Patio Gardening
Containers
To begin with, use as large a pot as you can afford. The larger the pot, the more soil you can fill it with, and the better the plants will grow.
Larger pots hold more water and this reduces the stress on the plant (not to mention the gardener who has to water smaller pots twice a day in the summer’s heat).
You can get more or bigger plants into larger pots and this allows you to design or create masterpieces that will live (as opposed to using smaller pots where the plants are crowded and eventually die of disease or competition.
Soils
Use an artificial soil such as Pro-mix from top to bottom of the pot in your patio gardening efforts.
The first part of that – the artificial soil – is because it is designed to be used in containers. If you use real soil from your garden, it will compact under the pressure of repeated waterings and will turn to concrete by the middle of the summer. No tender plant root is going to survive and grown (never mind thrive and bloom heavily) in concrete soils.
The second part – from top to bottom – means that you don’t need drainage bits, like old clay pots, at the bottom of the pot. Putting bits and chunks of stuff at the bottom of the pot does not help drainage. In fact, it hurts drainage. This old wive’s tale has been around for quite a whille.
Container Gardening Video
Feeding
Feed your patio gardening containers
Doug’s first rule of gardening states, “That it is only necessary to feed your plants if you want them to grow leaves, flowers or fruit.”
I use compost tea on most of my containers at least every two weeks; compost tea provides all the micro-organisms that help protect my plants and enable them to really grow well.
On alternate weeks, I use a fish food emulsion that provides all the micronutrients that are lacking in the artificial soils.
Both the compost tea and the fish emulsion provide needed nutrients for growth, flowers and fruit. You can use a regular house-plant food (look for a balanced formula like 20-20-20) at least weekly if you don’t use compost tea or fish emulsion. If you choose to do nothing and don’t feed your containers then your plants will respond accordingly.
What to Grow
Grow whatever you like in the containers
There’s no rule that says that any plant won’t grow in a container. I grow trees, perennials, vines, roses, water plants, annuals, vegetables and herbs in mine.
Why not?
And you can combine them!
Again, why not put a perennial in with annuals? Why not tuck a basil or parsley herb in amongst the vegetables? Why not grow a big banana tree and tuck annuals at the base? Or put other smaller pots around on the soil of the bigger pot?
(That’s how I overwinter some of the more tender patio gardening plants – I set several smaller pots on the soil of my banana tree pot to relieve crowding at the window – soil doesn’t need light, the leaves do)
Lemon Verbena
Style
Get a good looking pot I know that some of you really like plastic pots but for the most part, they look like plastic. And gardens are not plastic, they are organic and growing (plastic is inert and dead). Gardens breathe and change, plastic sits and shatters in the sun.
Use pots that reflect your garden (mind you, if your garden features a lot of plastic flowers or silk flowers – then plastic pots might work). I grow a lot of perennials and unusual plants and I almost exclusively use clay pots.
I have used brown fibre pots on occasion and I confess my water garden pot is plastic (I’m working on a way to disguise this fact) so I can’t toss stones around.
I do have a clay water garden pot (stopped up the hole with a glue gun) though. The rest of my patio gardening pots (over 20 at last count) are various sized clay pots. The hens’ and chick’s sit in small six inch pots while the others get larger twelve and sixteen inch pots.
Suggested Reading
Raised beds are the ultimate container gardening and you can see the advantages and disadvantages here. Patio gardening is great fun and just because you're restricted in garden size doesn't mean you have to restrict your dreams.
Live twenty floors up and garden on an apartment balcony? All things are possible in the gardening world.
What container herb plants can I grow in limited light?
Got an Container Growing Problem?
If you have an Container flower growing question then feel free to ask it using this form.
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See what other gardeners have asked
Click below to see what other gardeners have asked about container gardening
Promix and PH
Hi Doug
My understanding is that both Promix BX and HP have no need for PH adjustment. Is this accurate?
Another question which is more specific:...
Plant food that's good enough
Is Miracle Gro a good enough plant food for annuals in pots?
Doug says, - you've hit the nail on the head with this question. Is it "good enough" I ...
mums for a wedding in late september
How can I get glorious large flower pots full of mums for my daughter's wedding in late September at our farm?
Doug says - 1) Buy them that way at a ...
Can dirt from containers go onto garden soil
Due to many trees and poor garden space, we grow tomatos in large pots. Can the used dirt from tomato plant be used in flower garden?
Doug says I put ...
Tomato support system? I have tomato plants in 5 gallon buckets (one per bucket) on my deck. When they got taller I supported them by tying them to the deck railing. Now, they'...
Gowing medium for pots
Two days of thawing and I am imagining myself with dirty knees and hands already!
Pro mix is rather expensive these days if one has lots of pots. I ...
Petunia Problem Thin Growth
Hi, thank you so much for your generous and informative information!! I love gardening but am relatively new to it.
I love container pots on my front ...
Fiberglass container causing plants to die??
I planted lettuces and nasturtiums (separately) and all five of these containers seem to have been doing well and now are yellowing rapidly.
Is it ...
Small pots and small plants for full sun
what small plants can I grow on my patio in the full sun in small clay pots?
Doug says if you're talking small pots (less than six inches) and full ...
growing hydrangeas in containers I know hydrangeas need mostly shade, and my only area is on my east facing large porch. Can I grow hydrangeas, and have them bloom in a reasonably sized ...
