2009 April | Gardening in Small Spaces

Pest Control in Container Gardening

Last year I managed to grow both cucumbers and tomatoes in containers and was extremely proud of my efforts. Everything was on the up and up, on my way to a good crop but initially as the fruit began to mature I noticed little white bugs where destroying them. I didn’t really know what to do about it so I bought some herbacide from home depot in he hopes that I could get this under control. This did little to deter the critters and the majority of my crop was destroyed.

Before you begin to treat a pest problem you must understand the type of pest that you are dealing with. It is necessary to identify the pest before choosing a product to help you eliminate them. The following are descriptions of 5 garden pests.

Aphids
Description: Perhaps the most descructive pest for plants. These small, soft bodied insects deplete plants of juices producing leaves that are rolled and leaving the honeydew they produce behind.

Spider Mites
Description:
Tiny creatures seen only with a magnifying glass. They cause the leaves to slowly yellow and wither by depleting plants juices. If there is severe infestation there may be a covering of fine webs.

Scaly, Mealybugs
Description: Roundish yellow/brown insects that produce cotton like deposits and sticky leaves. This insects will not move if leaf is touched.

Whiteflies
Description: White insects that live on the undersides of leaves depleting plants juices which causes leaves to be yellow and withered. These insects will fly off the leaves when touched.

Snout Weevils
Description: A type of beetil that lives in potting soil and feeds on the plants roots.

Once you identified what type of pest you have, you will be able to treat accordingly. There are many natural household remedies that you can try to get rid of pests first before purchasing chemical products.

Happy Container Gardening!

Pot Full of Pansies: Gardening in Small Spaces Container Recipe

Pot Full of Pansies

Pansies
1 Flat of Mixed Color Pansies
Container Size and Type: 14″ Terracotta
Soil Type: Miracle Grow Potting Mix
Light: Sun to Part Sun

Plants Purchased: Home Depot (April 2009)
Container Purchased: Home Depot (August 2008)

Balcony North: Understanding the Different types Shade to Create Beautiful Shade Container Gardens

My balcony faces North, so I do not get enough direct sunlight to plant anything that would require a substantial amount of sun to thrive. That eliminates both full and part sun plants. I thought that I had come to terms with this fact, but I find my self often getting a bit jealous during this time of year as I am taunted by an abundance of sun loving plants everywhere that I go. At first glance there may seem to be a greater variety of sun loving plants readily available, but there are also an many shade loving plants which make it possible to create a beautiful container garden with diverse offerings in the shade. There are however different types of shade and it is necessary to know what type of shade that you are dealing with before you begin. There are three types, Dappled Shade, Part Shade and Deep Shade.

Partial Shade/Dappled Shade
This shade is often produced by trees with sparse leaves or high branches. There is a lot of light present without the intense heat of the sun. The area receives 3-6 hours of direct sun a day. There are a wide array of choices for Partial Shade/Dappled Shade conditions. Many Part Sun plant will work in this area too but it will be mostly trial and error to see if they will thrive.

Medium Shade
This type of shade is often produced by tall trees. There is some direct sun here but not during the peak hours of the day. If you have this type of shade you are venturing in the world of full shade lovers.

Full Shade
This type of shade is produced by tall trees with dense foliage and smaller trees with branches close to the ground. A neighboring tall building can also create this condition. The area receives less that 3 hours of direct sun a day.

The following are a few plant choices for shade:

Annuals
Impatiens
Monkey Flower
Tuberous Rooted Begonia

Perennial
Astilbe
Fuschia
Hosta

Happy Container Gardening!

Tennille

Perfectly Purple: Gardening in Small Spaces Container Recipe

Perfectly Purple
Thriller: Meadow Sage ‘May Night’ (Mainacht) – 1 Plant
Filler: Coral Bells ‘Palace Purple’ – 2 Plants (5 inch)
Spiller: Ajuga ‘Bugleweed’ – 1/4 of a half flat
Container Size and Type: 20″ Self Watering
Soil Type: Miracle Grow Potting Mix
Light: Sun to Part Shade

Plants Purchased: Home Depot (April 2009)
Container Purchased: Walmart (April 2009)

How to Arrange Plants in Containers: Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers

Arranging plants to create beautiful containers begins by letting go of your inhibitions and being willing to experiment a bit. If you’re new to container gardening arranging different plants in a single container may seem a bit awkward at first. If you find yourself a bit reticent when at this point the following fundamental methods will help you begin to easily combine plants of your choosing.

You can keep things simple and plant one plant in one container. If the right plant and container are paired this can be as striking a display as a container overflowing with a variety of plants. Alternatively you can up the ante and plant two plants in one container, three plants in one container and so on. Adding more plants does not create greater difficulty when planting but it is important to remember to group plants with similar lighting, soil and water requirements together to ensure the health and vitality each plant in the container. This will ensure that you container continues to thrive and that no plant in the container is struggling to survive.

A tried and true method or arranging plants in containers is to use a combination of upright, broad and trailing plants in a single container. You will often see these three types of plants referred to as thrillers, fillers and spillers and combining the three creates focus, balance, form, contrast, rhythm and proportion within your container garden.

Thrillers as I am sure that you can guess by the name are often the boldest and most exciting element of your container. When choosing your thriller you are looking for a tall upright plants. Choose plants with interesting flowers, colors and/or foliage. Picking an interesting thriller can help shape the rest of your container.

Fillers are chosen to add volume to the container while complimenting the thriller. Choose fillers with colors that compliment your thriller or create contrast. Choosing different types leaves and flowers to create contrast should also be considered.

