11:17 - 12 May 2010
The great thing about patio pots and containers is that they can bring alive an area of the garden almost instantly. They are a great weekend project and you can never have too many around the garden. Garden centres are full of plants for containers and hanging baskets, but most of them are far too tender to put out into the garden until late May or even early June. That’s where a greenhouse really comes into its own. A greenhouse gardener can sow seeds, take cuttings or even buy tender basket plants and keep them frost free and healthy until all danger of frost has passed.
To get a real head start you can even plant up your pots and containers in April and May and then grow them on in the greenhouse. By the time it is safe to place them outside they will have filled the container and should also be in flower. What’s more you can even take cuttings from your favourite plants and plant up a few extra pots for your friends.
The biggest challenge with containers is keeping them watered. You don’t want to over water them in cool weather and they dry out very quickly in warm, windy weather.
There are a few secrets to successful container gardening. The first is to think big. Choose large planters, they don’t dry out as quickly as smaller ones as they contain more compost which will hold more moisture.
Think Position. If you are leaving your pots to fend for themselves move them to a shady part of the garden. Group them together to make it easier to water them.
Soak clay pots in water before planting so that the porous surface does not draw water from the compost.
Choose glazed pots, plastic pots or metal pots that are less susceptible to drying out in windy, hot conditions.
Line the pots with polythene, making sure there are drainage holes.
Place a layer of gravel at the bottom and on top of this use a plant pot saucer as a mini reservoir within the planter to trap excess water when you water.
Place containers into a saucer or tray to catch any excess water that runs through when you water them.
Keep a couple of large planters of vegetables by the kitchen door so that when I have water used for washing vegetables I can pour it straight into the planters. Plus they are handy when you want to harvest some fresh herbs or salad quickly.
Use a dedicated container compost. Choose one that has added loam as it will hold the moisture for longer and be easier to rewet.
Add a slow release fertiliser as this will keep feeding your plants and keep them in good health. Hungry and stressed plants are less equipped to deal with drought.
Mix in a water retaining gel into the compost. One teaspoon absorbs hundreds of times it’s own volume in water and then releases this to the plant roots as the compost dries out. If you add rainwater the granules hold even more water.
Choose drought tolerant plants such as pelargoniums, gazanias, Osteospermum, French marigolds, mesembranthemums and helichrysum, plectranthus, cineraria and bidens.
Use watering gadgets: they are all limited by the size of the reservoir and the rate of flow. Great when it’s hot but they will over water when its not.
Micro irrigation looks complicated and takes a little while to set up, but once it is it will save you hours of hassle BUT many water companies class them as hosepipes and in a ban they are not allowed. This is very frustrating as they are a very efficient way to water CHECK with your water company before you use them.
Extend the scope of your plant roots using a trick from nature. Many plants have beneficial relationships with soil fungi; tiny microscopic hairs extend the range of the plant roots throughout the soil and allow
