8 Organic Container Gardening Tips for a Healthy Planet and Garden
June 11th, 2009
Filed in Container Gardening
Tags: container plants, pesticides, potting soil
Organic container gardening doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult, and in fact it may even save you money. This year, instead of filling your ceramic planters with standard potting soil that will just have to be discarded and replaced next season, think about investing in a few organic gardening supplies so you can get more mileage out of what you buy.
1. Choose organic potting soil. Good organic container gardening starts with good organic soil. Organic soil generally does not contain peat (which is a nonrenewable resource), and instead is made up of a combination of rich black humus, sterilized manure, and organic compost (natural decayed plant matter). Unlike sterile potting soil, organic potting soil can be reused in a garden bed or in the same container the following year, because it is richer and is not as rapidly depleted.
2. Choose organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers keep your organic potting soil healthy and feed your foliage and flowers without the use of harsh chemicals or pollutants that end up in the public water table. Look for an organic formula that has a high middle NPK number (the three-part number that is on the front of all fertilizer labels), for best results.
3. Bone meal is a great organic root fertilizer. Bone meal, which is rich in phosphorus, is great for helping your container plants establish strong root systems. Bone meal is available at any garden center or home store and is not expensive.
4. Blood meal is great for foliage and blooms. For some plants, like roses, blood meal works wonders. Blood meal is very high in nitrogen, so use it sparingly and make sure you are also feeding the roots with a high phosphorus food. Understanding the specific needs of the plants you choose is the most direct route to a successful outcome.
5. Choose recyclable containers. One of the most enjoyable aspects of organic container gardening is choosing recyclable containers. Certainly you can look for materials that break down naturally such as wood and clay pottery, but also consider reusing ‘found’ items that you might not necessarily consider when first thinking about container gardens.
6. Be creative with ‘found art’ for an organic look. Tin washtubs, cast off pottery, even old wagons and broken furniture can be planted and set in the garden to naturally decay while your flowers drive. Incorporation of ‘found art’ into home gardens is one of the hottest new trends in garden design, and any summer yard sale will yield all kinds of great material once you begin to think of everything as a potential container or support.
7. Don’t overdo it with insecticides. Many new gardeners become overly alarmed by bugs and whip out the big guns, forgetting that most poisons don’t biodegrade. Once they kill your bugs, they have to end up somewhere, and that somewhere is usually the public water table. Most bugs aren’t really even a problem, so first ask yourself if you need to do anything at all.
8. Save the ‘good bugs’. Harsh insecticides also have the negative effect of killing good bugs along with the bad ones (lady bugs, butterflies, bees, praying mantises), so try more simple, organic solutions first. Aphids can usually be sprayed off with a hose. Caterpillars and loopers can be repelled by spraying a solution of tap water and a squirt of ordinary dish soap on your container plants.
Once you get into an organic container gardening routine, you’ll find that organic gardening becomes second nature, and you’ll wonder why anyone gardens any other way. You’ll save yourself a lot of money on harsh chemicals, and best of all you’ll have gorgeous, healthy container plants and a healthy planet.
Scott Gray is a garden enthusiast who loves to relax taking care of his garden. For more information about container gardening ideas, how to make a tire planter and general gardening information, be sure to visit his site Allgardenplanters.com.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:39 am
We should know first what we are doing before we do it. In growing organic plants, research first on what does it need and what it doesn’t need. What I love here is designing my container gardening. There are online tips about this. Doing an art and at the same time, baring in mind what container is best for a certain plant.