Choosing pot and plant combos

Maybe you want to grow some herbs or flowers (or vegetables) in pots, but you are not confident about what will do well, what kind of soil to use, how to choose pot size, type....
A friend of mine posed some of the above questions to me, and I know she is not alone in her query.

So, lets talk potted plants. View the video "Container Gardening, first let's talk pots". I begin the discussion about container gardening about essentials in a pot (which is basically, does it have a hole in the bottom for water drainage? Yes is the essential answer, especially if you are a beginner. There are ways to work with containers that don't have holes, but that is not what we are talking about here).

I show some examples of containers from small (5inch diameter) to large (14 inch diameter), round to rectangular, and plastic to terra cotta. The option for container is really limited by availability, creativity, and affordability.

Small pot = limited room for root growth, need to water attentively, need to feed occasionally
Larger pot = more room for root growth, more soil to hold moisture, more soil to hold nutrients

Containers will dry out faster than in the ground plants, so be sure to check the pot daily to determine if the plants need to be watered. Do not overwater, though. If you are not sure, press a finger firmly into soil, if soil adheres to finger and feels moist, do not water. If soil feels dry and does not adhere to finger, water plant. Watering the soil is preferable to watering the leaves. Wet leaves can create an environment where fungal disease grow. To minimize concern, water the soil rather than the leaves. Watering in morning in summer is ideal, the plant can absorb moisture before it evaporates in heat of midday, and leaves can dry before cool moist nights. However, if your schedule dictates watering another time of day, that is completely ok. Do not add undue pressure or stress on yourself to water in the mornings. As long as you avoid allowing the container to dry out or the plant to wilt to you are doing excellently.

In addition to attentively watering, periodically feed the plant. The plant is using nutrients in the soil to grow, and since the container is, well, contained, there is no system to replenish those nutrients.

I drink a lot of herbal tea, and my husband drink daily coffee, so when there is leftover of either, I use the liquid to water plants. The plant constituents in the tea or coffee make great 'fertilizer', mild yes, yet supportive to plant. I also sometimes put the used looseleaf tea as a sort of mulch on the soil in the container: I cover the soil surface with the leaves. Then each time I water, it pours through the tea. As the leaves slowing degrade, they add nutrients to the soil.

Another way I support healthy soil in a container garden is by combining additives when I make the soil blend. You can buy ready made potting soil at your local garden center or hardware (or often department) store. Choose 'potting soil' for container gardening, because it is of a good consistency to promote healthy draining of water, and water absorbing simultaneously. I make a blend that is part potting soil, part peat mulch, part compost from my compost pile. The compost adds nutrients. I also add epsom salt, powdered kelp, and sometimes organic fertilizer. I want to be sure there are additives that will slowly break-down and provide nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other trace minerals to the plant.

When choosing pot size, choose as large as is feasible to space and affordability. Choose your pot size based not on the size of the starter plant, but on the size of the mature plant. In some ways, the size of the pot will determine the size of your plant, in that plant growth may be limited by pot size.

In the next couple of days I will post a second discussion about container gardening. I want to talk about plants that succeed in containers.