Category — Container gardening soil

10 Tips for a Colorful Container Garden

Container gardens are the perfect way to liven up your from entrance, create a small herb garden or soften the look of your deck, porch or patio. They can provide instant color in drab areas, and you can create your own mini-garden in an hour or less. Best of all they’re easy to care for and maintain.

Here are 10 tips for successful container gardens, plus some tried and true plant combinations to help you get started:

#1:  Pick the right pot.

The most important issue is size. Generally a pot should be one-third the height of the mature plants for things to look balanced. Classic round pots with tapered sides are more practical for planting and transplanting than containers with handles, odd shapes or narrow necks. If you plan to move the pots frequently, use lightweight foam or fiberglass pots. If you need a pot that won’t topple in the wind, use concrete or ceramic.

#2:  Buy or mix the right type of soil.

The soil should be a mixture of peat moss, compost and a little sand, with small amounts of puffy perlite or flaky vermiculite to lighten the mix and aid drainage. Packaged potting soil often includes fertilizer, which further simplifies the planting process. Tailor your soil to the specific needs of the plants you’ll be growing.

#3:  Plant what you love.

You can plant annuals, perennials, vines, vegetables, herbs, ground covers, bulbs, shrubs and even trees. So think about what you want to achieve. If you want a quick splash of spring color, plant a pot of tulip bulbs in the fall. If you want an arrangement that will grace your outdoor living space for years, plant a juniper or Japanese maple. If you’re looking for low maintenance, think in terms of ornamental grasses.

#4:  Start with healthy plants.

You want vigorous youngsters that will quickly mature into strong adults. Look for plants with fresh green leaves and sturdy stems. Select young plants with a large number of buds, which are more apt to adapt quickly to a new location and container.

#5:  Pick the best combination of flowers.

You can place as many plants together as you like, but consider combining just two or three varieties for your first few attempts. The plants should have similar watering and sunlight requirements. For two-somes, select a tall, upright plant along with a mounding or cascading plant. For threesomes, begin with a tall upright plant to structure the design, add a second plant that will fill the area with foliage and color, then select a third plant that will gently cascade over the edges. But most of all have fun experimenting.

#6:  Plant them right.

Spread a layer of pebbles or pot shards over the drain holes of the container to keep the soil in while letting the excess water drain out. Add soil until the pot is about three-quarters full, then gently shake or rock the pot to help the soil settle. Place the root ball of your plants on the soil, then add or subtract soil until the base of each stem is just below the rim of the pot. Continue filling soil around the plants until the soil is within 1 in. of the rim; within 2 in. if you’re adding ornamental mulch.

#7:  Keep them well fed.

The roots of the container-grown plants can’t wander far and wide in search of nutrients; it’s up to you to supply them. You can use either water-soluble plant food (about once every two weeks) or granular fertilizer (scratched into the soil surface every 6 to 8 weeks).

Plants vary in their nutritional needs, so no one fertilizer or schedule suits all plants. However, container plants are easy to monitor. Yellow leaves, slow growth and poor flowering are the most common signs of nutritional deficiencies. Brown lead edges are a symptom of over-feeding and fertilizer burn.

#8:  Keep them well watered.

If the top inch or two of soil feels dry, the plant probably needs watering. When plants are small, a watering can with a sprinkler head is often adequate. As the root system expands, water may tend to run over the soil and flow over the top of the pot or seep into a gap between the pot and the soil. To counteract this; water with warm water, which soaks in faster than cold water. Or poke small holes into the soil with a pencil or screwdriver and water thoroughly.

#9:  Pinch and groom them.

With annual flowers pinch or clip off the old blossoms to prolong overall flowering. When an entire stem seems to have borne its last bud, clip that off too. When removing old blossoms or stems, always use scissors or pruning shears; tugging at plants with fingers can injure roots.

#10:  Monitor the roots.

When a plant stops growing or refuses to take up water, check for crowded roots. If the pot is full, transplant the arrangement into a larger container. Some arrangements can be split and transplanted into two or more pots.

For additional outdoor living advice, guides and references, please visit www.OutdoorFloors.net, a leading provider of outdoor living ideas and hardscape designs.

