Eric Samms asked:


It’s often overlooked that Container Gardening can be a life long passion, a creative and artist hobby, and a simple and effective way to create a stylish, clean and inviting home, a great way to eat healthy organic foods, and an amazing way to connect with nature.

So if you’ve got itchy green fingers, and want an amazing collection of plants and flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs – just simply follow these key Container Gardening Tips!

The 7 Steps Process to Great Container Gardening

1. Get Your Lighting Right

2. Choose Your Soil

3. Monitor humidity levels

4. Water as required

5. Check temperature

6. How to Choose the right container

7. Food & Nutrients

Lighting

Via photosynthesis, plants absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide to create food. As such light is a very important factor. Try and keep your container plants and flowers near a natural source of light during the day. If you have a dark corner at home or your home does not receive much natural light, use a 150 watt incandescent bulb about 4 – 5 feet away during the day. An even easier way to get some light is to buy a plant stand equipped with a built in lighting system. This is a great way to keep container gardens anywhere around the home. And remember light is only important during the day!

Humidity

The humidity required depends on the nature of the plant. Jungle plants need about 90% humidity, sub-tropical about 50%, temperate zone plants (such as North America and Europe) require 30 – 40% and desert / cacti about 5 %.

Cheap humidity indicators are great at monitoring moisture in the air, however obvious signs of low humidity levels are dry topsoil and wilting leaves. Excess humidity is not often a problem except for desert plants such as cacti. Low humidity levels can be quickly rectified by a spray on the leaves once or twice a day, and by placing a pot on a shallow try of water and small pebbles.

Temperature

Jungle plants thrive at higher temperatures, temperate zone plants thrive at between 90 – 100 F. Container plants, flowers and edibles are able to handle relative lower temperatures at night, as long as they are not too low i.e. near freezing. Tropical plants can handle a minimum of 65 F at night, sub-tropical plants about 55-60 F and temperate zone plants about 45 F.The exception to this are the desert plants such as cacti, which have adapted to the plunging evening temperatures of the desert.

Soil

The vibrant organic environment of jungle plants makes them more conducive to leaf mold and moss, and therefore a more acidic environment. A ph of 5.5 is ideal. A good potting ratio for jungle plants is :

25% organically enriched garden loam

50% leaf mold

25% coarse sand or compost

Temperate zone plants have less organic material to cope with, and a therefore more comfortable with a ph of near neutral i.e. 7.0.

Desert plants prefer a slightly more alkaline soil.

Containers

The material from which the container is made – will affect the rate at which water is ****** out of the soil. Some container gardening enthusiasts can’t stop raving about clay pots, as they remove water at a generally faster rate, preventing water clogging of the roots, and keeping the pot cool. What ever the material , just make sure that their are water holes at the bottom, or material at the base which raises the pot and allows excess water to drain.

Get creative and indulge those container gardening ideas. Choose a variety of container colours, materials and styles to add a bit of sophistication and pizazz to your home.

Water

The amount of water required by a container plant, flower or edible will depend on it’s make up and size, and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and type of soil, as well as the nature of the container it’s self.

Always check the surface of the soil, and about 1 – 2 inches deep to determine moisture levels and top up as required. Too much water will drown your roots, and too little will dehydrate your plant.

To prevent excess moisture loss, keep a layer of rich top soil or moss on the surface of the soil.

A useful container gardening tip is to never use cold water! This may be too much of a shock to a delicate system. Go with room temperature or slightly above.

Food & Nutrients

Slow release plant-food granules can be added to the compost or potting mix in the recommended quantity before filling the container, or at the sprinkled on the surface of the soil. Pelleted granules can be added about 1 -2 inches under the soil surface. If the soil is nutrient rich, additional food may not be required, however a little extra will go a long way!

Now that you have the 7 key tips to great Container Gardening you are on your way to growing great plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.