Simple DIY Backyard Greenhouse Plans & Ideas For Building a Small to Medium Size Greenhouse at Home…!

Tomato container gardens are an alternative to a traditional tomato garden. Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, well in this case fruits, of people around the world. They can be used in so many ways, in a salad or to make a sauce for pasta and a myriad of other ways in your culinary pursuits. Sadly in some places tomatoes are being priced at three dollars per pound or more. Fortunately, everyone can grow their own tomatoes, even people that live in apartments. The answer is to grow a tomato container garden. You can grow them on a patio or balcony or in a bright sunny room in your home.

The number one essential is sun. Tomatoes require a lot of light and will not thrive without out it. The materials you will need to gather for your tomato container garden are simple. You will need containers that are about five gallons in size. Only plant one tomato plant per pot. You will need soil, tomato seedlings and stakes or a wire cage to hold the plant upright. String, or products called twist-tie or sturdy-tie will be needed to tie the plant to the stakes or cages. You will need a plastic tray for drainage; good drainage is essential to the health of your tomato container garden. Last need on the list is fertilizer.

There are some species of tomatoes that will do better in your tomato container garden. The bush varieties of tomatoes work well in containers and are popular with container gardeners. Cherry tomatoes and Christmas Grape tomatoes work well also because of their size and many gardeners grow them when space is limited. Other varieties that will flourish in a tomato container garden are Celebrity, Early Girl, and Sweet 100′s. It really depends on which variety you want to grow and for what purposes. If you will be growing them mainly for salads the cherry varieties are the way to go.

As mentioned before, sunlight is a requirement in order to grow your tomato container garden. Scout out the area you are planning to use for your tomatoes. The spot for your tomato container garden must get at least four to six hours of sunlight. The more light the better since the sun promotes healthy, steady growth. The two most important elements for success in tomato container gardening is sunlight and water.

By growing your own tomato container garden you will know that there were no pesticides used on your plants. With all the controversy going on about pesticides knowing that yours is pesticide free is an advantage for you and your family. Here is a good natural pest deterrent:

In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

Other pluses to this type of garden is you no longer will be paying high prices for tomatoes, your containers won’t take up much space and one plant usually yields enough tomatoes to feed your family. The cost of a tomato container garden is minimal and the feeling of accomplishment is great. So why are you waiting to plant your tomatoes? It’s time to choose the variety of tomato you want to grow, pick up some containers and start your tomato container gardens today.

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

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A person blessed with a ‘green thumb’ considers it a terrible punishment to be restricted by space when he/she is actually hankering for a beautiful and large garden! The only way to ‘expand’ this garden is to grow plants in containers; in short, indulge in container gardening!

According to expert gardeners, plants growing directly from the earth tend to ‘spread their branches’ in an uncontrolled manner. Container gardening can help to bring in some sort of control over growing plants. Additionally, complementing species have many uses such as behaving like an insect repellent and adding flavor to vegetables. To be more specific, if you should decide to add oregano to containers containing bean plants, the flavor of the vegetable is enhanced! Similarly, oregano added to broccoli keeps away insects.

Since these containers take the place of natural earth in the concept of container gardening, each plant has to be given the appropriate home for its survival and comfort. Plan out where you are going to place the containers, the type of plants you wish to grow in them, and most important of all, whether the outside garden and container garden blend to create an aesthetically pleasant picture.

Now for the containers themselves! To prevent rotting, solid wood is a good choice, much better than terra cotta. Also, there is better insulation for plants placed in wooden containers. People living in cold regions go in for terra cotta. These containers do give plants the freedom to breathe and ensure healthier roots, but at the same time allow the soil inside to harden and freeze. Thus, the container could break.

If you crave a natural atmosphere, go for cement or stone containers. Of course, these are too heavy to keep moving around, so they get permanent places to stay. In contrast, plastic containers are much lighter and easy to maneuver anywhere. The disadvantage is that plants may not receive sufficient oxygen to ensure healthy growth.

But wait! Container gardening does give you the choice of moving the containers at will. This is an advantage when changing weather conditions pose a challenge to the plants contained within them. You may also wish to play around with various permutations and combinations to create a visual vista for all to see. Make it easy on yourself by placing the containers on wheeled platforms.

Flowers in any garden present a riot of colors! Fortunately, all sorts of flowering plants, including perennials and annuals, can be adapted for container gardening. Ensure that these plants get enough sunlight, fertilizer and water. Surround the plants with mulch to get excellent results! Remove the dead or dying blossoms from the plants, so that new buds can be formed.