Tips and Techniques For Watering Your Container Garden Plants

The importance of proper watering cannot be stressed enough for your container garden plants. Container Gardens are exposed to wind and sun so they dry out quicker than plants in the ground. There are no exact rules about watering your container garden plants. You have to become acquainted with the needs of various garden plants. The best tip is to examine them daily and water the plant when the surface of the soil begins to look dry. Feeling the soil will also help you determine the moisture needs of your container garden. Or, take the easy way and invest in a water meter if you are not sure.

How much and when to water will depend on the kind of plant and soil, the type and size of container, and the amount of exposure to sun and wind. Climate and the weather also play their part. During hot spells most plants in your container garden need daily water, except those in small clay pots, which may require it twice. Some plants, like fuchsias and tuberous begonias, wilt when dry, but geraniums and succulents are not so sensitive to neglect. On the other hand, it is good to let soil dry out a little between watering. This prevents the soil from depleting its nutrients.

Since unglazed containers dry out quickest, watch them more closely. Wooden tubs, window boxes, and planters dry out more slowly; metal is the slowest of all. Groups of plants in large containers keep moist longer than single specimens. A good technique to avoid excess dryness is to have groupings of plants, arranged close together. This allows the container plants to shade one another to keep cool and stop moisture evaporation.

There are several methods of watering the plants. If you have many containers in your container garden, depend on the hose, allowing water to flow through slowly and gently. Water small pots with a watering can that has a long spout or buy one of the self watering containers now available. When plants are grouped closely in a container garden, set up a sprinkler or hose with a fine spray nearby, allowing it to run for a long while, until the soil is soaked. In many states where the climate is dry, an automatic sprinkler system is a must to keep your whole garden hydrated. Remember this tip with geraniums and petunias, avoid sprinklers which spot blossoms.

One thing is certain; you must not depend on rain to keep your container garden plants hydrated. Even heavy showers deposit a surprisingly small amount of moisture, and unless rains are frequent and lengthy, you must do your own watering. Remember those window boxes and other containers near houses or under trees can stay dry in spite of an all-day downpour.

Though it is essential to give enough water to your container garden, it is equally important not to over water and so cause root rot. Over-watering also prevents aeration of the soil, and will cause the plant to drown.

One good method is to set your container garden, if the containers are not too large, in a basin or pail of water for several hours, or until the surface of the soil feels moist (this is the theory behind self watering containers). Or immerse the pot in a tub or large barrel of water and leave it there until air is eliminated and the bubbling stops.

The best general rule is to soak soil thoroughly when you water and then allow it to go just a bit dry before you water your container garden again. Best of all, keep a small spiral notebook and paste the care of each plant into it so that you will always have the needs of each individual plant at your fingertips.

If you go away for long periods during the summer, give the container garden serious thought before making it a project. On the other hand, you can enjoy both holidays and plants if you are absent for only short periods. The best safeguard is to entrust your container garden to a responsible friend. Or if you are going away for a vacation at your second home, or one that you have rented, take the container garden with you as a little bit of home.

Several techniques can be practiced. One is to arrange smaller containers in boxes of peat moss, sawdust, or soil, which has been well soaked. Then there is the pot-in-pot method, whereby small pots are set in larger ones, with moist peat moss inserted between.

As mentioned above, in many of the garden centers self watering containers are offered for sale. These are ideal for your container garden when you are traveling or taking a vacation.

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Planting Your Container Garden

There are so many horror stories from novice and experienced gardeners about using an incorrect soil mixture for their garden planters and containers.  Here is the best advice that we have culled from many sources, especially from those growers that specialize in container plants.

Bagged commercial potting mixes are the very best choice for filling containers.  These mixtures contain a variety of ingredients, including composted bark, sawdust, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, or sometime real soil which is usually pasteurized.  Some container mixes also contain fertilizers, and if you wish your planters and pots to be organic, you will want to avoid those.  Although perfect loamy soil may be used as an ingredient for your homemade potting mix, most ordinary garden soil is not suitable.  It is too heavy and compacts easily in pots and planters and doesn’t drain properly.

Here are some suggestions if you wish to create your own container mixture – 100% compost, 100% soil-less mix, 25% garden soil with 75% compost or soil-less mix and we have also seen 50% soil-less mix and 50% compost.  There are a lot of variations; however, garden soil may contain weed seeds or pathogens that cause plant diseases.

