can hold a soil mix. For a growing mix, I recommend using mostly real soil mixed with some perlite to help drainage, and compost to add more organic matter for improved fertility. Watering seems to be one of the biggest challenges for most. Many people simply over-water their plants, thereby stressing them. I recommend letting the plants tell you when to water by waiting for their leaves to droop. To avoid spoiling them,
A
fter gardening virtually all of my life, and later teaching gardening
that usually means only watering once about every day or two. I prefer to water in the evening to allow plants to recover overnight. Another technique to growing in smaller
classes through West High School’s
spaces is to grow vertically. Use a trellis
Community Education Program, I have
to support plants such as tomatoes. Allow
concluded that almost anyone can grow a
cucumbers to climb a wall, or even use
garden.
handrails as opportunities to train them to
The only real requirement is about six hours of direct sunlight for any location.
increase productivity. Growing in suspended pots allows
It could be a small corner of your yard, a
increased exposure to sunlight for plants
patio, or even an outside deck on the east
such as strawberries that naturally do better
side of a high-rise apartment complex. You
hanging down.
could even grow a 25-pound watermelon
This year I plan to grow melons in black
eight stories up on a south-facing
polyethylene pots and tomatoes in car
apartment deck simply by training the
tires filled with a mix and resting on top of
vines to grow where you want them.
soil in the garden. I also plan on growing
Many renters either do not have access
snack peppers in a large ceramic pot on the
to garden space or the owner will not allow
patio for more convenient snacking. We
them to garden in the yard. However,
are already eating lettuce and arugula in
almost all renters are allowed to grow
our salads that I started weeks ago in pots
potted plants, and folks can usually find
that were easily carried inside when outside
places to put containers on a back patio
temperatures dropped too low.
or even in soil-less front yards. Thus, the
I’m certainly not talking about farming
trick is to grow more things in containers,
with polluting rototillers or using fancy
regardless of whether one has access to a
irrigation systems. Having occasional fresh
garden area on the ground.
veggies or even pet plants to talk to every
There are almost limitless choices for containers. Over the years I have used
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day is what I am talking about.
