Try these garden tips for your container plants to make them grow healthier and save you money
Looking to save some money and grow healthy container plants? Here are a few tips every home gardener should know.
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Gardeners have been busy planting, watering, and tending to young plants, but now the payoff begins! Here are a few gardening strategies can help stretch your gardening budget while keeping your container-grown herbs, flowers, and veggie plants healthy and productive.
Hide Expensive Containers Without Buying New Ones
Decorative pots can add up quickly, especially for larger plants. One simple trick is to use inexpensive nursery containers and sink them directly into garden beds.
The technique allows gardeners to enjoy the look of a landscaped garden while avoiding the cost of multiple decorative planters. The method works best for plants that require a lot of water. Sinking your plants in the ground will keep the roots wetter and cooler.
This is a great solution for gardeners looking to bring their container plants inside for the winter or are looking to pull them out with less digging in spring.
Take Advantage of Container Gardening's Flexibility
One of the biggest benefits of container gardening is mobility. Unlike plants rooted directly in the ground, containers can be moved throughout the season to take advantage of changing sunlight, weather conditions, or design preferences.
If a plant isn't thriving in one location, try a new spot. You can also move plants front and center when they're at peak bloom and push them toward the back when they are resting to allow other plants to shine.
Grow Herbs Close to Your Kitchen
Want to get the most value from your herb garden? Plant them in containers close to your kitchen door. The shorter the trip, the more likely you'll be to harvest fresh herbs regularly (and herbs love to be regularly used!)
Prune herbs for better harvests
Many gardeners don't realize that harvesting basil regularly actually helps the plant produce more leaves. Basil will focus its energy on flowers and seeds if it's not pruned regularly, which means you'll get slower growth and less flavorful leaves.
Harvest basil by pinching the stem back. Find where a new healthy set of leaves is growing (new leaves will grow at the base of older leaves right where the leaves meet the stem). By pruning and harvesting frequently, you'll have a fuller and healthier plant.
Don't Throw Away "Annuals" Too Quickly
Plants labeled as annuals are often treated as one-season purchases, but some can survive for years with a little extra care. Geraniums, for example, can be brought indoors during winter and returned outside the following spring. Some varieties of verbena that are sold as annuals are actually tender perennials and can also overwinter successfully in garages or a warm part of the garden in the ground.
Why container gardening is great
Container gardening doesn't have to be expensive. By reusing containers, growing herbs strategically, pruning for bigger harvests, and overwintering plants that would otherwise be discarded, gardeners can enjoy beautiful outdoor spaces while keeping more money in their pockets.
Make sure you save this year's soil for next year's garden too. Many gardeners think that old soil is no longer usable, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Happy Gardening!
