GARDEN HOTLINE | Easy container gardening

Don’t have a yard and want to grow fresh herbs? Or perhaps you have a shady yard but a nice sunny deck. Never fear! Many edibles and ornamentals can be successfully grown in containers.  

Add beauty to your home and pizzazz to your recipes with a few containers packed with food, foliage and flowers. Here are a few simple pointers to get you growing.

Sunny dispositions

Most edible and non-edible annuals need at least eight hours of sunlight a day to produce flowers and fruit. Some vegetables like leafy greens, and a few herbs will be fine with four to six hours per day. 

Check on the sun-exposure requirements before you plant to ensure they will get the appropriate amount of sunlight that they need. Consider what direction your balcony or windowsill faces and if there are trees or buildings that block the sun. 

If you have small pools of sunshine in your yard or on your deck, put a container on wheels and chase the sun.

Have you ever seen a plant growing in a shoe or an old bathtub? You can grow plants in all kinds of containers that you may find around your home, as long as they have drainage holes and are the right size for what you want to plant. 

Some materials, such as unglazed terra cotta, may dry out quickly and need more water than plastic or metal. 

Available at local stores, colorful pots made from rice hulls may last as long as five years outdoors and then will biodegrade at a composting facility. 

Plant big edibles (tomatoes, squash and cucumbers), large perennials, shrubs and dwarf trees in larger pots. Check local nurseries for free pots they do not need.  You can sometimes find larger pots that way. 

Smaller fast-growing vegetables and annual herbs and flowers do not need as much room, but consider that the larger the container, the more you can grow. You can pack lots of salad greens into a wide and shallow pot.

Care and feeding

Container gardens need good drainage. Many commercial potting soils are formulated for containers and contain material that aids drainage, as well as organic matter such as compost. 

Look for a label that specifies “potting soil” to make sure you are getting the right type of soil. Avoid potting soils that already have fertilizer added so that you can customize your container to the needs of the individual plants.

Many plants growing in containers need more food than they would if planted in the ground — this is especially true for annual vegetables and flowers. 

Use organic-based fertilizers. These are products made from ingredients like bone meal, blood meal, kelp, alfalfa or cottonseed meal. Liquid fertilizers work well for containers because the nutrients are immediately available to plants. 

There are many good choices for organic liquid fertilizers that are formulated for particular plant needs. Use fertilizers with more nitrogen (N) for leafy greens and annual herbs. Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are essential for flowering and fruiting. 

Add some liquid fertilizer to your watering can every two to three weeks to keep the fruits and flowers coming.

Plants need water to grow. Water needs vary depending on what kind of plant you are growing, what the container is made of, plant size and environmental factors, such as temperature, wind and sun. 

Conserve water and keep your pots from drying out during the heat of the day by watering early in the morning. Mulching your plants will help cut down on water loss by leaving less soil exposed to the elements. Using compost as mulch in containers also adds nutrients to the soil at the same time.

If you have many containers, drip irrigation kits that are designed for containers can be very helpful, especially if you go on vacation and don’t have a “plant babysitter.” 

To decide when to water, feel the soil about an inch below the surface to see if it is moist to the touch. If it feels dry, water your plants. Be sure to check frequently during hot weather and when first setting your pots out to determine how fast they are drying out. 

A good watering can with a sprinkler nozzle is a great tool for hand-watering.

Container-friendly plants

Many vining plants grow well in containers, but trellising them can be challenging. 

There are loads of both edible and ornamental plants that work well in containers. Look for “bush” varieties of cucumbers, melons and squash and “determinate” or compact tomatoes. 

Many pepper plants have beautiful leaves and flowers and yield tasty fruit. 

Woody perennial herbs that thrive in a Mediterranean climate — such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram and lavender — will appreciate the good drainage in a large container yet still require less water and food than many other plants. 

Chives are a shade-friendly plant. Plant a pot of chives and they will keep coming back until you need to divide the clump and share the wealth with your friends

To get personalized help with your container garden, contact the Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224 or www.gardenhotline.org. 

SUE HARTMAN is an environmental educator for the Garden Hotline at Seattle Tilth (seattletilth.org).