CONTAINER GARDENING

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CONTAINER GARDENING

• Larry G. Campbell
• WVU-Harrison County Extension Agent
• WVU Assistant Professor

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REASONS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING

• Allows you to garden in almost any location.
• -City, suburbs, country.
• -Poor growing conditions soil,
• sunlight, space.
• Good for people with disabilities or
• mobility problems.
• Low cost/low input.
• Easy to be successful.
• Start sooner in spring.

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THE ULTIMATE REASON!
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WHAT DO YOU NEED?

• Plan
• Place
• Pots
• Potting Media
• Plants or Seed
• Provide Water Nutrients

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CONTAINERS?
Buckets?
Tires?
Barrel?
Wading Pool?
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CONTAINERS
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CONTAINERS
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SELF-WATERING CONTAINERS
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CONTAINER TIPS

• Choose the right size container for the plants
  that you want to grow.
• Dont grow a tomato in a container that holds
  less than 5 gallons of soil.
• Pot sizes
• 1-2 gal. pepper, chard.
• 4-5 gal. tomato, cucumber
• 6-10 diameter pots greens,
• beets, radish, onion.

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TIPS..

• Scrub old pots with a 10 bleach solution before
  re-using.
• Season new clay pots by submerging them in water
  for 15 minutes before filling with soil.
• Add sand to bottom of container for tall plants
  to keep them from tipping over.
• Use non-biodegradable styrofoam packing peanuts
  or pieces of styrofoam instead of stones for
  drainage in bottom of pots to reduce weight.

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TIPS

• Slightly pre-moisten soil before putting it in
  the pots. Sphagnum peat works best with warm
  water.
• If possible drainage holes should be on sides of
  containers rather than on the bottom so excess
  water can drain out.

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THE RIGHT SOIL FOR CONTAINERS

• Container soil is challenging because of the
  small volume of media used to support plant
  growth.
• Desirable traits
• Water and nutrient retention.
• High porosity to ensure good aeration and root
  growth.
• Low bulk density (fluffy and light).
• Free from weeds, diseases, and human
  pathogens.

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THE RIGHT SOIL

• Dont fill containers with garden soil.
• Dont use peat mosstoo acidic and doesnt retain
  water.
• Soilless growing mixes containing a blend of
  sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite are best
  with the addition of 25 compost.

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THE RIGHT SOIL

• Commercial mixes such as Container Mix or
  Self-Watering Container Mix.
• Organic Blend 5 gallons finished compost, 1 gal.
  sand, 1 gal. vermiculite or perlite, and 1 cup
  granular all purpose organic fertilizer.
• Standard Blend 1 bushel vermiculite, 1 bushel
  ground spagnum moss, 8 tablespoons superphosphate
  (0-20-0), 8 tablespoons ground limestone, 2 cups
  bone meal.
• Garden Soil 25 sand25 garden soil50 compost.

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WATER AND NUTRIENTS
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WATERING INNOVATIONS FOR CONTAINERS

• Self-watering containers inner pot with outer
  pot or reservoir that holds water.
• Water-holding crystals that retain up to 200
  times their weight in water such as Terra-Sorb.
• Drip irrigation systems.

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WATERING TIPS

• Containers generally require more water and
  nutrients.
• Water until all the soil in the container is
  moist and water runs out the drainage holes.
• Water from once per week to twice per day
  depending on container and weather.
• The greatest water need is at flowering and
  fruiting.
• Use saucers or trays to catch excess water.
• Evaporation in large containers can be reduced by
  covering the soil surface with a thin layer of
  mulch.
• Dont use softened water to water plants since it
  contains dissolved salts.
• Cluster pots to minimize moisture loss.

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NUTRIENTS

• Your plants are totally dependent upon you for
  their food.
• Add slow-release fertilizer at planting such as
  Osmocote.
• Water weekly with half-strength, water-soluble
  fertilizer.
• Foliar feed with seaweed or fish emulsion for a
  quick pick up if plants look stressed.

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PLANTING IN CONTAINERS

• Plant seeds and plants in final location.
• Fill to within an inch or so of top of container.
• Dont crowd plants.

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Vegetables
• Bush Beans Bell Peppers
• Beets Summer Squash
• Carrots Tomatoes
• Cabbage Turnips
• Swiss Chard Eggplant
• Cucumbers Kale
• Leaf Lettuce Green Onions

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Herbs
• Anise Dill
• Basil Coriander
• Chervil Summer Savory
• Caraway Parsley
• Chives Mint
• Fennel Tarragon
• Lovage Thyme
• Marjoram Winter Savory

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Fruits
• Dwarf Apple Trees (spur-type).
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Plants For Sun
• Dwarf dahlias
• African daisy
• Heliotrope
• Petunia
• Verbena
• Chrysanthemum
• Calendula

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Container Plants That Tolerate Dry, Sunny Sites
• Zinnia angustifolia
• Ivy geranium
• Sedum
• Gomphrena
• Texas sage (salvia greggii)
• Scented geraniums

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Container Plants for Shade
• Impatiens
• Begonia
• Hosta
• Caladium
• Coleus

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PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CONTAINERS

• Plants That Look Good Alone
• Agave
• Yucca
• Bamboo
• False Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
• American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)
• Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca)
• Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum)
• Tufted Fescue (Festuca amythystina)
• Bougainvillea
• Fuchsia
• Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis)
• Common Boxwood
• Banana
• Pygmy Date Palm

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CONTAINER GARDENING RESOURCES

• Supplies
• Gardeners Supply Company www.gardeners.com
• Gardens alive! www.GardensAlive.com
• Home Harvest Garden Supply Inc.
  www.homeharvest.com
• (Above sources are examples and not intended as
• an endorsement.)

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CONTAINER GARDENING RESOURCES

• Books
• Container Gardening for Dummies- Bill Marken
  1998 IDG Books 334 pp.
• The Edible Container Garden- Michael Guerra
  2000 Fireside 159 pp.
• The Bountiful Container- Rose Marie Nichols
  Maggie Stuckey 2002 Workman Publishing Co.,
  Inc. 432 pp.
• The Contained Garden- Kenneth Beckett, David
  Carr, and David Stevens 1992 Penguin Books 168
  pp.
• Movable Feasts- Chuck Crandall Barbara
• Crandall 1995 Chapters Publishing 128 pp.
• The City Gardeners Handbook- Linda Yang
  1990 Random House.

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This PowerPoint program was assembled by Larry G.
Campbell, WVU-Harrison County Extension Agent and
WVU Assistant Professor. In addition to this
authors material, some photographs,
illustrations, and supporting materials were
assembled from various sources publicly available
on the Internet. The information was gathered
over a period of time and from sources too
numerous to list individually. The author would
like to acknowledge the assistance of these web
sites and publicly express his sincere
appreciation for the assistance. This program
was assembled solely for educational purposes and
primarily for use with statewide WV Master
Gardener training programs. The author did not
nor will ever receive financial compensation for
the preparation of this program. The program
may be copied and distributed in parts or in its
entirety for educational purposes. If any part of
this presentation is distributed, the efforts of
Mr. Campbell in assembling the materials must be
recognized. The distributor may not receive any
financial compensation for this service.
Larry G. Campbell WVU-Harrison County
Extension Agent and WVU Assistant Professor

lgcampbell_at_mail.wvu.edu WVU-Harrison County
Extension Office 301 West Main Street Room
507 Courthouse Clarksburg, WV 26301 (304)
624-8650