Initially, you will need to purchase enough container soil to fill all your planters and urns, but you may cheat a little the next year and just replace half the soil from the previous year and top-up for the next year.  This may be false economy and it is very good practice to replace all the soil every year and then you know that you have the best conditions for your new plants.  Just add the spent soil to the compost pile or the “old” soil to pot up those plant sale donations.

Your very large planters and pots may be cumbersome to move around, so consider setting them in position before filling them with your potting mix.  Even with the lighter pots, it is often easier to fill them where they will eventually reside.  Just move around with your container mix and plants and fill up your planters with those flats of beautiful new flowers, herbs and perennials.

A long lasting container mixture is the perfect medium for long-term plants such as woody plants and perennials.  Use one part:  peat moss, composted bark, compost, sand and perlite.  If your compost is too heavy, just add more perlite to ensure good drainage.  You can use extra compost for mature plants; however, it may be too rich for young plants and could damage their delicate roots and stems.

If you are considering Cacti and Succulents for your planters and containers this year, they certainly use less water; this is a soil mixture that may be considered.  Start with five parts perlite, 4 parts bagged potting soil, 1 part coarse sand and a pinch of rock dust. Once your plants are in, just top dress with small rive rock, gravel, aquarium stone or a fine grade of gravel to keep the crowns of the plants from rotting.  To increase the acidity (succulents thrive in acid soil), add a tablespoon of white vinegar to 5 gallons of water when watering.

To sum up, always moisten potting mixture before filling containers.  Pre-moistening is essential, potting mix may be difficult to wet and you may end up with pockets of soil that stays dry.  This dry soil will just pull the water right out of the plant roots and damage them. Some gardeners even consider pre-soaking their plants before filling the pots and containers.

Tips and Techniques For Watering Your Container Garden Plants

The importance of proper watering cannot be stressed enough for your container garden plants. Container Gardens are exposed to wind and sun so they dry out quicker than plants in the ground. There are no exact rules about watering your container garden plants. You have to become acquainted with the needs of various garden plants. The best tip is to examine them daily and water the plant when the surface of the soil begins to look dry. Feeling the soil will also help you determine the moisture needs of your container garden. Or, take the easy way and invest in a water meter if you are not sure.

How much and when to water will depend on the kind of plant and soil, the type and size of container, and the amount of exposure to sun and wind. Climate and the weather also play their part. During hot spells most plants in your container garden need daily water, except those in small clay pots, which may require it twice. Some plants, like fuchsias and tuberous begonias, wilt when dry, but geraniums and succulents are not so sensitive to neglect. On the other hand, it is good to let soil dry out a little between watering. This prevents the soil from depleting its nutrients.

Since unglazed containers dry out quickest, watch them more closely. Wooden tubs, window boxes, and planters dry out more slowly; metal is the slowest of all. Groups of plants in large containers keep moist longer than single specimens. A good technique to avoid excess dryness is to have groupings of plants, arranged close together. This allows the container plants to shade one another to keep cool and stop moisture evaporation.

There are several methods of watering the plants. If you have many containers in your container garden, depend on the hose, allowing water to flow through slowly and gently. Water small pots with a watering can that has a long spout or buy one of the self watering containers now available. When plants are grouped closely in a container garden, set up a sprinkler or hose with a fine spray nearby, allowing it to run for a long while, until the soil is soaked. In many states where the climate is dry, an automatic sprinkler system is a must to keep your whole garden hydrated. Remember this tip with geraniums and petunias, avoid sprinklers which spot blossoms.

One thing is certain; you must not depend on rain to keep your container garden plants hydrated. Even heavy showers deposit a surprisingly small amount of moisture, and unless rains are frequent and lengthy, you must do your own watering. Remember those window boxes and other containers near houses or under trees can stay dry in spite of an all-day downpour.

Though it is essential to give enough water to your container garden, it is equally important not to over water and so cause root rot. Over-watering also prevents aeration of the soil, and will cause the plant to drown.

One good method is to set your container garden, if the containers are not too large, in a basin or pail of water for several hours, or until the surface of the soil feels moist (this is the theory behind self watering containers). Or immerse the pot in a tub or large barrel of water and leave it there until air is eliminated and the bubbling stops.

