Container Veg Growing

Container growing is convenient for the elderly or the disabled who need easier access to up keep their gardens. Container growing can be done on patio tabletops, ledges, over the edge of a balcony and even on steps. This process can be very decorative as well.

Container growing can be done in shop bought containers or homemade containers. I like to go to garage sales and find some unusual items to grow plants in. My front garden has very poor soil for planting delicate flowers. So I leave that soil to my hardier plants like bushes and broad leaf plants. I discovered an old washtub at a garage sale one day and incorporated this into my garden for my flowers.

I simply drilled several holes into the bottom of the tub, then put in about an inch of stones to semi cover the holes so as not to lose too much of the soil. Then came the soil.  This will depend on what you are going to plant.

All Purpose Mixture

2 parts good garden loam

1 part sand

1 part peat moss or other humus

1-teaspoon bone meal for each 5-inch

pot of mixture

I plant most of my garden varieties using this mixture.

If I plant in an area where there is a busy activity of bugs I will place a piece of window screening under the container as this seems to slow down their attack and it gives me a chance to combat their activities. By placing the screening under the container it holds the screening tightly to the container, as the weight of the earth inside pushes down. This way it is harder for grubs and slugs to get around the screening, a very handy tool.

Other ideas to name a few are, old watering cans, (these too can be found in garage sales), and coffee cans decorated by your children, which is a fun project for a rainy day.  For this I give it a spray with any kind of craft sealant good for outdoors, or simply use these inside. Container growing can be fun and quite rewarding.