Great container gardening ideas

Patio Vegetable Container Gardening Idea

2009-09-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Now that we have an idea and have picked our shelving we need to pick out what kind of containers we want to use. For our basic patio vegetable garden I've selected a wire shelving unit and I'm going to use plain plastic containers that you can find at most gardening supply stores or the Do it Yourself stores. These are functional without being decorative, but you can do what best suits your container gardening ideas.

I like to use containers that will mock how I would plant out in a traditional garden. I'll use long shallow containers for my leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, cilantro, etc. I like to plant these in a row because you never know how many of your seeds will actually germinate; having them in a row makes them easier to thin. You can also do your radishes, celery, scallions and such in long containers for the same reasons, just be sure they are deep enough for the root bulb. Actually you may notice a theme here, I like using the long containers so that it keeps all of my various veggies separated by container and it's just like planting a row of vegetables in a traditional garden.

Next I'll grab some medium sized pots to put my individual pepper plants in. I'm a nut for peppers and I'll have quite a few of these for Hungarian peppers, jalapenos, Cayenne, various other chili peppers etc. I also use the these pots to plant individual onions sets in.

My vegetable container gardening idea is now almost complete. I just need a few large containers to plant tomatoes in. I like to have a couple of standard tomatoes like Better Boy or Roma as well as at least one cherry tomato plant.

That is my container gardening idea for a non-ornamental, functional patio vegetable garden.

Pick your container gardening idea

2009-08-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Let's start exploring some specific container gardening ideas. The one I'd like to start out with is growing a vegetable container garden on a balcony or small patio. Salad vegetables do real well in containers as long as the container has good drainage and aren't blocked from sunlight. One of the best ways to assure adequate sunlight is to use a stepped or tiered shelving system so that the plants aren't in the shadow of the plants on the shelf above them. Tiered shelving isn't always practical, I've found that well separated wire shelves work great.

Covered patios and balconies are a little more problematic depending on where you live and which direction your the balcony/patio faces. Your container gardening ideas will need to adapt to your particular situation. If your patio's exposure doesn't provide the necessary sunlight for stepped shelves placed against the wall you can always use vertical shelves placed near an outer edge of the patio and aligned in such a way as to minimize shadowing. If plants are shadowed for log periods you can always rotate the containers so the plants share in the sunlight or move the plants that do well in shade into these areas.

Container gardening ideas need to be a little more creative when you have a covered upper level balcony. In this situation I'd use a window box style planter with hooks that you can use to hang the container from the balcony's railing. You can even hang one on either side of the railing to double your garden's size. This serves to highlight that container gardening ideas can be made to fit almost any situation.

Coming up with a container gardening idea

2009-08-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had any thoughts about container gardening? I would like to share my container gardening ideas to hopefully inspire you and expand your interest in this awesome concept. The first question we all face with coming up with container gardening ideas is where do I start? There are many different container gardening ideas out there. To decide which way is best for you there are some things to consider.

Location: Do you live in a house with a small yard or maybe an apartment with a patio or balcony.

Plants: What do you want to grow? You can grow anything from ornamental plants to herbs, vegetables and fruits.

Types of containers: You need to select the container that both suits the area you have chosen and the plants you are going to grow. For instance if one of your container gardening ideas is to grow herbs then small shallow containers work fine. However, if your container gardening ideas involve planting standard tomatoes you will need a deeper container to allow for a larger root system and maybe a stake or two so the plants have good support. Do you want to use multiple small containers placed on shelves or do your container gardening ideas involve larger floor standing containers? These containers can also vary by type. You can choose the traditional clay pots to more decorative containers.

When it comes to implementing your container gardening ideas the choices are endless. We'll explore some specific options to setting up your container gardens in this blog. Once you've chosen your plants and decided where to place the containers the rest is easy. Then you can sit back and enjoy watching your garden grow without the hassle of tending to a full size traditional garden. Your container gardening ideas will come to life right before your very eyes!