The best general rule is to soak soil thoroughly when you water and then allow it to go just a bit dry before you water your container garden again. Best of all, keep a small spiral notebook and paste the care of each plant into it so that you will always have the needs of each individual plant at your fingertips.

If you go away for long periods during the summer, give the container garden serious thought before making it a project. On the other hand, you can enjoy both holidays and plants if you are absent for only short periods. The best safeguard is to entrust your container garden to a responsible friend. Or if you are going away for a vacation at your second home, or one that you have rented, take the container garden with you as a little bit of home.

Several techniques can be practiced. One is to arrange smaller containers in boxes of peat moss, sawdust, or soil, which has been well soaked. Then there is the pot-in-pot method, whereby small pots are set in larger ones, with moist peat moss inserted between.

As mentioned above, in many of the garden centers self watering containers are offered for sale. These are ideal for your container garden when you are traveling or taking a vacation.

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

How to Plant Gardening Containers Or Gardening Pots In Your Container Garden

When you are at the ready to blend ingredients for your container garden, be bound the soil is wet and possible. To find out this, take a handful, squash it and let it to drop down. If water comes out, it is too soaked; if it breaks apart, it is too adust. But if the lump of soil retains its shape or cracks just a little when it is dropped down, it is in acceptable condition to work into your gardening pots

Be certain your garden containers are clean when you start. Soak utilized or fresh clay gardening pots overnight so they will not draw moisture from the soil after implanting. This is a very crucial step when you are beginning your plants life. If the pot draws off the moisture the new plant will be divested. Clean filthy clay pots with a strong brush and blistering, insincere water. Clean gardening pots will be much more bewitching in your container garden

Though redwood, cedar, and cypress gardening pots may be left natural, they may also be stained or painted. First fresh the surfaces then utilize one or two coats of stain or coat. Let adust completely before implanting. Concrete, metal, plastic, fiberglass, and akin materials all necessitate making clean before planting your container garden

Suiting plants to garden pots is very important in container garden design. Consider the shape of each container, its color, and texture in relation to the color of flowers and foliage, as well as the crowning size of each plant in your container garden. Don’t select material that is too little, and if you desire a group of plants for an ample container, pick out one full-length specimen for the center to give height and scale. Don’t bury that you can plant vegetables in container gardens; seek to comprise them into your container garden design. And, for an acid-tasting addition to your container garden plant herbs in garden containers or even hanging up baskets, your recipes will go extraordinary

In low pots or bulb pans and in tubs, use low-growing plants like fancy-leaved caladiums, petunias, verbenas, Iantanas, ageratum and wax begonias. Hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils are also apropos. In full-length containers, plant specimens of geraniums, heliotropes, coleus, balsam, dwarf dahlias, fuchsias, and marguerites. Reserve the larger container pots and boxes for trees and shrubs or roses

As a gardener, keep in mind the form of plants, particularly the evergreens which stand out boldly in winter. Rounded types, as clipped yews or globe arborvitae, look well in angular containers. Hollies or yews, sheared into squares or pyramids, appear better in apple-shaped tubs. This contrast of the swerving with the unbent always gives interest to the garden and those guests that visit your container garden

The first step in potting for a gardener is to place sufficient drainage material in the bottom of each garden container, allowing the water to pass through freely, but not so much as to interfere with the roots. An inch or two of flower pot pieces (rounded out sides up), or chips of brick or flagstone, pebbles, gravel, little stones, or cinders can be utilized. The larger the container, the larger the pieces should be. Some gardeners spread a piece of coarse-grained burlap and a layer of sand over ample drainage pieces. A layer of Vermiculite or sphagnum moss over the drainage material is also close-grained to keep soil from choking off holes. If the holes choke off the roots will submerge in their gardening pot

Above the drainage, spread a layer of soil, the amount depending on the size of the container and the root ball of the plant. Place the plant in position so that the surface of the soil will be an inch (more for ample plants) below the rim of the container. This space is necessitated to keep water

Fill soil in around the roots, firming gently with your fingers or a piece of wood so as to eliminate air pockets. Add more soil and firm, but do not make the soil too air-tight for close-grained giving roots must be competent to penetrate it with ease

