YORKTON - We recently talked about possible garden choices for this year; now let’s talk about containers, a great new addition to planting, even if you have garden space but especially if you don’t! There was a time that if you didn’t have a regular garden plot, you couldn’t have a garden.
But thankfully, that has changed thanks to seed breeders realizing that many interested gardeners live in spaces that may not have traditional garden spaces: they might have a balcony, might have a deck, might have a small yard. So why should they miss out on the fun?
When we look in seed catalogues, we will find many offerings that are labelled “great for containers’. And these delights are not limited to flowers!
First of all, choosing a container. The container has to be a reasonable size to what we are growing for a couple reasons. We want our plants to have room to develop a good root system so that they can grow well above soil.
Also, if a container is too small or just barely adequate, we will be watering them very often. Tomatoes need space for good roots to support the size of the plant, so a container the size of a pail (or larger, like a five gallon pail) is a good choice. Depending on the plant, we may want a taller container (if we are growing carrots). Use a soil-less or potting mix for the soil: it drains well, is not heavy, and has nutrients in it, perfect for our new little garden. Do not use garden soil which is heavy to carry, heavy to drain, and often depleted in nutrients. As long as our containers have drainage holes, they do not have to be traditional planters.
I read an article that we can even plant certain things right in a bag of soil! Plants that don’t have huge roots, like cucumbers or lettuce, can be planted in a bag of soil, laid flat, with openings cut into the plastic on top for planting, and on the bottom for drainage. It would be an interesting experiment!
When reading plant descriptions on seed packages or tags, watch for the words “compact” or “bush” plants. These indicate that the plants stay within certain size limits and will not be growing five feet tall, or with vines five feet long! There are compact cucumbers, compact squash or bush zucchini, and many tomato varieties that just love being in pots. Onions do very well, garlic as well, and peppers love containers (and look as beautiful as any flowering plant once they start to have peppers!). Lettuce is a great container crop.
The beauty of container planting is that the containers can be moved around easily to catch more sun, or moved into a sheltered spot on very hot days. Because we have containers, and therefore limited plants, it gives us ability to take good care of what we have planted. They are easy to monitor for water needs. Weeding is minimal. And for gardeners who have mobility issues, there is no problem about needing to kneel in the garden (and then getting up again afterwards!).
Once more thing, don’t forget about herbs! They are wonderful to have close by the back door, so that we can just step outside and snip a few sprigs of parsley or sage to add to our cooking. We have grown parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (good title for a song, right?), as well as tarragon, oregano, basil (delicious on pasta!), and even mint (plant this in it’s own container, because it is a pushy herb and will take over if mixed with other herbs.)
Imagine, a garden in containers! It can be done and it will be great! Thank you to our friends at YTW. Visit the hort society at www.yorktonhort.ca and have a great week!
