A container garden is an easy, low-cost method for establishing a garden program. Containers require very little space and can be easily moved from one area to another. Also, with container gardens, there is no need for larger equipment such as rototillers.
What is a container garden?
Container gardens consist of plants grown in containers instead of in the ground. Filling pots or buckets of various sizes with a soil-less potting medium creates an economical, easily maintained garden.
Since you will be growing vegetables from seed to harvest, the container needs sufficient depth and width to accommodate the roots and plant until maturity.
The key to success is to start small and keep the number of containers at a manageable level. You can add more containers as you become more experienced.
What you will need
Most of the items needed are readily available. To get started, collect the following:
Containers
Craft sticks
Disposable gloves
Drill
Hand trowel
Nylon window screen
Pencil
Permanent markers
Ruler
Safety glasses
Scissors
Soil-less potting mix
Water
Watering can
The containers that are easiest to obtain include medium-size plastic pails used to hold ice cream or other food products and five-gallon white plastic containers that can be obtained from restaurants, delis, or bakeries. (Always clean containers with soap and water before using.)
The minimum depth and width of the container will be determined by what you intend to plant. The chart on page 4 will give you some guidelines for container selection.