Yesterday we talked about the advantage and disadvantage of a container garden.  Today I want to give you an overview of how to plant in that container/pot.  Containers come in all different sizes, shapes, colors and materials.  All containers are about equivalent in usability, but you have to make sure and plant the right amount of plants according to the size and location.

The first thing to do when planting in a container is make sure there is at least one drain hole in the bottom of the container.  It is very important to allow excess water to exit the container to keep the plants from drowning.  Once you have decided you have enough drainage in the bottom, then you want to use something to help the water get out of that hole without clogging it up.  Old broken clay pots works well.  Semi large rocks work well.  They even make little filter disk that sit on the bottom of the pot to collect the fertilizer, but allow excess water to pass through.

Now that your drainage is taken care of, decide what plants you are going to plant in your container.  This will determine what type of potting mix you should have.  Some plants what well drained soil.  You will want to have a heavy concentration of vermiculite in your soil for those plants.  Some plants like to stay kinda wet, so you can use a heavier concentration of straight potting soil.  It is usually a good idea to have several different parts of the potting mix in different bags for you to mix yourself in order to get it just right.  Just a bag of potting soil is usually not the perfect mix for a container.  (It will work if you have nothing else, though).  I like to mix in the soil some ‘Start n Grow’ fertilizer and Bone Meal just to give a kick boost to the root systems on the plants.

Once you have filled the container to about 2/3 full of your soil mix, then you will want to get all your plants together to get them ready to put in the container.  I usually pull the plants out of their current pots and set them all in the new container to adjust to just the perfect direction, feel and look that I am wanting for that pot.  Once the plants are in there perfectly, than using a small shovel or your hands, pack in dirt fairly tight around all your new plants.  It is not a good idea to have air bubbles in the midst of the root system because it can cause the roots to dry out too fast and die in a short period of time.

Once your container is completed, we recommend watering in with a root stimulator, and you can sprinkle some Osmocote or Dynamite slow release fertilizer on top of the soil for extended feeding.

How much to water varies from pot to pot and plant to plant.  Most of the time the plants will talk to you and tell you when they are thirsty.  Just listen to what they have to say!

Happy Containers

Our Organic Pigg Patch

One area of the horticulture world that is growing fast is container gardening.  More people are growing their flowers and veggies in a container, rather than tilling up any part of the yard and maintaining it.  Originally, I was not sure how vegetables would do with being in a container, but I tried it this year, and so far they are doing fine.

So what can be used for a container?  Anything that drains water at the bottom and holds dirt!  That was an easy answer.  As you can see in the picture that is to the right, I started building a completely organic veggie and herb garden box out of cedar wood.  The cedar won’t rot and is bug resistant.  I filled it up with moisture retaining soil conditioner on the bottom, and garden soil from the bag on the top.  We planted strawberries, peppers, onions, and lettuce in this one.  The box is perfect for a patio, sunny side of a house, or even an apartment balcony.  I even made a smaller one for someone who just wanted a few plants.  My wife put tomatoes, okra, squash, watermelon, and onion in her small one that I made for her.  So far, everything is working great.

What are the advantages to using a container?  The most obvious advantage is the fact that it takes very little effort to get started.  Just set your container down and fill it up with soil and plant your plants.  You can also fill it with the best soil money can buy.  No amending your current dirt with a tiller or shovel.  You can change out the dirt in the container every year or two and it is like ‘rotating’ your crops.  Weeds are at a minimum because you are not dealing with old seeds that were in the soil when it got tilled up.  Usually the container is close to where you do most of your daily activities outside, so you can watch and maintain a little more effectively.

What are the disadvantages of a container?  The main one is the moisture control issue.  Containers are never considered watered after a rain storm.  The water usually rolls off the plant onto the ground beside the pot and goes away.  Watering a container at least once per day is critical.  Dogs knocking the pot over is something that happens from time to time.  You are limited to the space inside a container for planting.

All in all, container gardening is a good choice for planting.  Especially for those people with little to no yard.  Get creative, be proactive and even your little space can become the jungle paradise you have always dreamed of!

Happy Containers

Pretty Annual Flower

I can’t tell you how many people get this confused with perennial.  I guess when you don’t do something all time, you don’t know the terminology.  I can truly understand that.  My marketing guy, Jeremy R. DeYoung, talks over my head everyday and I have to bring him down to my level, just so I know what is going on.

So what is a Annual?  An annual is a plant that lives for one year.  Hence the name, annual, one year.  Plants such as petunias, marigolds, geraniums, impatiens, tomatoes, peppers, etc. are all annuals.  As soon as they get one night of frost, they are dead, or at least going to die.  The exception to the rule is pansies.  They will survive the cold weather, but will die in the heat of the summer.

Keep in mind, I live in Nashville, Tn, so your area may be different then mine as far as temperature and length of warmth and cold.  Here, we can grow what we call Tropicals.  Tropicals grow all the time in places like Florida, but up here they will die in the frost, so we call them annuals.  Tropicals include Bouganvilla, Mandevilla, Hibiscus, Banana Tree, etc.  I talked more in depth on Tropical plants in my other blog “What is a Tropical Plant”, http://tr.im/o9N1.

So if an annual lives for one year only, that means that a perennial lives for many years.  Then there is a biennial plant that reseeds itself to make new plants every year.  We can get into that later.  If you have any questions, please ask.

Happy Annuals

Bagworm

Bagworms are one of the easiest insects to detect, but can also do great damage before they are noticed.  They arrive usually in June as the eggs hatch and begin their feeding frenzy.  It is at this stage that they are most easily controlled.  They love the arborvitae family of plants, but can feed on anything with a luscious leaf on it.  Plants such as maple, boxelder, willow, black locust, poplar, oak, apple, cherry, juniper and persimmon can all become victims of the bagworm.

The baby worms when after they hatch in about June, will build their ‘bag’ around themselves as they are getting their first feeding.  Their ‘bag’ grows with them as they eat themselves into adulthood.  This is usually a couple of weeks later that the ‘bag’ releases an adult worm.  The adult worms don’t usually last very long.  The male will fly away from his bag to mate with the female.  He will die shortly after mating.  The female usually stays with her bag and uses it to lay her 500-1000 eggs.  She will die about 5 days later.  If mating is done early enough in the season, this cycle will happen a second time in the same year, but typically, these eggs will stay in the cocoon until next June.

The best treatment for the bagworms is using an insect spray that includes permethrin.  You will want to apply weekly or at least every two weeks when you have a good infestation.  There is only one organic chemical treatment that can be used very early in the larvae cycle.  Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) can be used right at the egg hatching time to help control.  Otherwise hand pulling or power washing off the ‘bags’ off the plant is the only organic control for bagworms.

Catching them early, being persistent with the control, and loving on your plants is very important to control bagworms.

Happy Control