CONTAINER GARDENING AND ITS SPECIAL GIFTS AND NEEDS

It is pouring rain out this morning and I had intended on getting out into my vegetable gardens and weed and fertilize plants as needed.  I live in central Minnesota and it has been a very wet growing season...and my gardens are lush and beautiful in general.  I live in an area where the soil is sandy which means that the minerals that make up the soil are large and water and nutrients flow quickly through the top soil, not holding on to needed nutrients needed by plants.  Even so, last fall and again this spring I added compost and tilled under the old mulching straw from last year, adding good organic material to my sandy soil to improve the health of the soil and to slow down the loss of moisture and nutrients from rain.  So,  the reason I speak of this is that it is important to fertilize my vegetable plants more often as I know that the frequent rains will help to deplete the fertilizer and organic materials in the soil.

That said, this is especially true for container vegetables and herbs. Containers are a great addition to gardening and I started using them more intensely in my vegetable gardens three years ago when the gophers started eating the roots of most of my cabbages and the blight that destroyed my tomato plants were the norm.  It takes about seven years to remove blight from a soil...but seven years to leave the soil dormant and allow it to heal itself so to speak.  I wasn't willing to be without my juicy tomatoes and its wonderful flavor in so much of my cooking so I started to grow them in containers. 

Container gardening is great to use for "small space" gardening, on balconies and even in large gardens.  The soil composition is important because the roots of vegetables do not do well in heavy soil in such a small space.  So, using a potting soil type medium is the best.  It is lighter and will allow roots to move freely to find nutrition and water.  Buidler's sand can be added to the potting soil to give the container some weight so it doesn't blow over with the wind.

So, for the last few years I have planted my cabbage and most of my tomatoes in large 10 gallon containers.  They have done well but the blight still can affect my tomatoes due to all the rain and moisture that stays on the leaves.  Tough situation but one to accept!!  And it is important to know what each plant needs for room to spread out its roots.  Some plants need more space than containers can provide.  This year I decided to experiment with planting zucchini in containers as I have been loosing my plants to the squash vine bore  bugs that eat the inside of my vines and lay their larvae...hard to manage effectively.  Well, they are not growing well in the containers, some due to all the moisture this year from rain and fruit and blossoms have rotted, but their vitality is just not the same. 

As I researched further, I found that zucchini can be planted as young seedlings and plants in 5 gallon containers and then as they begin to show their blossoms (they have both male and female blossoms), it is important to transfer them to 18-20 gallon containers as they have deep roots.  They also need lots of moisture and excellent drainage in the container so it is crucial that there are large drainage holes in the bottom of the container.  I have learned that my zucchini is not in the largest containers they need for root and nutrition health.  Next year I will plant one in a large well-drained container.

It is important to monitor the health of the plant in containers to make sure that they have enough root room, are getting enough fertilizer and moisture.  Most container plants need watering daily.  When watering, first check the soil for moisture by sticking your index finger into the soil and if it is dry up to your second knuckle then water.  When watering, water until the water comes out the bottom of the container.  Be sure to mulch your plants to help maintain the moisture.

An observation of my cabbage container plants this last week is that there is leaf discoloration with paleness.  Even though I used fish emulsion spray on the leaves and soil over a week ago, I need to do more fertilization quickly as they are lacking needed nutrition (too much rain washing nutrition out of the container soil).  This time I will use compost, perhaps some chicken manure compost offered to me by my son.  I know root health is good as cabbage have short roots.

So, container gardening is great to use and it is important to understand each plants needs for: root health; soil and fertilizer needs; what plants are appropriate for container growing.  I will always use containers for many of my herbs and for my cabbage.  Too many gophers to trap so cabbage in containers has worked for me.