Tips About Your Gardening Pots

Gardening doesn’t have to be time intensive, especially when you have the right tools and materials for the job. Having a busy schedule means you want to make the most out of your gardening experience, even if that garden is housed in just containers. However, did you know that the container you choose to plant in as well as what you put in it can make a world of difference in the success of your container garden?

It’s All about the Pots

There are a number of different plant containers to choose from, so how do you know which one is best? What you don’t want to do is choose unglazed clay or terra cotta pots. The primary reason is that unglazed terra cotta or clay pots are very permeable. This means moisture leaches out of the container rather quickly leaving the plant starving for moisture.

When you use the unglazed terra cotta or clay pots, you could water the plants in them in the morning and by evening time; the plants will feel a bit dry, not moist as they should be. The extreme conditions of going from dry to wet to dry again within a short amount of time can eventually put your plant into shock.

Choosing a pot for your container gardening can be easy. A container in which the material is not permeable, meaning that the moisture won’t escape readily from the very material the container is made of, is the best choice. This material could be metal, plastic or a glazed pot.

Soil Mixture Essentials

It is important that you choose a potting mix that does not have any synthetic ingredients in it. Regular garden or top soil is not the best as it could have excessive weed seed or even bugs in it that could hinder the good health of your plant. Instead, choose a high quality potting soil with natural fertilizers made from organic materials, particularly one that slowly releases the proper nutrients into the soil.

Add Moisture Retaining Materials to the Soil

Lend a bit of a hand in the moisture department. Add some special water retaining crystals into your potting soil. These crystals absorb a lot of water which they then release slowly in the soil. This particular material is especially beneficial if you are busy and don’t always have the time to water your container garden each day.

Part of the fun of having a container garden is the planning of it. Take your time in selecting just the right pots that will not only be the best for your plants but also your decor whether it is a balcony, patio or postage stamp yard. Ensuring the proper potting soil and water retention materials will only enhance your gardening experience.

The post Tips About Your Gardening Pots appeared first on Downtown Homestead.

from Downtown Homestead http://downtownhomestead.com/tips-gardening-pots/

Comments

Air Condition Your Garden

July, it is the time of the year when air conditioning is as important in the garden as it is in the home. You, as the temperature rises, can cool off with an electric fan, a cool drink or by hiding away in a cool spot. Your plants are not quite that lucky; yet certain gardening techniques can be employed to help your plants through the summer months. The benefits of air conditioning in your garden will show up in the form of increased production, greater resistance to disease and pests and, in general, a more attractive vista. An improper over-heated environment during the warmer months often leads to wilt, dropping of buds and yellowing of foliage. Aeration of the soil is concerned with its exposure to the air. If this is lacking then your plants very likely will suffer this summer. Believe it or not but there are millions of tiny spaces between the soil particles and this is where air resides. Soils that become water-logged force out this air, a condition that leads to souring of ...

Harvest and Store Garden Vegetables

Vegetables gathered at just the right time can be stored naturally or, in many cases, by deep freezing, for use months later in the kitchen. Nature, however, makes its own provision for over- winter storage and the survival of the species, which involves either the production of seed (peas, beans, etc.) or roots to remain in the ground to produce seed heads the following season (parsnips, carrots, etc.). Vegetables in this latter group store much better if left in the ground and lifted as required, or stored in clamps. parsnips can be left in the ground throughout the winter Root crops should never be stored in plastic bags, for they will invariably rot. If you have well- drained soils, where slugs are not a problem, a winter hardy variety of carrot such as ‘Autumn King’ is best left in the ground; carrots stored in sand or peat often shrivel, rot or go moldy. Parsnips are certainly best left in the row; frost improves the flavor but it is a good idea to lift a few at a time during...

Growing Your Own Rhubarb: Growth and Cultivation

Rhubarb is commonly eaten as though it is a fruit, although in fact it is a perennial vegetable. It is simple to grow, produces a good crop, and if tended with care, can last for up to twenty years. It prefers either full sunlight, or partially shaded areas. Varieties of rhubarb include ‘Victoria’, ‘Cawood Delight’, ‘Ruby’, ‘Champagne’, and Timperley Early’. Planting Out Your Rhubarb Rhubarb can be planted out in sets/crowns anytime between November and early April, and can survive temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees centigrade, as it is virtually frost resistant. The sets are usually around 10cm in diameter. Before planting, ensure that you have a clear, well-weeded, open patch of well-drained soil, and that the soil is well fertilized. Dig down between two and three ft deep, place the set into the hole, cover with soil, gently firm out the surrounding soil, and ensure that the rhubarb is watered well. If you are planting more than one plant, you must space them approxima...

Downtown Homestead

Search This Blog