How To Plant A “GREEN” and Water Conserving Flowerpot or Container Garden

Every year millions of people plant flowerpots. Although beautiful, one problem with flowerpots is that you sometimes have to water the pots every day, particularly during the hot summer months.

My secret for potting plants insures you do not have to water as much, plus you are able to reduce, reuse, and recycle household products in the process. Last year I watered perhaps once a week, maybe twice a week during the hottest time of the season. (Video demonstration above.)

CONSERVATION CONTAINER PLANTING 101

STEP ONE -

Find a container with a drainage hole and place plastics you cannot recycle or light weight recyclables like milk cartons and water bottles in the bottom of the pot. Make sure you have about five to six inches of space left at the top of the pot for soil. Top your plastic/recycle filled area with sheets of newspaper, a pizza box, or some cardboard to prevent soil from leaking down through the cracks of the pot and being lost from the plant roots.

STEP TWO -

Add growing mix. I prefer a mixture of 3/4 traditional potting soil, 1/4 composted manure (I am using Buff Stuff – a “buffalo” manure), organic time-release fertilizer, and Soil Moist or Soil Moist Mycorrhiza water crystals according to package directions.

STEP THREE - 

Pot your plants. First arrange your plants to see if they all fit. Then plant according to your plan, making sure you plant them up to the crown of the root area. If you utilize a mix of drought tolerant perennials and annuals, you will have to water the pots much less. This year I have used a mixture of Proven Winners annuals and perennials because they have come out with a line of “heat/drought” tolerant annuals which help conserve water usage. Some of my favorites (seen here) include the Proven Winners Supertunia Mini-Silver, Diamond Frost Euphorbia, Graceful Grasses Red Riding Hood, and the Jolly Bee Geranium

STEP FOUR -

Water regularly with a thorough soaking at the base of the plants. Make sure you completely wet the soil with a heavy watering less often instead of watering lightly, but inadequately, more often. This will help the water crystals to obtain and hold water for their “time release” effect and you will spend less time tending your container garden.

Give this reduce, reuse, and recycle planting technique a try and you will see the benefits as less water usage, more money savings, and less plastic products thrown away in the landfills!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Comments

[Pat FitzGerald]

Well done Shawna excellent tips and most importantly very timely advice to jazz up containers this time of year.

[Monica the Garden Faerie]

Hi Shawna, the computer did have sound and I played your video this evening for the students in my adult enrichment course at Washtenaw Community College. They were amused by your domain name. ;-) And in case it's handy for you to know, I created a tiny URL for this blog entry, tinyurl.com/containerDemo, in case you want to use it, too.

[Shawna Coronado]

That's awesome! I would love it knowing you can play the video for the class - woo woo!

Hello WCC students - think GREEN and save water!!

:-)

Shawna Coronado

[Monica the Garden Faerie]

On second thought, if my teacher's computer has sound, I can play the actual video for the class! :)

[Monica the Garden Faerie]

Hi Shawna, I use the plastic pots in the bottom trick, too. I'm teaching a container gardening class at WCC tomorrow night and will add this link to my handouts!