The alarming increase in reports of fruit and vegetable recalls is an excellent incentive for people to grow their own produce instead of purchasing it. Unfortunately, many people shy away from cultivating a garden because they feel it is either too much work or they simply don't have the space. However, this need not deter anyone; container gardening alleviates both of these objections.
Virtually anyone can use container gardening to raise fresh vegetables and fruits or grow flowers, regardless of where they live. The advantages of container gardening are numerous. No large area, soil preparation, weeding, or transplanting are necessary. Caring for container-grown plants is even easier than traditional gardening because containers can be moved to follow the sunlight and brought indoors in adverse weather. Even watering is easier because you know exactly how much water to add and there's no need for a sprinkler to be moved.
Almost anything that can be grown in a conventional garden will grow in a container. If there is any disadvantage at all, it's that some plants and vegetables are less conducive to container gardening. Squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and other plants that creep along the ground are really the only types of plants that aren't good for container gardening since the goal is avoid the need for space. However, tomatoes, beans, onions, radishes, blueberries, strawberries, chives, and most flowers will grow just as well in a container as a conventional garden.
When creating a container garden, avoid thin plastic containers as they tend to deteriorate in strong sunlight and avoid wood containers (other than redwood and cedar) as they will eventually succumb to wood rot.
Tags: ...
Comments (0):