3 Things You Must Know About Container Vegetable Gardening

You don't actually need a piece of land to grow your own fresh vegetables. There are a bunch of vegetables that grow quite well in containers. With a little bit of planning before you plant, you'll set yourself up for the perfect opportunities to grow fresh vegetables that look, taste, and actually feel great.

Some considerations should be made before you start planting. 3 things are absolutely imperative to think about before-hand. These are watering and feeding considerations, the type of vegetable you want to grow, and finding a great container to plant in. If you know those 3 things, you are more than well on your way.

Watering

As with anything you grow in a pot, the root systems of your vegetables are constricted by the size of the container. You have to keep this in mind when you're watering. You have to put a little bit more water in the container that you wouldn't have had to do if you were planting in a piece of land.

Another consideration is containers are a lot easier to dry out, you extra water is necessary. And when you use extra water, of course you'll need more fertilizer.

Finding The Perfect Plants

There are a bunch of varieties of vegetables out there for container gardening. What vegetables you can grow in a container is only limited to the actual size of the container. So vegetables like tomatoes and lettuce are perfect examples.

A list of a few vegetables that make for perfect choices for organic container vegetable gardening could be:

- lettuce

- tomatoes

- cabbage

- carrots

- broccoli

- cucumbers

- beans

- peas

These are just a few ideas to get you started. These are not all you can grow in a container by a long shot.

Finding The Right Container Suitable For Your Vegetables

Selecting a container for your growing vegetables can be a fun and enjoyable experience in itself. The only limit to container selection is your imagination. A container can be almost anything. Seriously, anything.

A few examples of some great containers are:

- pails

- wire baskets

- wooden boxers

- buckets

- washtubs

Even some plastic bags can be perfect containers for growing vegetables.

Also, the size of the container is very important because larger vegetables like tomatoes or eggplants for example should probably use at least a 5 gallon container for each plant. The last thing you want to do is your vegetables to get too big and you have to transfer them into a bigger container.

Avoid dark colored containers as best as you can because the darker color absorbs heat and could even damage your vegetables.

Drainage is a very important consideration. Every container should have drainage holes in place so excess water can go through the container.

If you keep these 3 things in mind while you're planning your organic container vegetable garden, you'll know your vegetables has a far better chance than they would if you did no planning at all. Watering, finding out what you want to grow, and selecting a great container is part of the fun of actually eating your freshly grown vegetables. Good luck :)

4 Things You Must Know About Organic Container Gardening

Learning how to plant organic with containers is a great introduction to organic gardening. It will help you get your "feet wet" by giving you a great experience and confidence in your ability to do this in more productive ways.

There are 4 Crucial parts to organic container gardening that you really must know if you'd like to be successful your first try and they are: Planting, Watering, Fertilizing, and Controlling those nasty pests from eating up your hard work.


Planting

The actual planting is important. More important than it gets credit for. What I like to do is I like to "prime" the soil before I plant with it. I do this by lightly putting water in the soil and mixing it into the soil so it's a "little damp". I find this makes a nice difference in the way the plant grows.

You want to arrange the plants in the pot first, and then add the soil around them so they get an even dispersal of the soil.

Another tip is to not fill the soil too close to the top of the container.


Watering

Unfortunately, most container plants tend to dry out pretty quick, especially in really hot days. They may need even watering twice a day. Keep a close look on them to make sure they're not too dry.

A regular watering routine is the best option if you can put in the time.



Controlling Pests

Oh, wouldn't it be so nice if we didn't have to worry with bugs, bugs, and more bugs trying to eat up our plants? Well, those nasty pests are a prerequisite not just to organic gardening, but gardening in general.

There are a few things I've picked up that may help you with controlling your pest problem.

Garden bugs do most of their damage when the plants are starting to wilt. It's like other animals pouncing on weaker animals. It's easy pickens so that's when most of the damage happens.

This is why it's important to keep the plants well watered. You don't want your plants on the verge of wilting.

Another tip I've picked up is taking the container to the kitchen sink and actually cleaning it now and then. Just put some water and dish detergent in a spray can and spray it on the leaves, also look under the leaves and spray them too.

I've learned that keeps pests away for a while.

Organic container planting is a great introduction to organic gardening. It will help you get experience to take on even bigger planning.

Organic Gardening

Organic gardening is more about caring about your environment and doing right by it than the techniques you use to accomplish it.

The soil is considered to be a living organism (which it is) and contributes to the ecosystem.

With chemical gardeners, the soil is just dirt. They think they need chemical solutions to keep bugs and other things away so plants will grow. For organic gardeners, soil is a living organism to itself. It provides nutrients for things to grow and improves the intire earth.

Organic gardeners use fertilizers only when it's a supplement to the fertility of the soil. It's not a long term program. We use supplements with compost, manures and cover crops as our main source for nutrients.

Organic fertilizers are not synthetic based, they are naturally occurring substances we use to make soil a little more fertile.