Over the years we have been developing and expanding our ‘big’ garden, but it’s located away from the house and not easily accessible to grab fresh veggies for a quick salad. I’m hoping to change that this year by adding some container gardens on our deck.
Since I love potted plants but have no extra money right now to go and buy new ones, I have decided to use the many different containers that we have accumulated over the years and plant container vegetables. This will benefit us in two ways, it will provide the plants I want on the deck, and it will allow for easy access to our salad veggies.
The other benefit I’m looking forward to is that the kids will be able to grab a snack quickly outside. I remember growing up we were always told that if we were hungry, go get something from the garden. Most of our snacks as kids during the warmer months came from the garden, and it meant we didn’t have to go inside when we were hungry. I want our boys to have the same experience.
Benefits of Container Gardening
- Containers take up a lot less space than an in-ground garden, in fact you don’t need to have a yard to do container gardening. If there is a window in your home you can have some kind of container garden. Great for people in apartments, retirement homes or anyone with restricted space.
- Container gardens are easy. Great for beginner gardeners, it is less intimidating than starting an in-ground garden. They are also a good way to introduce kids to gardening. Great for the elderly and people with low mobility. A good option for people with back issues, with the right container there is less bending. They are easy to maintain, less weeding.
- Offer less disease, treating plant diseases and preventing pests is easier when plants are contained in one pot.
- They offer flexibility in gardening. Easy to change year after year for new looks. Gardeners have a greater variety of plants and containers to choose from as they mix and match favorites. Smaller containers can be moved easily to new locations.
- There are economical advantages, you can use almost any container to plant edible plants, saving money in groceries with little to no initial investment. There is the option of making money selling potted plants and containers.
The biggest benefit for us is going to be the quick and easy access to herbs and vegetables for salads.
Getting started:
- Choose your container, a container with a wide opening will work best. Make sure the container has proper drainage.
- Choose your plants, vegetable, flowers, fruits, etc. Make sure they will fit in your container (allowing for proper root growth). Make sure to choose plants that have the same growing requirements, if planting together.
- Find a spot for your container, an advantage with this is you can pick and choose depending on what kind of conditions your plants need, full sun, partial shade, etc.
- Choose a soil mix appropriate for your plants and container.
- Start planting 🙂
I am looking forward to getting started with my potted vegetables. This year I am planning on planting salad mixes, onions, cherry tomatoes and herbs.
Are you doing any container gardening? What are you planting?
I’m growing strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and basil in a cheap over the door shoe rack. I also have onions (and soon potatoes and garlic) planted in repurposed tire planters. There’s also the various actual planters that have veggies and herbs in them. I think container gardening is a brilliant way to get the most for the least effort. It’s called gardening smarter, not harder!
That’s awesome. I’d like to eventually try growing strawberries in containers, any tips?
Love the idea of container gardening! I am blessed to have a flower bed close to my front door, so my goal is to add more herbs and veggies among the perennials already there.
That’s a good idea K 🙂
I have a garden space close to my door also. Trouble is fighting off the deer. I have nets but they are hard to manage with no help. But I did find on the other side of my house I had a lot of containers planted with some lemon balm, lemon basil and lemon thyme. The deer did not touch anything there. So I am going to make that a priority this year. Plant lemon something everywhere. Happy gardening!
I do quite a bit of container gardening at my cabin. I don’t have any land because my cabin floats on a lake. But I do have a cedar log float with four raised beds on to. It isn’t very large, so I grow many things in containers on the cabin deck including flowers, peas, beans, garlic, peppers, herbs, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, rhubarb, and squash. I am always amazed at how much food I can get from plants in pots – Margy
That is amazing!
I grow most of my herbs in containers. I also do the “tire method” for potatoes … works great! I’m lucky in the fact that my garden boxes are quite close to the house, but I think I will try strawberries this year on the back porch!
Thanks for reading, I hope to eventually have strawberries in containers as well 🙂
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Love this
Thanks, I had fun writing it.
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