Two Old Gardeners and a Blog

by Sarah Duke

Container gardening has so many benefits, it’s hard to believe more people aren’t doing it.

Container gardening is a great way to make the most of the limited space you have. If you live in a home with a tiny yard or even an apartment, it can be hard to find a place for a garden. Containers allow you to have a garden on your patio, on the porch, or even inside of your home.

Think of the possibilities of having a container garden in your kitchen or an extra bedroom. Others utilize a closet space to grow plants by using a grow light.

Being able to move your plants around is a real benefit of growing your garden in containers. When bad weather comes, you can move your plants indoors where they’ll be safe. Your plants can be moved with just a little effort if they are getting too much or not enough sunlight, or if you think they’d look better elsewhere.

Plants grown in containers don’t have the same issues with diseases that traditionally-grown plants have. Although some container-grown plants do get diseases, it is far less likely than it would be if those plants were grown directly in the soil. Potting soil is generally free of disease-causing organisms, so your plants will be safer.

It’s easier to feed your plants when they’re in a container. You can make sure that the fertilizer you put in with the plants will get to them. When you use fertilizer on plants in traditional gardens, often it will end up going to other plants or just drain away. When the plants are in containers, this is not as likely to happen.

Of course, when the soil area is relatively small, there is a chance the fertilizer can be washed out of the soil faster. Because of this, you do need to fertilize more often than you would a traditional garden. But you can rest assured that your plants are probably getting more of the fertilizer before it does wash away than they would if they were in the ground.

The growing season is extended when your plants are grown in containers. You can keep the soil of your potted plants warmer by wrapping them in blankets or any other insulating materials. Your plants can be started sooner indoors or in a cold frame and then be transported outdoors to larger pots when the weather is more permitting.

The right use of insulation can allow you to keep growing your plants outside even after the first frost. Also, you can easily bring the plants inside if it gets too cold for them to be outside, even if they are well insulated.

One of the biggest benefits of growing your plants in containers is the fact that it makes gardening accessible to almost anyone. Handicapped individuals find growing their plants in containers makes it easier to locate plants where they can easily reach them. Many people in wheelchairs like to place their pots on a low table to make them more accessible. Elderly people who can’t work traditional gardens may find container gardening to be an excellent way to once again enjoy their favorite hobby.

Even children find container gardening to be much easier than traditional gardening, because they don’t have to weed, rake and hoe, and they don’t have to have an adult till the soil for them.

So, if you don’t have room to grow your own traditional garden, you can still easily grow the garden you want when you go with a container garden.

About the Author:

Sarah Duke is publisher of The Vegetable Patch at http://www.vegetablegardensite.com, where you’ll find lots of information for starting a vegetable garden.