You don’t need to have a backyard to be able to get into gardening, and even growing your own edibles. Container Gardening is the act of gardening in containers, these can be any sort of container from pots and tubs through to buckets, timber boxes and even specially made planters like Vegepods. The only limit is your imagination.
There are a few important things to keep in mind when picking or making a container to start your container garden.
Size - It’s important to plan and think of the space you’ll be keeping your pots, along with what you want to grow. Will the container your choosing have enough room for your new plants roots to grow?
Drainage - Make sure your containers have at least one drainage hole in the bottom to allow excess water to flow through
Weight - If you’re going to be moving your container around once it’s planted, be sure to be mindful of the weight once it’s fully planted up. A pot, soil and mature plant can be quite the heavy task! Consider a wheeled stand if you’re going to be moving it about often.
What to plant
Each season brings different things to grow in your edible garden. You also need to ensure if you’re containers are in a full-sun position, that you’re growing plants that will thrive in full-sun and so on.
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Consider some friends
Companion planting is a great idea whenever you’re planting edibles. Flowers like Marigolds or Nasturtiums make great companion plants, inviting beneficial insects to your garden to protect your precious edibles from any nasties.
Picking a Potting Mix
It’s important to ensure you’re picking a good quality potting mix to grow your edibles in. Making sure there is plenty of the good stuff and no nasties to give your edibles the best start in life.
Rocky Point Coco Pro is ideal for growing all types of vegetables and herbs in any size container. Coco Pro is a professional grade potting mix. It has 14 months of controlled release fertiliser, and 40% Coir (coconut) fibre and chip. The environmentally sustainable Coir added gives the advantages of excellent drainage of excess water, but also storing some moisture to ensure it’s there when your plants need a drink without getting ‘wet feet’ which can cause root rot and end up killing your plants
Mulching on top
Mulching can often be forgotten about when it comes to planting in containers, but it is just as beneficial no matter the garden size. Mulching around your edibles in pots with an organic mulch like Sugar Cane Mulch aids in reducing moisture evaporation and will also add nutrients as it slowly breaks down. It also helps in protecting your plant roots from extremes of temperature like really hot summer days or chilly winter mornings.
Using Fertiliser
Depending on the type of plants you’re growing, a little added fertiliser may be needed for a kick start. Consider the application of a seaweed concentrate as soon as you plant your new seedlings to minimise replanting shock.
A regular application (every few weeks) of an organic pelletised fertiliser like ActivGrow Fertiliser Pellets are great for feeding your plants if you’re growing flowering or fruiting plants (like tomatoes, capsicums, strawberries etc.) is also ideal to ensure they have plenty of nutrient to uptake as they grow.
The most important thing to remember when container planting is to have fun! Gardening is great for not only your physical health with being active and consuming great fresh produce, but also your mental health. Enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and get out there and garden!
