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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

If you have a shady or perhaps neglected corner in your space (inside your home or on a balcony) you could try sprucing it up with a fern or two. All prefer organically-rich, well-drained soil, and most do well in moist shady areas – and if you have not yet considered ferns, please do so. They come in many shapes and colours, are more easy than not to cultivate and pay their way with tokens of delight.


Lestie Mulholland
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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Does a friend want to give you something from her garden? Is your neighbour thinning out plants and does he have a couple to give away? What’s the best way of moving plants from the ground to pots?

To start, water the plant that will be moved the night before. Really soak it so that the root system is well hydrated (helps minimise or withstand transplant shock). Check for and remove any stems or foliage that is dying. Last tip in this section for today is to transplant either early in the morning or evening when temperatures are generally cooler … this too will reduce transplant shock. Don’t move plants during the heat of the day.


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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

‘Halloween hassle’ is a term I heard a ‘mom gardener’ use the other day in the context of there being so much to do at this time of year for her that she was extra pushed for time. Here is an idea she has to take a few shortcuts for her family and visitors.

She has re-potted some ivy (you can use anything that cascades or is spikey) in a series of plain ceramic pots of different sizes. On the front she has used a black marker and drawn some ‘Jack o’ Lantern faces, missing teeth and all, and will place them coming down her front steps from smallest to biggest pots. In between she intends to light some candles at the right time. Coming out of the pots too she has bright spray-painted (in orange, black and white) some dry squiggly garden sticks. The affect is good, the kids helped and they don’t seem to miss the idea of carved pumpkins. They can’t wait to put them up … could this work for you?


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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Containers come in all shapes sizes and materials, this you know, but sometimes we get used to what we have bought and used before and may not want to change.

If you need to move your pots for any reason (follow the sun/overwinter) then consider ‘lighter’ weight fabric bags that come in several sizes, square, round and rectangular and often with sturdy handles (that suit the design) You can also get polystyrene pots which are another option. And now for the nag. No matter what your container is made of, make sure there are drainage holes. Gravel or pot shards or similar, placed in the bottom of a container, can help stop the soil from blocking these.


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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

…and following on from yesterday’s tip, it is important to take the overall weight of a container into account for reasons other than just moving it about. If you have set up a container garden on the ground floor deck that might be okay (depends on your flooring) but if you have a balcony in the sky or on a ‘common area’ rooftop, you need to factor in the weight of the container plus the contents (water and soil) plus the plant (fruit etc.) ‘as she grows’. Here, structural ‘weight capacity’ may be a safety issue. As you understand too, clay and ceramic pots are heavier than plastic or fabric. When I lived in a sectional title complex, permission had to be granted from the management Trustees for just this eventuality.

Last edited by Lestie4containergardens; 10/28/20 03:38 AM.

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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

It is important (very is implied!) that you do not let your plants wilt or shrink before watering them. This kind of stress for the plant is unnecessary and bad practice. There are many times when a gardener is advised to wait for soil to dry out between watering days, and this is true to the extent that the plant still has some moisture, just test with your finger to be sure … but letting the soil dry out completely is not sensible. It’s one of those gardening instructions that are often taken to the letter and not in the spirit in which it is given.

As you can guess, overwatering is just as bad as under watering, and this is one of the most common novice gardener mistakes that are made..


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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

A lot of the time, tips and advice and bits of handed-down wisdom is known and there seems to be nothing new, BUT if you are just starting out with your container garden (or having to start over because you lost it all) remember it’s okay for your garden to be a work in progress. All the best of gardens usually are! If you have expensive dreams and an inexpensive budget, be patient. Take baby steps. Work in sections. Build up slowly but surely. Do not say ‘can’t afford it so will do nothing’. What would your Granny say?


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Remember to bring in the plants you want to save over the winter before the first frost.

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Hello Angie and All,

Thanks for this timely tip, it's often such a busy time of the year for all sorts of reasons that the up-coming suggested first frost date escapes our collective attention and then we are either fussing at night to drag them in or they succumb to the icy conditions. Any such stress will hurt the plant beyond the frost - it will take longer to 'regroup' and be cold while trying.

I hope your winter and the up-coming holiday season is as frost free as you would want it to be!


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CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Just planting a plant in a container does not a container garden make. There is so much to say on this subject that it is too big for ‘just’ a tip of the day, but plants have feelings too. I know because I talk to mine. You do too? Oh well that’s it then, we know don’t we.

Still they were saying to me the other day that I really ought to pretty up their pots with a treatment. A treatment I said? Yes, they answered, use paint if you can or decoupage or mosaic, you know, make us look pretty in some way. And then they said what about adding a bit of whimsy to our space. Whimsy I said, what’s whimsy? Oh, you know, a bit of art from your heart, like pebbles around our bases, or art on the walls nearby or a trellis or two with a pretty creeper or (and this they whispered) you could even add a gnome or a faerie. Okay I said, I’ll see what I can do. I’m sure I heard a sigh ... or maybe it was just the wind.

Last edited by Lestie4containergardens; 10/31/20 03:06 AM.

Lestie Mulholland
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Contain your Delight - it's easy!
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