Also known as pot gardening, container gardening involves, growing plants including edible plants separately in containers as opposed to growling them in the ground. A container in the gardening comprises a small enclosed container that can be easily carried from one place to another is used for holding live plants or flowers.
Like any other vocation, gardening also involves sustenance, perseverance, diligence, and dexterity. You need to use the necessary gardening implements, the right soil, the right place to mention a few. We’ll mention here 15 container gardening mistakes that you should avoid.
You will Learn & get:
- Right amount of sun, water and fertilizer, mulch to use for different plants
- Ideal container set, configuration for maximum plant growth
1. Not setting up correctly
Container gardening starts with bringing in place the setup. For this, you need to prepare with the pots (containers) filled with soil with the right sort of compost. You also take need to take care according to the type of plants that you plant. Thus, if you’re planning plant seedlings, ensure to leave a few inches of space around the roots. On the other hand, if you’re planting the seeds, spread the seeds uniformly across the container soil.
2. Wrong soil
Different plants may need different sorts of soil. And, there are diverse types of soil. However, judge the soil according to the extent of acidity, alkalinity or neutrality. These factors will help decide which plants will be right for the type of soil.
The soil consistently and type of particles go to determine if the soil is clay, silt, loam, sandy or peat. Each of these has unique draining and nutrient holding properties.
Sandy soil sucks….
We reused sandy soil in a few containers…when we ran out of our premium garden soil and did a test with 2 plant containers to see the difference. The plants in the premium soil grew almost twice as big as the ones in the sandy soil. Soil does really make all the difference.
3. Refer to a standard soil kit.
If you choose the wrong sort of soil, it will not only fail the plant to grow but will bring despair in its wake along with a waste of time and resources.
4. Not enough water
Water should be done in proper quantity as well as on time. This will help prevent the death of the plants at the growing stage.
Repeated watering is essential until the stage seedling and cuttings get a firm holding on the soil. When they grow up, a good root system is important, you need to water them regularly.
If you don’t water them properly, it may lead to drying of the plants because they can no longer absorb nutrients for which water acts as a carrying vehicle.
Pro Tip: Make sure to water your plants consistently during their life. Don’t just water them a lot during their fast growth phase…and then forget about them during the hot summer. This is when plants need water the most and may need two or more waterings per day.
5. Not adequate food
This is another major mistake that container graders commit. The soil in the continent contains nutrients to a limited extent. The plants need to be fed with nutrients. Therefore, ensure you feed the soil with nutrients of the right sort at the right time.
Also, some plants use up the soil nutrients rapidly. Therefore, you must take care to compensate for the soil with nutrients of the right kind. Seek expert advice if need be.
6. Too many plants in the container
Plant a fixed number of seedlings in a given container according to the regular standards. This will ensure uniform distribution of soil nutrients among the plants. However, if the number of seedlings is too many, it may lead to crowding of in the soil and therefore is likely to slow growth and even death of the seedlings.
A lot of gardeners over estimate the number of seeds that will die and they try to compensate by adding more seeds. This “seed insurance” sounds great but it often leads to smaller yields if most of the seeds survive – since the plants are competing for resources.
7. Too much sun for the plant
Some plants need to be kept in shadow with a small amount of sunshine while few others need regular sunshine for long hours.
However, if there is too much sun, it may lead to loss of soil moisture, nutrients, and important biological factors.
You will end up drying out your plants and stunting their growth. If they don’t get enough water but the sun continues to beat down then they will likely die.
Everything in moderation.
8. You have to follow the plant instructions or they won’t thrive
You should take adequate care so that the fine roots responsible for channelizing water and nutrients. If you neglect to carry off their soil, the seedlings fail to grow properly.
9. Too many small pots in an area
When the pot is too small it can obstruct the healthy growth of the plant. This problem might be prominent if the roots of the plant are relatively bigger.
The roots get jammed in a small space and without any space for spread out. This ultimately leads to poor growth of the plant.
10. Not fighting pests
Fight pests are essential to prevent all the issues that ensue. You should prevent the infestation of the plants by destroying the harmful pests and, etc, in the seeds.
If you leave the pests without killing them, the infestation of the pests maybe there is no soil and may pass to the extent of a lot of new crops. This is because eggs and larvae of the pest grow in the soil and spread to the next crop. Ensure you Endeavour different plants of the same family together.
11. Too much mulch
Mulch, an organic material that goes to the soil to enable nutrients mixed up with the soil. It will protect the soil from erosion, and prevent loss of moisture.
If you use too much mulch, it may fail in the soil to get adequately wet. Further, too much mulch will prevent the reach of nutrients to the soil.
12. Not enough sun
Certain plants may require constant sunshine and need to be kept there as such. Sunshine is also important to make the soil stays at optimal moisture. Harmful microbes are also killed by strong sunshine.
13. Too small pots for tomatoes
For growing tomatoes, if you use containers of very small size, it’s not beneficial. If you don’t water and mulch them properly it will lead result in failure to bear tomatoes. Flowers may blossom but they fail to transform into a vegetable because the fruits just drop.
14. Not protecting from deer or wildlife
If you stay in an area where deer or any similar wildlife species, odds are that they may come occasionally to make your seedlings their favorite stuff. The best thing is to prevent them from destroying the plant by erecting rails or fence around the plant. This will protect the plant. Avoid shooting the animals or getting electrocuting them. If you indulge in such activities, it may resulelut criminal persecution.
15. Using the same plant in that container yearly
As you keep the same plant in that container, it may not be sufficient for the plant. This is because the plant grows, it may require an increased amount of soil, nutrients, and water and the like. The comparatively small size of the container may prevent healthy growth it can also cause disease.
Replenish the soil every year. If you don’t take any steps to enrich the soil with new soil & nutrients then you will get disappointing results. Plants deplete the soil of its nutrients as they grow. By adding new soil and or compost to the existing soil, you will help the new plants to have a thriving year and you will yield a beautiful bloom or harvest.
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Wrapping Up
When you practice container gardening, you need to take care of the plants in every aspect right from the type/species of the plant to nutrition, type of soil, climate and your ability to devote adequate time and effort is important as well. Avoid these container gardening mistakes and your plants will thrive every year!
