Oh Edmonton. This is the time of year where I am the most delighted to live here. Spring in Alberta is truly special, you can see and feel it in the spirits of the people. We all smile more easily and have a more laid-back attitude, simply because the trees are green.
And what a shade of green, that almost nuclear-green of spring. You know what I mean.
This also means, it is now a safe time to start your container garden. If you haven't read
part I , I recommended that it is a wise idea to wait until after May-long to start because of potential frost issues. We are now well in the clear, and if you plan to container garden this year, you may want to start soon in order to make sure that you are able to "bring in the crops" before our very short growing season is over.
In part I, I mentioned some of the materials you need in order to start your container garden. You don't need to go all out and get the best of the best for this. I am using a couple recycled buckets, and am reusing some other containers in addition to a few new ones that I purchased.
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| Recycled buckets, future home of peas and beans. |
HOWEVER! Before selecting containers, you need to select the items you would like to grow. There are a few different routes that one can take here. If you are growing your plants
from seeds, it is important to read the packet before you buy. Consider not only how much sun the plants will need, but how deep of a container as well. For example, you need a fairly deep container for carrots versus something like peas. The diameter of your container will dictate how much you can grow, a small diameter obviously equals fewer plants. Planting too densely will mean that you will have to thin your plants later, but this is not a big deal as seeds are very affordable.
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| A strawberry plant seedling. |
If on the other hand you are growing
from seedlings, you need to consider not only the size that they are when purchased, but also how big they are expected to get. Because seedlings often don't come with this sort of information, you may have to search the web to find out what sort of size to expect. This is also something you might have to do to pick a pot size. Some plants will grow a great deal and will need space to expand. The little cup the seedlings come in is not big enough, and the plant is likely already root-bound (too much roots, not enough space) when you buy it. An exception in this case is if you buy pre-made planters. These are large pots of plants that are usually already well under way to being full size. They don't typically have to be transplanted.
Choosing whether to go with
seeds or seedlings depends largely on the type of plant. Something like broccoli requires so much time to get up to size that you either must buy seedlings or start the seeds indoors before growing season starts (the latter is beyond my skill level and space availability!). In the case of asparagus, it actually takes a couple years before you would get anything you could actually eat! Growing from seed is best for plants that only take 1-2 months to come to maturity. For plants like spinach, which grows exceptionally fast, you could actually do 2 plantings if the weather is cooperative.
There are a few basic steps once you have gathered your supplies (see part I). Line the bottom of your pot/container with small-medium rocks (this helps with drainage),and add potting soil. If you are planting a seedling, you want to add only about half the soil, then put the plant in the pot and finish filling. If you are planting seeds, fill to about 2 inches from the top. Top of the soil with your seeds, and then top with the amount of soil indicated on the seed packets. Then give your future food a nice watering! You don't want to fill your pots right to the top with soil, because the water will overflow over the top. While their are specific rules for how often to water each type of plant (eek), the general rule I follow is simply to water them when the soil is dry. Pots will dry out MUCH quicker than a garden or flower bed, you will probably need to water every or every-other day, depending on the weather/how much sun you get.
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| A pot of annuals: pansies and nicotiana flowers. |
If you are planting flowers along with your veggies, you can follow the same steps. Flowers are either
perennials or
annuals. Perennials are flowers that will come back every year, and often grow from bulbs (enormous seeds). Annuals are flowers that will grow but once, and then have to be re-planted the following year. As you can probably guess, perennials (such as tulips) are usually more expensive than annuals (such as marigolds). I have had no success however with perennials in my container garden. I think the problem is the fact that the ground does not freeze as hard as the pots do, or as soon in the year. My bulbs have rotted in the pot, rather than returned for another year. If you have room to store your pots inside during the winter, bringing them in will help your perennials to return the next year.
Once you are planted, sit back and watch your plants come in! Don't be discouraged if you see nothing happening in your pots for the first several days. This doesn't mean that you've done something wrong, it's probably just nature taking time to work her magic. Depending on what you are growing, something should start to peek by the end of the first week.
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| Nothing doing? No worries. |
I'm aware that this is all really basic. If this isn't your first year and you want to go above and beyond with your container garden,
Edmonton Public Library has an amazing selection of books about container gardening that can give you some really fun ideas for how to make your garden not only bountiful, but also very aesthetically pleasing.
Future entries on container gardening will talk about how to maintain your itty-bitty-baby plants. Stay tuned!
