Container Garden

Choosing A Container 
Your small garden can be home to many veggies since container gardens offer a very forgiving medium. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, you name it and a container garden can have it. But one of the important decisions is what container to use. There are so many different varieties I couldn't even begin to list them all. There are some basic containers that I can let you know about that work beautifully.

First is the Rubbermaid container you can get from your local store. If you drill holes 1" from the bottom and then once every 1" around the perimeter you will have a very affective container for a veggie garden. The biggest downside to these pots are the weight when you have watered them. I personally use these containers for my entire garden and have them in a spot that doesn't change over the course of the growing season.

Next is the large containers that look very ornamental. I'm sure you've seen them at your local home improvement store. If you get one of these make sure there are enough holes for drainage instead of one large hole at the bottom. A lot of these containers have a problem with water log in my personal experience. They are great to grow a garden in but make sure you drill 2-3 small holes about 1" from the bottom.

Terracotta pots have been a favorite for years. They are porous and have been known to "sweat". The only thing to watch out for is to get large pots with a good soil. I always put a tray underneath thats at least 2" deep. The reason is terracotta pots lose moisture through the walls of the container. By using a small tray you can water the garden and let the water stand in the tray and it will wick upwards through the drainage hole allowing your soil to stay moist without drying out or becoming waterlogged. The only problem with this container is the weight won't allow you to move your garden around. If you have tomatoes in your garden or other sun hungry plants you will have to place your container in a sun soaked area before you start adding soil to your container garden.

These are the most common containers I have seen and been asked about with container gardening in mind. If you have any suggestions I'll be happy to hear them. Just send me a quick email.

Thanks for stopping by the farm!