How to Create a Container Garden

Container Gardening is perfect for anyone who is wanting to start their own home garden but who have limited amount space or are limited in what they’re able to do to their yard.  With container gardening there’s no tilling the ground and very little weeding that will need to be done.  Plus, you can place your containers right on your back porch or close to your door for easy access.  This post will cover all the areas you need to know about how to create a container garden, so hopefully you can make some beautiful ones for your home!

What is a Container Garden?

Container Gardens are exactly what their name implies, a garden where all of the plants are planted in various containers.  The benefits, as I’ve previously mentioned are great.  Very little prep work and up keep—and it’s economical and fairly easy to put together and maintain.

To create your own container garden all you need are various containers, dirt and your plants.  You can either purchase garden pots from the local hardware store or you can repurpose containers that you already have on hand.

Think outside the box to make your container garden unique and yours! Clay pots tend to wick the water away from the soil, so try to avoid those. If you find one that you absolutely love and want to include it in your container garden, simply plant your plant in a smaller container and slip it inside of the clay pot.

You’ll want to make sure that you have some deep containers for your deeper rooted plants such as tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. Smaller containers, however, work great for lettuces, and even radishes.

Find a place that is easily accessible and that receives a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day. Once you have your area picked out, arrange your containers (without dirt!) until you are satisfied with how it looks. If there are no drainage holes in the bottom of your containers, you will need to drill a few so

Find a place that is easily accessible and that receives a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day.  Once you have your area picked out, arrange your containers (without dirt!) until you are satisfied with how it looks.  If there are no drainage holes in the bottom of your containers, you will need to drill a few so that any excess water can drain out.  The more holes you have the less risk your plants have for drowning.

After you’ve figured out how you want them placed, you can go ahead and fill them.  First, you’ll want to add something to the bottom of the container that stops your soil from washing out through the drainage holes.  Scrap window screen or burlap are great, economical choices.  For the best planting medium, I recommend that you use a combination of dirt, peat moss and compost so that the soil will not compact and it will encourage good root growth.

Now that your dirt is added to your containers, you can begin to plant your plants.

Keep in mind that plants that are planted in container gardens will need to be watered on a regular basis, more so than the typical garden. You’ll need to check the soil on a daily basis to see whether your plants need watered or not.

A good test is to stick your finger into the soil, up to your knuckle. If the soil feels dry at your fingertip, it’s time to water