Have you ever wanted to start a container garden, but just didn’t know how to begin? It’s easier than you think! I’ll share things I learned to help you get started.
Select containers: I picked fabric bags for most of my garden. I bought Opulent Systems bags from Amazon. They’re inexpensive and hold up well. I used plastic deck flower boxes 3′ long for lettuce and put holes in the bottom for drainage. Fabric bags breath so it gets air to the roots. You also can’t over water so if you have a very wet spring/summer your garden won’t drown.
Container size matters. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, corn, etc. need space for roots to grow. 5 – 7 gal worked well. 1 plant per pot. My herbs did well in 1 gal to start. When they outgrew I transferred them to 3 gal. I didn’t want them to be all roots so I didn’t start out with a big container.
Soil: I tried garden soil and container garden soil. Miracle Grow for flower and veggies in the yellow bag seems to work the best.
Water: Don’t let your plants dry out. Because the bags are fabric and air circulates they dry out faster than plants in the ground. If it’s hot water every day unless it rains. I use the hose and fill all of the bags. I’d rather over water than under water. The excess will drain.
Tend to your plants: take off dead leaves, check for insects, remove over ripe or rotten veggies. You can’t just plant and forget about them.
Even if you just plant 1 or 2 things, it’s a start. Tomatoes and peppers are easy.
Last year I started (sort of) small to see how it went. This year I was a bit adventurous. When we moved into our house in August of last year there was a garden at the back of the house with nothing in it. I decided to use that for my herb garden. I have mint, parsley, thyme and rosemary. On the side of the garage there were large, ugly bushes. We pulled those and it now has 2 blueberry bushes and broccoli. In containers I have lettuce (head and leaf), cherry and regular tomatoes, peas, green beans, corn, broccoli, and basil (that didn’t like being in my herb garden). Beets ad carrots were seeded directly in a raised bed. My intention was to have the containers sitting in different area on the patio where they’d have room to grow. Our Beagle Daisy had different ideas. Being the young, mischievous hound she is, she kept nipping off my seedlings and eating them. so the 2nd raised bed holds containers. I really need to get a 3rd so I can spread things out as they’re growing.
I’ve provided the basics to get you started. Now go out and grow! It’s very satisfying to pick fresh veggies for dinner. Please feel free to comment or email of you have questions. I’m happy to help.