Finally, water your garden container plants well, let them drain. If water passes through the gardening pot very rapidly, press soil again to firm it; that means there are air pockets. If the soil holds water too abundant, tease apart it a little

Place the container garden in a sheltered spot out of sun and wind for the first week while they make new root growth and adjust to new conditions. This also helps to debar shock. Once your plants have settled in, you at the ready to set up your container garden according to your avant-garde container gardening design

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna is a drawing a bead on herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to mature gardens inside and outside year pear-shaped. She has printed other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews

How to Plant Gardening Containers Or Gardening Pots In Your Container Garden

When you are ready to mix ingredients for your container garden, be sure the soil is damp and workable. To find out this, take a handful, squash it and let it to drop down. If water comes out, it is too soaked; if it breaks apart, it is too adust. But if the lump of soil retains its shape or cracks just a little when it is dropped down, it is in acceptable condition to work into your gardening pots

Be certain your garden containers are clean when you start. Soak utilized or fresh clay gardening pots overnight so they will not draw moisture from the soil after implanting. This is a very crucial step when you are beginning your plants life. If the pot draws off the moisture the new plant will be divested. Clean filthy clay pots with a strong brush and blistering, insincere water. Clean gardening pots will be much more bewitching in your container garden

Though redwood, cedar, and cypress gardening pots may be gone forth biological, they may also be tarnished or coated. First fresh the surfaces then utilize one or two coats of stain or coat. Let adust completely before implanting. Concrete, metal, plastic, fiberglass, and akin materials all necessitate making clean before planting your container garden

Suiting plants to garden pots is very crucial in container garden design. Consider the shape of each container, its color, and texture in relation to the color of flowers and foliage, as well as the crowning size of each plant in your container garden. Don’t select material that is too little, and if you desire a group of plants for an ample container, pick out one full-length specimen for the center to give height and scale. Don’t bury that you can plant vegetables in container gardens; seek to comprise them into your container garden design. And, for an acid-tasting addition to your container garden plant herbs in garden containers or even hanging up baskets, your recipes will go extraordinary

In humble pots or bulb pans and in tubs, use humblegrowing plants like fancy-leaved caladiums, petunias, verbenas, Iantanas, ageratum and wax begonias. Hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils are also apropos. In full-length containers, plant specimens of geraniums, heliotropes, coleus, balsam, dwarf dahlias, fuchsias, and marguerites. Reserve the larger container pots and boxes for trees and shrubs or roses

As a gardener, keep in mind the form of plants, particularly the evergreens which stand out boldly in winter. Rounded types, as nipped yews or globe arborvitae, appear well in angled containers. Hollies or yews, sheared into squares or pyramids, look better in apple-shaped tubs. This contrast of the swerving with the unbent always gives interest to the garden and those guests that visit your container garden

The first step in implanting for a gardener is to place adequate drainage material in the bottom of each garden container, letting the water to go through through freely, but not so much as to intervene with the roots. An inch or two of flower pot pieces (rounded out sides up), or chips of brick or flagstone, pebbles, gravel, little stones, or cinders can be utilized. The larger the container, the larger the pieces should be. Some gardeners spread a piece of coarse-grained burlap and a layer of sand over ample drainage pieces. A layer of Vermiculite or sphagnum moss over the drainage material is also close-grained to keep soil from choking off holes. If the holes choke off the roots will submerge in their gardening pot

Above the drainage, spread a layer of soil, the amount depending on the size of the container and the root ball of the plant. Place the plant in position so that the surface of the soil will be an inch (more for ample plants) below the rim of the container. This space is necessitated to keep water

Fill soil in around the roots, firming gently with your fingers or a piece of wood so as to extinguish air pockets. Add more soil and firm, but do not make the soil too air-tight for close-grained giving roots must be competent to penetrate it with ease

Finally, water your garden container plants well, permit them drain. If water passes through the gardening pot very rapidly, press soil again to firm it; that means there are air pockets. If the soil holds water too abundant, tease apart it a little

Place the container garden in a committed spot out of sun and wind for the first week while they make fresh root growth and aline to fresh conditions. This also helps to debar shock. Once your plants have settled in, you at the ready to set up your container garden according to your avant-garde container gardening design

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved

This article may be meted out freely on your website and in your ezines, as abundant as this smooth article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are dateless.

