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Container Gardening
from:One of the more popular gardening methods to people who don’t have a lot of land container gardening allows greenery to be in everyone’s home if she/he wants something live and green (or blue, or yellow or….).
Container gardening is convenient, portable and relatively inexpensive. Plants can be grown in containers of just about any size that will allow room for the roots to grow. Some plants can be grown in small dish-like containers, while others can be as large as a small tree by a doorway. In order to be successful at container gardening, one needs to consider the size of the area available for plants, how much care the plant/plants will need, and how much light will be needed.
Proportion is a key to successful container gardening. A small plant might be grown well in a very large container – but the plant may look forlorn and lonely. A plant needs a container that will have room for its roots to grow, enough soil to feed those roots, sufficient drainage to keep the roots from rotting, sufficient sunlight and circulating air. Some plants like direct sunlight and need it for many hours in a day. Other plants like indirect light, for only a few hours. . For some plants, being in an area that reflects the available light will be all that is necessary. Plants that don’t get a sufficient amount of the proper light will become pale and not look like the healthy plants in the store or the catalogue.
Anyone who is considering container gardening must investigate the kind of soil that will be necessary for the plant. Generally speaking, soil that comes straight from a yard will be improper for container gardening. Clay soils that might function in a yard will become too compacted in a container. Sandy soils will drain too quickly. For small containers, purchased potting soil would be most appropriate. For large, or many, containers, the container gardener might want to investigate the possibilities of mixing his or her own soil mix. Suggestions for particular plants can be found online, or at local garden shops.
Water is a necessity for container gardening. If the container gardener tends to practice benign neglect of the plants in the garden, the gardener should consider obtaining plants that tolerate long periods between waterings. Many plants can tolerate a bit of a dry spell, but few tolerate overwatering. Anyone who fears overwatering might want to invest in a small tool that measures the moisture in the soil.
Container gardening can be enjoyable and as complicated or simple as a gardener might wish, as long as some simple needs of the plants are considered.
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