Many people enjoy gardening. However, Missouri weather doesn’t always cooperate with the gardener. This year was one of those uncooperative years. Ongoing rainy days and a late freeze prohibited many planters from even beginning.
But now it’s July. One wants to taste the fresh home grown taste of tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. What can you do? It’s not too late to plant, and here are suggestions to get you started with a container garden.
Pros Of Container Garden
When you think of gardening, one thinks of an outside plot of ground. But containers offer versatility. Containers can move. Preceding inclement weather, you can protect tender plants by bringing them indoors or under a porch. Plants in a pot getting too much or too little sunlight can be moved to better the growth.
Plan Where To Have Your Container Garden
Outdoors
Choose a good location is the first step. It’s easy to lose motivation for working on the plants if they are far from the home. Make sure the pot gets sun and not overly amount of dirt from the road.
Indoors
Indoor plants also need sunlight, natural lighting is best. Fluorescent lights do not help plants grow. A major consideration in an indoor garden is the temperature. We appreciate air conditioning, but plants thrive in warmer weather. Humidity is often needed to insure growth of garden plants.
What To Grow In Containers
Not every seedling is good for a container. It’s best to not plant an item that can easily be picked up at the store. Tomatoes are a home gardeners favorite because of the poor quality of grocery stores. They also do well in pots. Don’t try to grow to many varieties of a single item. That often leads to frustration. Good examples of items to grow in containers are lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, strawberries, and peppers.
When To Plant
Container gardening allows for expansion of the household garden. One can grow in summer as well as winter. Indoors or out. So, although July is here, try planting something in a container. Place it in sunlight, water it, and watch it grow. You, too, will have the satisfaction found in farmers around the world.
