Create a Container Garden!

If you are like me and aren’t ready to commit to building a full garden in your backyard, you may want to consider container gardening.  Container gardening gives you a chance to grow fresh herbs and veggies without digging up your yard.  And its easy to contain — hence the Container Garden!  This is my second year growing vegetables and herbs in a container garden.  We had a lot of success with tomatoes last year but not so much with peppers.  So this year we are trying a few new veggies.  Make sure you get the kids involved, it’s a great project for the entire family.

The first thing you want to do is decide what to grow.  As I mentioned peppers didn’t do so well in my hot Texas backyard.  So I am trying cucumbers, zucchini and squash this year.  I have had luck in the past with these veggies so I’m trying it again.  We are also growing a few different types of tomatoes and herbs too.  Look for my indoor herb garden post in the future.

While you are out shopping for your veggies, see if your store sells this Patio Garden kit.  You can make your own from scratch, but these are really easy to manage, light enough to move around and not too expensive.  You’ll want to take out the instructions, the wheels and the water tube before you start filling it.

This aeration screen will help separate the water from the dirt.  You can use the water tube to water the plants or seeds or you can water directly every couple of days.

The wheels will allow you to move the container if it gets too hot or if you have a severe hail storm.  I like the option of moving my container around to see what sunlight it does best in.

Fill up the container with your favorite potting soil.  I like having some room on top, so I filled it up to the top line.  You can go all the way to the top if you want.  It’s really your preference.

The next step is to place your plants where you want to put them.  This mock-up will let you visualize where everything should go.  You want to make sure you don’t crowd the plants.  If you put too many in one container, you could have an over-crowding problem.  A container this size can hold between 4-6 plants.

When you are ready to plant, did a small hole in the dirt where each plant will go.  Then take the plastic wrap off each plant.  You will be able to plant your veggies in this biodegradable carton.  This carton will eventually disappear.  This was created to avoid using so many plastic containers.  With this biodegradable container you are actually helping the environment.

You will want to break up the carton just a little.  This will allow the roots of the plant breathe a little bit and help grow.

Once you have placed each plant in it’s designated hole, it’s time to put another layer of dirt on top.

Cover up all of the carton and leave enough of the plant visible in the container.

Your container should look like this.  Each tomato plant has plenty of elbow room and the root is completely covered up.

Don’t forget to leave each of the veggie tags by each plant.  It will come in handy in the early days before you see any growth.  It will also remind you how to care for each of them.

Once you have found the perfect location for your container, it’s time to give it one big, healthy watering.  Most veggie plants will need water everyday or every other day.  You want to make sure it’s not getting too much water or too little water.  If the soil is still moist, you will not need to water it that  day.  And if you want to just use the water tube, fill it up every day and allow the plants to use as much water as it needs.  Whatever you decide to do, enjoy this process!  Spring is a great time of year to try something new.