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Container Gardening
Curriculum developed by Starr Farris, Oregon Food Bank
For more information:
503.282.0555 x268, [email protected]
Container Gardening Topics
Overview
Placement / Location
Containers
Soil
Watering
Plants and specifics
Container vs Terrestrial Gardening
Similarities
A wide variety of plants
can be grown
Growing season
Sunlight requirements
Differences
Watering
Fertilizing
Soil Care
Placement / Location
At least 6 hours sun is ideal
South facing patios/decks – almost anything
West and east facing – most things
North facing – root crops, spinach, arugula
Weight considerations
Avoid drip lines
Use vertical space to save room
Containers
What to Use
Good Containers
Little pots from nurseries
Yogurt containers
5 gallon buckets
Old recycling bins
Wine barrels
A bag of potting soil with
holes poked in the
bottom
Bad Containers
Tires
Treated wood
Painted wood
Buckets that contained
chemicals, laundry soap
or kitty litter
See-through containers
Preparing the Containers
Create holes in the bottom (at least 1 hole
per 2 square inches)
Avoid adding gravel to the bottom
Sanitize containers with dilute bleach solution
if they were used before.
Soil & Fertilizing
The Soil
Potting soil is essential
The soil must be replaced every year
Potting soil does not have enough nutrients
to support the plants all season. You have to
fertilize.
Fertilizing
Add fertilizer every two weeks
Types of fertilizers:
Compost tea
Worm casting tea
Fish fertilizer
Complete organic fertilizer
Watering
Containers dry out faster than soil.
Check the containers every day.
When the soil is dry, add water until it runs
out the bottom of the pot.
Infrequent deep watering is better than
shallow frequent watering.
Plants
What to Grow in Containers
Final yield per plant will be smaller than for
the same number of plants in the soil
Container gardening is more expensive than
gardening in the soil due to the potting soil
and the amount of fertilizer required.
When choosing plants, focus on quantity and
quality.
Your best choices to maximize your
harvest
Quantity
Cherry tomatoes
Pole beans
Peas
Arugula
Lettuce
Hot peppers
Quality
Gourmet Salad Greens
Herbs
Basil, cilantro, parsley
Thyme, oregano,
marjorum
Minimum Container Depth Four Inches (4” b/w plants)
Asian greens
Green onions
Lettuce
Radish
Six Inches (2”b/w plants)
Beans
Peas
Eight Inches
Basil (8” b/w plants)
Carrots (2” b/w plants)
Garlic (6” b/w plants)
Parsley (8” b/w plants)
Spinach (4” b/w plants)
Ten inches (4” b/w plants)
beets
2 gallon pot (1 plant each)
Chard
Collards
Kale
3 gallon Pot (1 plant each)
Cucumber
Eggplant
5 gallon pot (1 plant each)
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Varieties
Cherry tomatoes
Bush type squash
Compact varieties
Leaf-type lettuce / greens
Summary
Use fresh potting soil in well drained
containers
Fertilize often
Choose the right size plant for the right size
pot
Focusing on varieties and plants that are
suited for container gardening will help you
get the most out of your container garden.