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to mature gardens inside and outside year pear-shaped. She has printed other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews

Container Gardening For Vegetables

CONTAINER GARDENING FOR VEGETABLES 

Vegetable production is not only applicable in the countryside or in the  gardens but can be grown now within the heart of the city or just in your home even with only a limited space. 

If your home has an area with ample sunlight – a requirement for growing vegetables, you can grow them successfully. What are the locations that can be used for container gardening ? You can use your patio, balcony, terrace, rooftop, deck, window sill, pathways, etc. 

Be aware of the sunlight requirement for each kind of crop. For leafy vegetables, the required sunlight should be about four hours  the whole day, for fruit vegetables, at least 7-8 hours sunlight is needed daily, and root vegetables requires around 6 hours of sunlight a day. 

And besides of producing your own vegetables in a safer way, the attack of common pests and diseases can be greatly minimized. You can also improve the soil conditions  by adding some soil amendments; like manure, compost, and other essential food nutrients needed by the plants. 

Everything in your home that are considered as garbage can be utilized to the maximum by making them into compost. Even your household waste water can be used to irrigate your plants. 

In other words, container gardening is considered to be the practice that makes use of useless things. 

What Containers Are Ideal For Container Gardening? 

Growing vegetables can be executed in any type of containers such as;   cans, plastics, pails, split vehicle tires, cement bags, feed bags, bottle water plastics, gallon cans, cylinder blocks, milk container, bamboo cuts or any containers that have been thrown away. Even coco shells, banana bracts, leaves of coconut is ideal as potting materials especially for short season vegetables, like,  pechay, lettuce, mustard, etc. 

Good growing containers should possess the three important characteristics as suggested by Relf (1996); 

They must be large enough to support fully grown plants.  They must have adequate drainage.  They must not have held products that are toxic to plants and persons. 

Containers that drain poorly can affect the success of a container garden. It is therefore vital to have your containers above ground or any support that would raise the containers such as; slats, hollow blocks or anything to provide space below them to allow excess water to drain freely. 

For bigger plants, you should use big containers and for small containers use small plants. 

Small containers (1-2 gallons) are suited for lettuce, spinach, mustard, pepper, radish, green onions, carrots, beans, and dwarf tomatoes. Medium size containers (3-10 gallons) are best for eggplants while for larger ones (bigger than 10 gallons) are good for cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes. 

 For most plants, containers should be at least 15 cm deep minimum especially for shot season vegetables. 

Recommended Container size and type/crop 

5 gal. window box – Bush beans, Lima beans

1 plant/5gal.pot, 3plants/15 gal. pot –Cabbage, Chinese cabbage

5 gal. window box at least 30 cm deep – carrot

1 plant/gal. pot – cucumber

5 gal. pot – Eggplant, tomato, okra

5 gal. window pot – Lettuce

1 plant/2gal. pot; 5 plants/15 gal. pot – Onion

5 gal. window box – Pepper, spinach

Plants grown in containers will depend on the kind of soil mixture to provide a maximum growth development. It is a must that you should provide the best soil media composition to give the possible return of your toil. Failure to give the plants with the necessary food nutrients in their growing period would results to  poor growth, lanky, and stunted plants that will results to your failure. 

The ideal soil mixture for container-grown vegetables crops are as follows: 

It should be light in weight and porous.  It should easily drain excess water.  It should have high water holding capacity.  It should be free from soil borne disease, nematodes and insect pests.  It should supply the right and balance amount of nutrients for the plants. 

The best mixture of soil media should compose the following; synthetic mix of horticultural-grade vermiculite, peat moss, limestone, superphosphate and complete fertilizer. 

Compost can also serve as an excellent growing medium. 

In your  country where the above media are not available, you can make your own potting media by mixing 1 part loam soil or compost manure,  1 part fine river sand, and coconut coir dust. 

If your country is producing rice you can replace coconut coir dust with the rice hull charcoal (carbonized). But this should be thoroughly sterilized to kill some deadly microbes that are detrimental to the plants. 

Sawdust is another medium that could be used in preparing your growing medium in the absence of coco coir dust and should also be sterilized. 