Putting aside flowering and ornamental plants, container gardening is the best way to grow your own herbs! You can even grow two or more herbs in the same container; they are very adaptable. All that is required to start them off is seeds!

So make a study of your environment and enhance its beauty with container gardening! The final result should prove to be a very rewarding experience for one and all!

The canna’s are growing wild in the back of my fence not to far from my container garden .I dug some of the canna’s up ,and put around my yard for some landscaping .I need to know if i should all together get rid of all the canna’s for my vegetable container garden’s sake thanks .

When you think about gardens, what comes to mind? Lush, green lawns? Vibrant flowerbeds bursting with a kaleidoscope of color? Or maybe exotic plants for as far as the eye can see? Once upon a time, those things were some of the only characteristics of a garden. To have a garden, you had to have land to spare. But not anymore. These days, even if you live in an apartment you can have a garden. Container gardening lets you enjoy all the benefits without needing the space.

Whether you choose to grow flowers, herbs or vegetables, you can be successful at container gardening. If you follow these tips, you’ll be enjoying all the benefits of a garden in no time, no matter where you live.

Tip 1: Not just any container will do

Experienced green thumbs will tell you that a garden can be grown in any container. Although that may be technically true, some containers will offer more chances for success, particularly if your thumb is of another shade. Inexpensive plastic may be a natural go-to for those who don’t want to break the budget on their gardens, but those containers can deteriorate easily in the sun, and they are not built to last. However, if you are looking for something temporary and lightweight, this can be good option. Terracotta pots are more durable but will require you to water the plants in them more frequently, as terracotta dries out much more easily than other materials.

You may want to get creative and use something unconventional, like a teapot, to plant a small container garden. This is a great idea, as long as you remember to ensure it has a drainage hole in the bottom. If your chosen container doesn’t already have a hole in it, you can always drill one.

Tip 2: Cleanliness is next to godliness

Before you get up to your elbows in potting soil, it’s important to sterilize the container in which you will plant your garden. This is particularly important if you have purchased second-hand planting containers; the plants that grew there previously may have had a disease that can affect your plants, too. All you need is an environmentally sound, all-purpose cleaner; just rinse and pat dry before planting.

Tip 3: Plan, then plant

Much like traditional gardening, the placement of container gardens will depend on what you plant. Do your research! Some plants will require full sun, others partial shade, and still more might flourish in just about any conditions. The good news is this: unlike traditional gardening, if you find that your container garden isn’t flourishing in the chosen spot, you can pick it up and move it!

Knowing this ahead of time can do more than help you determine where you will place each container. You also can roadmap where you will place each plant within each container. For example, you wouldn’t want to plant tall-growing plants around the edge of a container with shorter ones in the middle. Similarly, plants that trail over the side of the container should be planted, obviously, on the perimeter of the container.

Tip 4: When in doubt, fertilize!

Plants love to be healthy. If you want to get full and beautiful flowers out of your container garden, it’s imperative that you keep up the soil’s nutrient levels. To do that, you’ll need to fertilize – a lot. It wouldn’t hurt to fertilize every time you water. If you are growing vegetables, manure tea is an effective fertilizer, even though it doesn’t sound very appealing. Manure tea is essentially water extracted from manure, with soluble nutrients. It increases the organic content of the soil, which, in turn, improves drainage and helps the soil hold on to the nutrients.

Tip 5: You can lead a plant to water

Container plants need to be watered more often than a standard garden, particularly during extreme heat and dryness. Watering container plants is a daily affair. Keep adding water until you see some spill out through the drainage holes in the pot. Then stop! Go any further and you’ll be in soggy soil territory. If you aren’t the type to dedicate some time each day to watering, consider getting a self-watering device. These contraptions have a reservoir at the bottom that keeps your plants hydrated for a few days at a time.

Container gardening can afford you the chance to have a beautiful garden without a lot of space. And your thumb can be a little less than green. With a little bit of time and planning, container gardening could be just the form of expression your thumbs having been craving – no matter what color they may be.

I saw this on a DIY gardening segment.. the guy took some styrofoam (?) blocks, carved them out and added paint.. at the end he had something that looked just like mossy aged stone! He used them to make a really beautiful container garden. Does anyone remember seeing this/can give me more information or a link? Thank you so much!
To anyone who was also curious, I found this link on another message board… This is what I was looking for! Thanks!