Container Gardening Drainage – How Vital Is It For The Healthy Growth Of Plants?

How frustrating! You would love to grow plants and more plants, but outside space around your house is limited! The solution for this is offered in the form of container gardening, which requires less space and less maintenance. Unfortunately, “less” maintenance is often mistaken for “no” maintenance at all, and people are then left wondering why their plants refuse to survive! A crucial aspect of this sort of gardening is “container gardening drainage”, which we will go into details about in the succeeding paragraphs.

Except for the prospect of growing huge trees, there is really no limitation as to what type of plants can be grown in containers! A number of vegetables can be produced in these containers, and so can a variety of flowers. But for all these plants to have healthy, long lives, an adequate container gardening drainage system for removing excess water is vital. Once the plants have been given all that they need, you find an enchanting panorama unfolding right in front of your eyes!

Why is container garden drainage so important?

Roots begin to rot if they are surrounded by too much of water; the soil in the container can absorb only so much! For it is not possible to know exactly how much water has to be poured in each time you are watering the plants.

The standard containers available in the market, such as plastic pots, already come with drainage holes placed at the bottom. But what if you would like to get creative and use anything and everything around the house as a holder for plants? Like for instance, logs that have been hollowed out, boots that are worn out and no longer needed, galvanized tubs and buckets. You can think of many more, of course! Anything will do for a container or pot, large or small. The condition is, have a good drainage system in place. It is recommended that the drainage holes be placed at the bottom as well as on the sides.

The type of container selected for a particular plant will decide the tools that are needed to drill the gardening drainage holes. A metal pot or container would require a drill to prepare the holes. It is far simpler and faster to make holes in aluminium containers with the help of a punch. If choosing wood containers, go back to the drill. A drill can be used on ceramic pots too, but with tremendous care.

Whatever be the choice of container or pot, the container gardening drainage system has to be a great one!

Another point to be taken into consideration for container gardening drainage is – where are the pots or containers going to be exactly placed? If the drainage system results in water getting pooled outside the container instead of inside the container, it serves absolutely no purpose at all! The roots are going to rot anyway and your plants are gone! So it is best that the container garden as a whole is placed on a number of bricks or blocks, leaving adequate space for the water to flow out and away from the containers.

Enjoy Healthy Fresh Veggies Year Round With Container Vegetable Gardening

Just about any kind of vegetable can be grown in a container, however, not all of them will do equally well. Man-made soils are quite suitable for container vegetable gardening. These types of soils are found in your local gardening store.

Often it is helpful to compost them with peat moss, vermiculite, sawdust or wood chips. In addition, you may include some type of garden fertilizer that provides the plants all the nutrients they require. Ask your local gardening center for advice, once you’ve decided on the type of vegetable you’ll grow. Then mix all the soil ingredients thoroughly and add a small amount of water.

What everyone should know about containers

When choosing a container make sure that it has good drainage at the bottom. It is also a good practice to clean and sterilize any container before using it for your plants. This will prevent disease and kill off unwanted weed seeds. Hot soapy water will do the trick, just be sure to thoroughly rinse away all soap residue.

Different pot sizes will likely be needed for different container gardening projects. For example, if you are growing small herb plants like parsley, a small container will do the trick. Other vegetables like a tomato need more space because its roots grow deeper than that of a parsley plant.

To have success with container vegetable gardening any pot used must have sufficient drainage. You can punch holes in any container with a sharp, pointed object or use a drill to get the job done. Not only should your container include holes on the bottom, but also a one-inch layer of gravel will improve drainage even further.

Generally speaking, container vegetable gardening plants grow best in direct sunlight rather than shade. Eggplants, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes are a few sun loving vegetables. Spinach, cabbage, and parsley are a few plants that can handle less sunlight and more shade.