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The Most Important Part: Your Potting Mix
Watering
More gardening tips at www.greenhearts.com
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Your choice of what container you can use for gardening is only limited by your imagination! All you need is a bit of know-how, resourcefulness and patience. A wooden crate or even a wire basket can be lined with plastic. You can use cans, pails, ceramic vases, bowls, even toys and figurines with receptacles that can hold a plant. If it can hold potting mix, it can hold a plant! Good Drainage Whatever the container, good drainage is a must. Excess water must always have a way out -- otherwise you leave your plant roots prone to rotting from the excess moisture. Make sure your pots have at least one hole through which water can escape. In certain cases, you may have a big and attractive container that simply cannot be drilled, you can keep your plant in a smaller pot that does have drainage and slip it inside. Keep the pot atop some gravel so it doesn't end up sitting in water that will collect at the bottom of the bigger pot.
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You can
grow plants in anything
The Right Size Make sure you choose just the right size of container for your plant roots. Too small a pot means your plant will quickly starve of nutrients or it will quickly get rootbound.
It's also important that you don't overpot or use a pot too large for the plant or plants growing in it. Some people mistakenly think that the bigger the pot, the happier and faster the plant will grow. But that would only leave your plant prone to root rot because each time you water, there may be too much moisture left in the potting mix for the roots to drink up. Plants will eventually become weak when grown for any length of time in water-logged potting mix.
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 A pot is a container and the water will stay there until it either seeps out of the drainage hole, evaporates or the roots drink it up. Too much water means the plant sits in a very wet and unhealthy environment. The Material The rate at which your potting mix will lose moisture is greatly affected by the material of the container. Soil in clay or terra cotta pots dries out more quickly than soil in plastic pots. If your plant is the type that's sensitive to over-watering, such as Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme, it is best to keep these in clay or terra cotta pots. If you need to move your pots around a lot or if you are gardening on a roof or balcony, using plastic pots can be advantageous because they are much lighter. But keep in mind that if your plant is in a windy location, a plastic pot may not be the best choice as it may not have enough weight to keep your plant stable against strong wind. The Color Pot color is also something to consider. In hot areas, white or light-colored pots are better because they cooler and kinder on plant roots. Dark colored pots absorb too much heat. |
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