Spillers are chosen to soften the containers edges. Adding spillers creates an overflowing display which gives the feeling of fullness and life in your container. Choosing spillers with colors, leaves and flowers that compliment or contrast the other components of you container will tie your entire container garden together.

Using the Thriller, Filler, Spiller method is a great method to start creating different combination in containers. It helps you create beautiful container almost instantly. Don’t be timid and have a little bit of fun. Experiment a little and you will begin creating beautiful containers in no time. Try using this method and if you do not like the results it is easy to remove the plants and start over. Happy Container Gardening!

Tennille

Potting Soil vs. Potting Mix: What Growing Medium Should I use for my Container Garden?

Growing Medium is a term used to describe the substance that you use to grow plants in containers. Before I started to educate myself on container gardening I was naive enough to think that all you needed was “dirt” from a neighbors yard or a park to grow plants in containers. I quickly found out that this was not the case. Dirt is an elusive term, so what I am really talking about is Soil from the Ground and the Garden Soil, Top Soil and Potting Soil sold at garden centers and nurseries. Although many gardeners continue to use Potting Soil for container gardens I am finding that most container gardeners who constitently experience success with their containers lean towards using a high quality Potting Mix. So what is the difference? It wasn’t until recently that I realized that there was such a vast difference between Potting Soil and Potting Mix. I decided to ask the sales associate at the garden center which was little help. He informed me that Potting Soil would be just as good as Potting Mix in my containers and could not explain to me the difference between the two. So let’s get down to the bottom of this and try to make some sense out of this obviously confusing subject.

Potting Soil: Contains Soil (Dirt). Potting Soil will often not give optimal results because its thickness does not allow adequate water and airflow in containers.
Best Uses: Raised beds or to fill low or bald spots in your yard

Potting Mix: Contains No Soil (Dirt), sterile mix which may contain a combination of sphagnum moss, perlite and vermiculite. Potting Mix has particles larger than soil to allow the flow of water and air in the container. Potting Mixes drain well while still retaining sufficient water for plants.
Best Uses: Container Plants. Can also be used to start seeds and for root cuttings.

To add to the confusion some Potting Soils do have sphagnum moss, perlite and vermiculite added in. These potting soils may be okay for containers, but I still believe that you will see better results with a Potting Mix. I have used both Potting Soil and Potting Mix in my container garden and I have been more impressed with the results of the health and growth of my plants in Potting Mix. My plants seem to thrive not just survive in this medium. When you are in the garden center and a sales associate claims that it is the same thing remember to look a little deeper. If it contains soil you may be compromising the performance of your containers. Look for a good quality Potting Mix and you will be on your way to healthy, thriving plants.

Starting Your Container Garden, One Container at a Time

I have been an avid container gardener for several years now. I have learned a great deal about container gardening principles and practices but despite my progressive container gardening knowledge I have to say that there is one thing I continue to struggle with each year; starting. I have had trouble getting my container garden started each and every Spring since it’s creation. Even the assistance of my handy little garden diagram which I draw each year to help plan the upcoming year’s container garden is of little to no help when Spring actually arrives. One single trip to the garden center or nursery leaves me paralyzed. Too many flowers plus too many containers equal too many choices and a feeling of overwhelming anxiety sets in. The lighting conditions on my container garden is varying degrees of shade which significantly narrows down my selection of plants, but this still does little to reduce my anxiety. If there are fewer plants for me to choose, I then begin to stress over which plants to combine. I know, so much drama for no reason. Just writing about my craziness is exhausting, so to alleviate my axiety I am committing to creating one container at a time. This will prove especially helpful to those that are completely new to container gardening. It is easy to see container gardens in magazines, books or even someone else’s container garden filled with dozens of beautifully blossoming plants and become a bit anxious and/or even jealous. This gut reaction is what often causes me to swing into action and become overwhelmed. I propose that we must resist this urge in order to keep container gardening a pleasurable experience.

So how do you create one container at a time? Let’s first cover the bare necessities that you will need to create your very first container (ONE CONTAINER!)

A container (Make sure there is at least one drain hole in the bottom, otherwise you will have to drill one)
Potting mix (Do not choose any type of soil, the mix is lighter weight and keeps container plants healthier)
One or more plants or transplants (Coordinate your plants with the container and/or with each other. Choose plants with similar, soil, lighting and watering requirments). If you want that instant full and overflowing container look that you see in pictures make sure you choose larger plants and/or tansplants other wise you may be dissapointed after planting.
Gardening Gloves (Always use gardening gloves when using potting mix as the package indicates to avoid disease)Trowel

I truly believe that this is all you need to create your first container. Pretty simple right. If you do not know which plants to pair together remember you can always plant one per container. Additionally if you want to try mixing different plants look for inspiration in books, magazines and the Internet and choose one container idea at a time to implement. If you take your time with each in every container before you know it you will have create your the container garden that you have been longing for.

Tennille

Today’s Reminder: Enjoy the ride
Today’s Quote: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Confucius

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Pest Control in Container Gardening

Pot Full of Pansies: Gardening in Small Spaces Container Recipe

Balcony North: Understanding the Different types Shade to Create Beautiful Shade Container Gardens

Perfectly Purple: Gardening in Small Spaces Container Recipe

How to Arrange Plants in Containers: Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers

Potting Soil vs. Potting Mix: What Growing Medium Should I use for my Container Garden?

Starting Your Container Garden, One Container at a Time

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