Container garden

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Container garden on front porch Container garden on front porch.jpg
Container garden on front porch

Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the ground. [1] A container in gardening is a small, enclosed and usually portable object used for displaying live flowers or plants. It may take the form of a pot, box, tub, basket, tin, barrel or hanging basket.

Contents

Methods

Pots, traditionally made of terracotta but now more commonly plastic, and window boxes are the most commonly seen. Small pots are called flowerpots. [2] In some cases, this method of growing is used for ornamental purposes. This method is also useful in areas where the soil or climate is unsuitable for the plant or crop in question. Using a container is also generally necessary for houseplants. Limited growing space, or growing space that is paved over, can also make this option appealing to the gardener. [2] Additionally, this method is popular for urban horticulture on balconies of apartments and condominiums where gardeners lack the access to the ground for a traditional garden. [3]

Species

Many types of plants are suitable for the container, including decorative flowers, herbs, cacti, vegetables, and small trees and shrubs. [4] Herbs and small edible plants such as chili peppers and arugula can be grown inside the house, if there is adequate light and ventilation, and on outdoor terraces, larger vegetables may be planted.[ citation needed ]

Types of containers

A wide variety of containers can be used in container gardens, each offering unique benefits and aesthetic qualities. Among the most popular types from a 2024 survey are:

Hanging baskets
Suitable for trailing plants, hanging baskets can be suspended from ceilings, walls, or specially designed stands, adding vertical interest and maximizing space in small gardens.
Window boxes
These containers fit on windowsills, and are suitable for flowers, herbs, and small vegetables.
Wall planters
Mounted on walls, these planters can be used for vertical gardening. They come in various designs, including pockets and shelves, making them suitable for a range of plant types.

Other common container options include traditional pots, which vary in material from terracotta to plastic, and sub-irrigated planters. Containers can also be repurposed items such as barrels and tins, allowing for creative and personalized garden designs.

Planting

An ornamental planter at Regent's Park, Inner London, England Regent's Park (7274149666).jpg
An ornamental planter at Regent's Park, Inner London, England

Containers range from simple plastic pots, to teacups, to complex automatically watered irrigation systems. This flexibility in design is another reason container gardening is popular with growers. They can be found on porches, front steps, and—in urban locations—on rooftops. Sub-irrigated planters (SIP) are a type of container that may be used in container gardens. [4] [5]

Re-potting

Re-potting is the action of placing an already potted plant into a larger or smaller pot. A pot that fits a plant's root system better is normally used. Plants are usually re-potted according to the size of their root system. Most plants need to be re-potted every few years because they become "pot-" or "root-bound". A plants' roots can sense its surroundings, including the size of the pot it is in, and increasing the pot size allows plant size to increase proportionally. [6]


See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardening</span> Practice of growing and cultivating plants

Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of aesthetically pleasing areas, medicines, cosmetics, dyes, foods, poisons, wildlife habitats, and saleable goods. People often partake in gardening for its therapeutic, health, educational, cultural, philosophical, environmental, and religious benefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raised-bed gardening</span> Form of gardening

Raised-bed gardening is a form of gardening in which the soil is raised above ground level and usually enclosed in some way. Raised bed structures can be made of wood, rock, concrete or other materials, and can be of any size or shape. The soil is usually enriched with compost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flower box</span> Planter or box container for flowers, plants

A flower box is a type of container in the form of a planter or box that is usually placed outdoors and used for displaying live plants and flowers, but it may also be used for growing herbs or other edible plants.

Uran gardening is the practice of growing vegetables, fruit and plants in urban areas, such as schools, backyards or apartment balconies.

This is an alphabetical index of articles related to gardening.

Potting may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Window box</span> Type of flower container

A window box is a type of flower container for live flowers or plants in the form of a box attached on or just below the sill of a window. It may also be used for growing herbs or other edible plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flowerpot</span> Container in pottery or plastic in which flowers and plants are held

A flowerpot, planter, planterette or plant pot, is a container in which flowers and other plants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plain terracotta with no ceramic glaze, with a round shape, tapering inwards. Flowerpots are now often also made from plastic, metal, wood, stone, or sometimes biodegradable material. An example of biodegradable pots are ones made of heavy brown paper, cardboard, or peat moss in which young plants for transplanting are grown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen garden</span> Garden area used for growing edible plants

The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for growing edible plants and often some medicinal plants, especially historically. The plants are grown for domestic use; though some seasonal surpluses are given away or sold, a commercial operation growing a variety of vegetables is more commonly termed a market garden. The kitchen garden is different not only in its history, but also its functional design. It differs from an allotment in that a kitchen garden is on private land attached or very close to the dwelling. It is regarded as essential that the kitchen garden could be quickly accessed by the cook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floral industry</span> Industry of producing, distributing, and selling flowers

The floral industry is focused on the production, distribution and sale of flowers for human enjoyment. The industry continues to diversify from the production of cut flowers to the production and sale of plants and flowers in many different forms. The global floral industry market size is estimated to be worth US$ 50040 million in 2022 and is forecast to increase to US$ 58030 million by 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 2.5% during the review period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban horticulture</span> Science of growing plants in urban environments

Urban horticulture is the science and study of the growing plants in an urban environment. It focuses on the functional use of horticulture so as to maintain and improve the surrounding urban area. Urban horticulture has seen an increase in attention with the global trend of urbanization and works to study the harvest, aesthetic, architectural, recreational and psychological purposes and effects of plants in urban environments.

