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Container Gardening

If you live in an apartment or condo with no gardening space, or you just love gardening and have used up all of your space, a window box could be fun. You can plant all kinds of things in them - flowers, vegetables, fruit (think strawberries) or even a cactus garden is fun. You can even get self watering window boxes consider container gardening to be had. If you don’t want to bother with a window box try container gardeningas an alternative. Today you can get all the supplies you need from specialty online retailers. Windowbox.com is offering a Receive $10 off any order of $100 or more today at WindowBox.com! Just use code WBX1294. Click here!

Just like real estate, think location, location and location. You need to put your box in the right spot for the plants you want. Herbs and fruits and vegetables usually need full sun. Flowers can vary needing full or part sun. So check out the light requirements of the plants you want.

Pick a spot and and watch the spot you picked for a day. Take a good look at it every hour and see how much sun the area is getting. If there is sun less than half of the day it will be appropriate for shade plants, more than that use plants that need full sun.

When you are thinking of how you will arrange the plants in the box, keep in mind the rule of thumb for window boxes is tall plants in the back, mounding plants in the center, and plants that are going to trail in the front. But it is your box and you can do whatever you like.

There is a fabulous selection of window boxes to be had. You can even get self watering window boxes which are great if you don’t have a lot of time to spend on your plants.

When you get ready to plant, line the bottom of the box with rocks, landscaping fabric, or plastic, plastic being your last choice. This will help with drainage and keeping the soil in. Run some water over the bottom before putting the soil in to check the drainage.

Now add a light weight potting soil. Generally, the better quality potting soil are light weight and some contain fertilizer already mixed in. Usually only a few types of plant require a special potting soil such as cactus. If your soil does not contain fertilizer mix some in with your soil, slow release is the best. You may also want to put in polymer water absorbers that will reserve water for less frequent watering on your part.

When you are planting the flowers, herbs, vegetables or fruits you chose, it is a good idea to plant them closer together than you would in the garden. This will help make your window boxes more full and give your flowers a chance to spread up as well as out.

Check on your flowers daily to see if they need water. Also take care of them by removing the dead buds and leaves, this is called deadheading and helps the plant devote its resources to new growth.

Make sure that you are fertilizing about every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer to ensure that your flowers are being well fed. Different plants need different kinds of fertilizer. Fertilizer will have an NPK Ratio on the box. It is a series of three numbers: N is for Nitrogen, P is for Phosphorus and K is for Potassium.

The way the ratio is written out is going to be important in plant development because plants utilize the nutrients in different ways. For example, nitrogen is good for lush green growth; phosphorus plays a key role in flower and bloom development; and potassium aides in root growth. It also works together with phosphorus to assist the plant in maturing the fruit or flowers.

If you live in a northern climate plants like English ivy, winterberry, inkberry, eastern white pine, and other hollies are hardy enough to withstand the winter.

See our post on How To Make Your Own Mulch

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