While thinking about gardening methods, I felt the urge to share some advantages and disadvantages of container gardening with you. Gardening is the most happening hobby some one can adopt. It makes you feel relaxed and fresh. Home gardening is also important for healthy fruits and vegetables. You can get your kitchen ingredients at just one hand distance.
Also, home gardening is a thing which makes you more budget controlled while enjoying all fruits and vegetables. You do not have to cut any thing from your table. A healthy menu is there for you to make you more healthy and fresh
Is Container Gardening Better?
Solution For Small Spaces
When we talk about home gardening one problem that every second person faces is “less space to grow” anything. Although there are so many solutions like roof gardening, container gardening, shelf gardening and many other things. But we have to criticize container gardening.
Is container gardening even better for your space, budget, hard work and time or not? Well, to discuss these things we have to look deep into the advantages and disadvantages of container gardening.
Home Kitchen
Container gardening is better for you if you want to grow healthy kitchen garden at home for your kitchen and out list the grocery stores. Some advantages and disadvantages of container gardening include time and money investment too. Which we look further in this article.
Space Advantage
Container gardening decision depends on the place and space you are going to do in and the right method for it. Well, I personally like container gardening because of it’s space advantages. You don’t have to invest in a large space area to enjoy home garden fruits.
Less Tools & Hard Work
Also you do not have to take care of a large amount of harvest when you need a little. Field gardening or roof gardening would need more gadgets and tools to get the desired fruit but container gardening does not need this at all.
All you have to have is an open air space to put some containers, seeds, fertilizers in a small amount and small watering amount. And these fertilizers are mostly home available items like egg shells, vegetable and fruit peelings, sugar, and other bio garbage at your home.
Advantages Of Container Gardening!
Space Management
From main advantages and disadvantages of container gardening include main benefit like space management. Also, you can elaborate you indoor spaces like library, side table and countertops with these small and beautiful containers with some indoor growing plants. Small containers like of size 12 inches to grow soil well. Most of the vegetables like tomatoes are very easy to grow in a 5 liter gallon.
Ease of Movement!
While lettuce, parsley, coriander, mint do not need that much space. They can be easily grown in a much smaller container. From 6 inches to 9 inches containers are best for these root based plants. As they take a very small space in your backyard, it is very easy to manage them for watering and harvesting. While you can easily replace them from one place to another as per your wish.
Soil Control
you can easily manage soil and it’s changing in a small container as compared to large space of gardening. In a small pot you can manage minerals and nutrients for soil way better than a large area. Cleaning their root area and watering them is easy as well.
Pest Control
Pest control and fertilizers are easy to manage in a container. You can buy small amount as per your budget. Pest control is almost avoided in container gardening because of more attention to a little space. Also, you can pre sanitize your container from pests and insects
Weed Control
You can control weed and extra root growth very easily. In most cases because of proper care there are no poisonous or extra weeds are seen. If somehow you notice weed or extra grass in there, you can just pluck it out with hand. No need of extra tools or hours of hard work.
Season Control
Some of the advantages and disadvantages of container gardening includes season control. It is not a rocket science to control a season in container gardening. You can install a green sheet for your likeable growth results. A green sheet with roof is best medium to provide plants what they need.
Heating Systems Or Temperature Settings
Some people when there are hot seasons and their plants need more cool season, they tend to move their containers with their plants indoors. It is more easy, affordable and handy idea to get results of your own liking. And when there are winters and they need a hot season fruit, they can move their containers into a hot environment with some man made seasons and heating systems.
Easy To Start Your Hobby
While being a fan of container gardening I can say that this method is very friendly for beginners. Students, housewives or people with little time at evenings who want to start home gardening can easily invest in container gardening. It requires less time, friendly watering techniques and less care as compared to field gardening or roof top gardening techniques.
Aesthetics & Looks
As we talk about presentation and looks, container gardening is gold medalist in looks. It can enhance your front door’s visual appearance and aesthetics of your backyard really quick. You can enhance indoor visuals with small container plants. Once the seeds pop out of the soil and plants seem to bear flowers, it is the most lovely view to enjoy in the backyard.
Educate Your Kids
You can enjoy this scene with your old friends, grandparents and to spend quality time with your kids. Container gardening is the best way to educate your kids with mother nature, caring habits, responsibility and soft nature.
Disadvantages of Container Gardening
Limited Root Space
As there are so many perks of container gardening, there are some limitations too! Where it provides flexibility, there is very limited space for roots to grow and make space for them. That can cause a plant death very soon. Even you may face growth problems from the start too!
Watering Requirements
when you use a container to grow a plant, you need to water it more frequently in little amount. That can be very time and effort consuming, also it can cause problems in hot weathers and drying winds. Soil may require less water but it also dries faster than open spaces.
Fertilizer
With growing plant and limited soil volume, fertilizer may deplete faster and you need to add more and more often. That adds the maintenance and cost budget very high. Essential nutrients are important to grow a plant with right properties.
Stability
Large containers may give a hard time when moving to another place due to heavy weights. You may face challenges while moving, lifting or repositioning them. If top containers are not properly anchored and secured, they are more prone to be tipping over in heavy winds.
Temperature Regulations
When placed in direct sunlight, containers can heat up really quickly as compared to other gardening options. That leads to high soil temperature which can directly damage plant roots. Conversely, these containers can get really cold when exposed in cold weathers or cold water, this can damage heat loving plants.
Limited Selection Of Plants
Some plant needs specific soil requirements, which in containers can not be achieved. Large fruit trees or sprawling vegetables may be unsuitable to grow in containers. Just like tomatoes, you would need at least a 15 liter gallon to start and grow the plant.
Cost & Maintenance
From above detailed mention of fertilizer, pest control, soil change, temperature regulations shows that it may cost more than a normal budget to grow in a container. Main reason is the maintenance, you have to purchase so many accessories and with time you have to transfer your plants to a bigger pot too! That may cost you much.
You Can Grow Anything You Want!
A container is most versatile place to grow vegetable, fruits, flowers and even money plants. You can grow almost everything and anything in a container. Creative arrangements, and artistic cultivations are mostly seen in the container gardening. Every herb, until unless it is not grown in that season or specific soil, you can grow easily in a container.
People mostly like to grow rosemary, thyme, mint, coriander, parsley, garlic, green onion, basil and herbs that are now a days used in international cooking. People who are a diehard fan of different cultures and their dishes mostly get their wishes come true from container gardening.
Conclusion
Advantages and disadvantages of container gardening allow us to know very well before we start. You can start your hobby within a small space and with only 2 pots to grow. It will cost you very less to learn and making your project bigger with time.
Although you may face some problems like area, sunlight directions, seed control to a limit, but when there is no pain, no gain. Start with plastic containers, used boxes, repurpose your old water buckets, tanks and kitchen tupperwares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for many reasons like small space availability container gardening is better than many other options. You can start your hobby within the smallest budget you would have. Space and soil management is much easier in container gardening.
A 5 liter gallon is better for squash and other root vegetables to grow with their full potential and bearing fruit. While a 16-18 inches pot or a 15 liter gallon is good to grow tomatoes.
20 ft and 40 ft are ideal sizes to grow any type of fruits and vegetables at your home. But you can start with used kitchen tupperware, small containers, and boxes to start with.
yes, a container size determines the true growth of plant. If the size is not right according to the requirement the plant can die in the pot. Or you may face problems when plant is bearing fruit.
I recommend you to use most toxic free containers. Like cardboard recycled ones are the best to grow vegetables. But if they are hard to find you can go with fiber nursery pots or plastic containers.
