Category container gardening

Most of us love fresh, delicious fruits, vegetables, and herbs; and gardening is how to get your hands on the freshest. But perhaps you’ve been hesitant to start a garden; worried that your thumb isn’t green enough, hesitant to commit to what looks like a time demanding project. The key to a manageable and enjoyable garden is to keep it small and simple. Your first decision…container or terra firma?

Container Gardens

If you live in an apartment or condo that has a patio but no yard, container gardens are the only way to go. Containers allow you to garden just about anywhere, but to be successful there are a few guidelines that you’ll want to follow.

Containers and Soil Moisture

Use the largest containers practical for the space available...

Growing strawberries can take up a lot of land, which is sometimes a precious commodity for an urban homesteader. Not only can you do this to bring tasty strawberries into your home, but you can make it a family-centric project. Kids and dirt go hand in hand, and your kids will love this eco-savvy project. Not only is this environmentally friendly; it is also friendly to your back since picking strawberries can take its toll very quickly.

Growing Strawberries Vertically

Visit your local hardware store and purchase a piece of PVC pipe around 4 feet long and 12 in. in diameter, purchase another about 5 feet long and about 2 inches in diameter, along with some weed control fabric. Using a hole saw, cut holes in the 12 in. pipe...

Herb Gardening

Don’t use garden soil when container gardening! Even the best garden soil is not the right choice for container growing. Though it may seem nutrient-rich and well-balanced, garden soil is always a problem. It will not provide adequate drainage and usually contains disease organisms, bacteria, and weed seeds. No matter how well it performs in the ground over the growing season, normal garden soil will soon form a compacted heavy mass, preventing root respiration and fertilizer absorption, resulting in stressed and hungry plants.

Each plant should get enough water to moisten the entire container. You’ll know soil is saturated when water runs freely out the drainage holes...