Sowing Seed and Transplanting 

Before going into the sowing procedure, give your utmost attention to the selection of seed you’ll use as planting materials. Good quality seeds should be your first concern. 

Good quality seeds possesses the following characteristics:  

damage free   free from other mixture with other varieties free from seed borne diseases  and with good vigor and germinating capacity. 

To get a quality and reliable seeds, you should buy from certified seed producers or seed suppliers. 

All vegetables that undergoes transplanting are excellent for container gardening. Transplants can be purchased from local nurseries or other successful gardeners in your locality. 

Before transplanting, fill plastic or germinating tray with the growing media preparation using the following ratio: 60% rice hull charcoal(carbonized), 30 % coconut coir dust, 10% chicken manure (60-30-10 ratio). 

In the absence of the above materials in your country, you can use the old soil media preparation – 1 part sand, 1 part compost, and 1 part garden soil (1-1-1 ratio). Make sure to sterilize them before the seed are sown. This is to kill some microorganisms that may cause damage to the seedlings. 

You can also purchase a prepared growell medium sold in local agriculture stores in your respective country. Inquire from your agriculture experts available in your area. 

Once the growing media is ready, fill the holes of the germinating or potting containers. Press  the soil medium lightly with your fingers in every hole filled with the medium. Then follows the sowing of seeds. 

In sowing seeds some techniques should be followed to insure germination: 

I Watermelon (Seeded) (Citrulis lunatus).  Soak seed 30 min.- 1hour in top water. Incubate by using moist cotton cloth. Spread the seeds and cover. Place in an improvised cartoon for 24-36 hours. After this period, sow the seeds at I seed per hill. Seed must be level in the soil guided by a finger or stick at 1 cm deep. For the seedless type the procedure is the same as the seeded but the tip near the embryo should be cut with the use of a nail cutter before inserting to the soil. Cutting the end portion of the seed hastens germination.

l  Bitter Gourd/Ampalaya  (Momordica charantia). Soak seeds for 30 min.-1 hour. Cut the tip near the embryo and sow  with the seed deep of ¾ of the soil at 1 seed per hole. 

l  Upo (  Lagenaria siceraria   ) and Patola ( Luffa cylindrica ). Cut the tip covering only near the embryo and sow seed at 1 seed per hole. 

l  Squash (Cucurbita spp). Soak seeds 30 min.-1 hour. Then pinch the tip near the embryo and sow seed at 1 seed per hole. 

l  Pepper (Capsicum annum L.), Eggplant (Solanum melongena), and Tomato (Lycopersicum  esculentum). Sow the seed directly to the germinating tray at 1-2 seeds per hole. 

l  Pechai /Pechay (Brassica pechai), Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ), and Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica ). Sow seed directly to the germinating at 1-2 seeds per hole. 

l  Cucumber (Cucumis sativus), Honey Dew / Muskmelon (Cucumis melo). Sow the seed directly to the germinating tray at 1 seed per hole. 

l  Carrot (Daucus carota) and Raddish (Rafanus sativus).  Directly sow the seed to the field at 2-3 seeds per hill. 

l  Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis ) and Beans (Phaseolus limensis ). Sow the seed directly to the field at 1 seed per hill. 

l  Corn (zea mays). Sow the seed directly to the field at 1 seed per hill. 

l  Papaya (Carica papaya). Soak the seeds for 30 min.-1 hour then sow to the germinating tray at 1 seed per hole. 

l  Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus  ). Directly sow the seed in the field at 1-2 seeds per hill. 

Container size for specific crops. 

Medium – Beans, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, broccoli  Large – Cuccumber, eggplant, tomato, pepper, okra, squash, papaya  Small – Onions, parsley, radish 

Light Requirements 

Sun – Beans, cucumber, eggplant, tomato, pepper, carrots, okra, squash, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli papaya  Partial shade – Lettuce, onions, parsley, radish 

 Fertilizer Requirements 

To get the right amount of fertilizer for your vegetables, you should analyze your soil media mixture. And if you can do it, organic or inorganic fertilizer should be used. 

Fertilizer combination of organic and inorganic would be much better with the correct proportion depending on the plant requirement. 

When using inorganic fertilizer you should prepare a base nutrient