Live Healthy Live Well

I know many people do not feel like they have the time or space to garden, but they love the taste of fresh vegetables and herbs in the meals that they prepare at home.

Container gardening is a great way to make this possible with minimal expense, space, and time.  This type of gardening is ideal for apartment balconies, window sills, small courtyards, patios, decks, and areas with poor soil.  They provide an ideal solution for people with limited mobility, in rental housing, or those with limited time to care for a larger landscape.  Container gardening is a way to introduce children to the joy of gardening while allowing them to experience the feeling of contributing to family meals with what they harvest.

As you begin to plan and prepare to set up your container garden, there are several things to consider:

• Containers – clay, wood, plastic, metal
• Containers for vegetable plants must:
  • Be big enough to support plants when they are fully grown
  • Hold soil without spilling
  • Have adequate drainage
  • Never have held products that would be toxic to plants or people
• Sunlight – the amount of sun that your container will get may determine which crops you grow
• Drainage – no matter what container you choose it is important to consider drainage because plants will not grow successfully in soil that is continually waterlogged
• Soil – it should be free of disease organisms, insects and weeds
• Watering – container gardens require more frequent watering than plants that are planted directly in the ground. Evaporation is more likely to occur due the exposed sides of the container
• Fertilizing – it is recommended that you mix controlled-release fertilizer granules into your soil mix when planting

With appropriate containers and proper handling, anything that can be grown in the ground can be grown in a container.  Texas A & M provides a great resource for those who are considering vegetable gardening.  This information will provide you with support as you begin to set up your container garden.

Did you know that gardeners eat twice as many servings of vegetables as people who do not garden?  This is an added bonus to the joys and benefits of container gardening.

Happy gardening!!!

Writer: Tammy Jones, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Pike County, jones.5640@osu.edu

Reviewer: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

Sources:

Colorado University State Extension, http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/container-gardens-7-238/

Texas A & M Agrilife Extension,  http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/EHT-062-vegetable-gardening-in-containers.pdf

University of Illinois Extension, https://extension.illinois.edu/containergardening/choosing_material.cfm

University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L3FFbKYjlI