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Gardening

Keep Your Kids Busy Gardening With Garden Pots

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Have fun with your kids while doing something useful – container gardening! This will certainly help keep them from getting bored and they will love learning how to plant in garden pots. And, seriously, what could possibly be better than getting their little hands dirty while growing their own food. They might just be inclined to try some new foods they wouldn’t ordinarily try (I know this works since I saw it happen with my own 6-year old son.)

The Containers

A good place to start is with the containers. Garden pots can be made from a wide variety of raw materials like wood, stone, clay, plastic, etc. The safest material that I would recommend for your kids is plastic since it is really hard to break and its lightweight. The second best option is wood. Usually wood containers don’t hold water well and are used for decoration. You will probably end up putting the pot that holds our plant into the wood one.

This is a really good time to have your kids decorate the pots. On both wood and plastic, acrylic paint works great. Be sure to use paints that are non-toxic. Once your child is finished, pick out a location now where you want the pot to go since it will be harder and heavier to move when its filled with soil.

The Soil

I recommend using a good potting soil as opposed to putting in plain old dirt. Potting soils are blended specifically for use in containers and they are made to hold water (which means less watering – and less maintenance). Its always a good idea to help freshly placed plants get a good start by feeding them with the proper nutrients. Mix the recommended amount into the potting soil (a guide will be printed on the bag). Be careful not to add too much as this can kill the plant.

The Plants

Pick your plants according to size and type – flowers, vegetables or herbs. Some plants (like tomatoes) require larger pots. If the plants do get too large for their pots, they can be easily transplanted into larger garden pots later. So, you can see how this is a great project for kids as the plants need their love and attention as they grow. Your kids are sure to love seeing the fruits of their labor.

Andy Raydall has been working in gardens since early childhood and has always been interested in educating others on gardening and landscaping techniques. If you’d like to know more about container gardening, visit AllGardenPots.com

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Gardening

Top 10 List of Tips for Container Gardening Using Garden Pots

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Container gardens have been around for quite some time and are gaining in popularity. In many instances, such as high-rise or apartment living, the only option for a garden is to place your plants in garden pots. Here is a short list of considerations on using garden pots in your own garden:

1. Choose the Proper Material

Garden pots are made from a large variety of materials, like clay, plastic and stone. Some of these materials are more durable than others and some more stylish. How you will use the pots will help you narrow down the options.

2. As a Matter of Fact, Size Does Matter

If you know what plants you will be using in your garden, the kind of plant will help determine how big the garden pot will be. For instance, small trees require much larger pots to allow for their root systems.

3. Vary the Pot Sizes

If you want your garden to “pop”, then vary the sizes of the pots (and plants) you use. Scale your pots so the farther back they are, the larger they get.

4. Grouping Your Garden Pots

If you place your pots in groups with smaller and mid-sized pots around a single large pot, you will add a lot of interest and a great focal point at the same time.

5. Select Plants That You Put In A Pot That Require The Same Amount of Water

This may seem obvious, but you shouldn’t group a cactus requiring little water with a fern requiring daily watering.

6. Select Plants That You Put In A Pot That Require The Same Amount of Sunlight

Pots left in direct sunlight dry up very quickly because of their small size. Try to place them where they get some shade at least part of the day.

7. Pick Hardy Plants That Don’t Need Much Water

Since pots are relatively small, they tend to dry up pretty fast. Choosing plants that require less water will make your container garden easier to maintain and will also be more forgiving.

8. Good Drainage Is Key

Most pots come with drain holes in them. If they don’t you will have to drill them yourself. Over the hole, place either a couple of layers of newspaper or a piece of broken pot to allow for drainage but keeping the soil from spilling out the bottom.

9. Add a Water Sealant to Terracotta Pots

Terracotta makes a great material for pots, but they tend to soak up quite a bit of the water intended for your plants. Brush on a water sealant to the inside of the pot to keep this from occurring.

10. Potting Soil

Its always best to use a good potting soil in your pots. They are specially blended just for this purpose so they are light weight and they have better water holding capabilities.

Before you purchase any garden pot for your garden, visit Keith Maiden’s web site: All Garden Pots for more information on container gardening.

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