An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. Ollas have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots or East Indian matki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jardiniere</span> Type of flower pot

Jardinière is a French word, from the feminine form of "gardener". In English it means a decorative flower box or "planter", a receptacle or a stand upon which, or into which, plants may be placed, usually indoors. The French themselves mostly refer to tabletop "planter" versions of such receptacles as cachepots ("hide-pots"). The French tend to use jardinière for larger outdoor containers for plants, and for raised beds in gardens in some sort of isolated frame, such as a stone wall, especially growing vegetables and herbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sub-irrigated planter</span>

Sub-irrigated planter (SIP) is a generic name for a special type of planting box used in container gardening and commercial landscaping. A SIP is any method of watering plants where the water is introduced from the bottom, allowing the water to soak upwards to the plant through capillary action. It is possible to automate the watering and thus SIPs are popular with professional landscapers in buildings or urban settings. Commercialized versions of a Sub-irrigated planter condenses humidity from the environment and feed it directly into the plants' roots. SIPs are available as commercial products or as do-it-yourself projects made from plastic buckets, boxes or storage totes. One of the disadvantages of such closed systems is that soluble salts cannot be flushed into the lower soil profile and build up over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedding (horticulture)</span>

Many types of flowering plants are available to plant in flower gardens or flower beds. The floral industry calls these plants, bedding plants. These fast-growing plants in seasonal flower beds create colourful displays, during spring, summer, fall or winter, depending on the climate. Plants used for bedding are generally annuals, but biennials, tender perennials, and succulents are used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upside-down gardening</span> Hanging vegetable garden technique

Upside-down gardening is a kitchen garden technique where the vegetable garden uses suspended soil and seedlings to stop pests and blight, and eliminate the typical gardening tasks of tilling, weeding, and staking plants. The vegetable growing yield is only marginally affected. Kathi (Lael) Morris was the first known to grow tomatoes and peppers this way, starting in 1998. Since then, the concept gained tremendous popularity. Ms. Morris grew mostly heirloom varieties, researching over a span of 11 years, which varieties were compact enough to produce fruit in abundance with little or no breakage of the stems.

There are many ways to garden in restricted spaces. Often a small or limited space is an issue in growing and cultivating plants. Restricted space gardens can be located on small lawns, balconies, patios, porches, rooftops, inside the home, or in any other available place. Gardening in small places can be applied to edible or floral plants. Growing food has many benefits including saving money; healthier, fresher, and better tasting food; knowledge of pesticide and fertilizer exposure. Gardening is a good form of exercise and has been proven to be therapeutic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro-irrigation</span> Low pressure and flow irrigation system

Micro-irrigation, also called Micro-spray,localized, low-volume, low-flow, or trickle irrigation, is an irrigation method with lower water pressure and flow than a traditional sprinkler system. Low-volume irrigation is used in agriculture for row crops, orchards, and vineyards. It is also used in horticulture in wholesale nurseries, in landscaping for civic, commercial, and private landscapes and gardens, and in the science and practice of restoration ecology and environmental remediation. The lower volume allows the water to be absorbed into slow-percolation soils such as clay, minimizing runoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foodscaping</span> Ornamental landscaping with edible plants

Foodscaping is a modern term for integrating edible plants into ornamental landscapes. It is also referred to as edible landscaping and has been described as a crossbreed between landscaping and farming. As an ideology, foodscaping aims to show that edible plants are not only consumable but can also be appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. Foodscaping spaces are seen as multi-functional landscapes that are visually attractive and also provide edible returns. Foodscaping is a method of providing fresh food affordably and sustainably.

Click and Grow is an Estonian indoor gardening company, founded by Mattias Lepp in 2009. It develops consumer electronic products for growing edible plants indoors.

References

  1. Mills, Linn (29 January 2012). "Reap Benefits Of Container Gardening". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Welcome To The World Of Container Gardening". University of Illinois. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  3. Neville, Jayne (2008). Flowerpot farming : creating your own urban kitchen garden. Preston: Good Life. ISBN   978-1904871316.
  4. 1 2 Thompson, Al (18 December 2012). "Container Gardening Offers Many Benefits". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. Note: SIP simply means watering from below, in large commercial applications it would not be strictly a container garden.
  6. Society for Experimental Biology (1 July 2012). "Want bigger plants? Get to the root of the matter". (e) Science News. Retrieved 18 July 2014.