7 Important Container Gardening Tips

By Lee Dobbins

Container gardening is a great way to be able to garden in small apartments or homes that have no yards. Additionally, plants in containers can be used to enhance your garden, porch or patio. They offer great versatility as they can be moved to suit and the containers themselves can add to your outdoor decor. Here are 7 great tips that will allow you to get the most out of your container gardens.

1. Use good quality containers with wide openings for best results. Cheap plastic containers can deteriorate in sunlight and wooden ones can rot over time so you might consider ceramic pots for better durability. Clay pots are good too, but they are very porous and can absorb a lot of water so be sure to check the soil often if you use a clay pot container.

2. Drainage is key - standing water will encourage root rot. Make sure your container has holes in the bottom and add some marbles or stones at the bottom too. Make sure the holes are about ½ inch and you can line the bottom of the container with newspaper or burlap to keep the soil from seeping out.

3. When container gardening, you want to have good soil to provide nutrients to your plant. Also, you want a loose mixture that will allow the water to be distributed evenly throughout the entire soil base as this will help with even root growth.

4. Most container plants should have around 5 hours of sunlight each day and may need to be watered each day. Make sure the soil stays moist but not wet. To test for this, just stick your finger down into the soil - is it dry down deep? Then it needs water. If it is still moist on the top or just below the top than hold off watering until tomorrow.

5. Container size depends on what you will be growing. Vegetables are going to need big deep pots. Depending on the size and amount of plants you will have in the container, you want to choose containers that are somewhere between 15 and 120 quarts.

6. Hanging baskets are great garden containers but you have to keep a close eye on the soil as they can tend to dry out. One way to help is to line them with sphagnum moss since this will help to keep water loss down. Also, you should try to move them out of the direct afternoon sun if possible.

7. When placing your containers in arrangements, always use different size containers and odd numbers of them. For some reason, a grouping of 3 or 5 containers will look much better than 4. If you will be putting them on a hard surface like cement or wood, place them up in bricks or blocks to help with drainage.

So what plants can you put in your containers? Here is a short list of some plants that do very well with container gardening:

Alyssum

Begonia

Geranium

Marigold

Pansies

Petnuias

Zinnias

If you want more tips on starting your garden including the key elements you need to know about when gardening, how to grow plants in containers and tips on growing herbs and vegetables sign up for my free gardening tips report at http://gardening-ez.com/gardeningtipsreport.php

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Container Gardening - Gardening Tips

Container Gardening: Container Herb Garden
Nice Informative Video

Drip Irrigation Systems -A Cost Effective Gardening Choice

1. A drip irrigation method has many advantage and rewards for the fresh and the skilled gardener. There are many diverse drip irrigation systems, so it is essential to make a careful observation of the options, and reach an informed decision before committing to the purchase. Drip irrigation equipment can be expensive, and an ounce of planning can save a pound of doing over.
2. Drip irrigation is ideal if you live in drier areas , where water scarcity if felt. A drip irrigation system will deliver water sparingly , exactly where it is necessary, with little waste. If you make combination of a drip irrigation system with a thick layer of compost and an intelligent watering schedule, you can save yourself a lot of time and money, and produce a better result in your garden .
3. Even in some region with plentiful rainfall on an annual basis, there can be dry spells. To the extent that we take delight in looking at our gardens , standing about with a hosepipe can become tedious after a while . Sprinklers provide fun for the children, but they do waste a lot of water through evaporation, which costs you money and places a needless burden on the clean water supply
4. Assignment of nozzles is an important consideration - they should be as close as possible to the roots of each plant. Watch for clogged nozzles - ants might be attracted to the dampness and go through nozzles to reach the water and get crushed into an immobile mass when the timer ticks gets overand the water begins to flow. Always keep an eye for blockages.
5. If you have a nonstop perforated hose drip irrigation circuit, then you need to give careful thought to the route your hose will then follow. The aim is to get the maximum portion of the water supply into the garden beds. Keep in mind, too, that you will need to access the hose from now and then, especially if it grows a leak or has some other problem , so think ahead and don't lay the drip irrigation system where your new patio port will be built.
6. Remember, we want to endorse deep roots for stability, so you can not leave your drip irrigation system running 24/7. A good soak each few days is a much better strategy .
7. Select a drip irrigation system which provides extra components for sale individually. You never know when your resident landscape architect will have a dazzling idea about rearranging the garden . Therefore, you will have to buy additional drip irrigation supplies as the need arises.
8. Along with anything else, you get what you pay for with drip irrigation systems. The cheap ones will break shortly and cause you more headaches than they are worth. Choose a reputable brand from an established supplier who will offer support and maintenance service you for the life of your drip irrigation system.

Drip Irrigation - An Efficient Watering System For Gardening

Drip irrigation is rightly an efficient watering system for gardening for many reasons. This article is going to focus on it's effectiveness for solving most of the watering management solutions.

You must have come across the fact that hand watering each and every plants does not necessarily facilitate them to get adequate amount of soaking. Therefore, in such cases, drip irrigation can be beneficial. It can supply water directly at the very roots of the plants. In this way it provides deeper level of watering than the surface level and more importantly reduce the wastage of water resulted from evaporation.

Before installing drip irrigation systems, some pre-planning will help you. First and foremost, you are advised to have a look at garden, plants and other watering requirements. In other words, your irrigation system depends upon the different requirements. For instance, if you have large trees or shrubs it will require occasional deep watering. If it is vegetable garden then it will require frequent watering. So, choose a system which suits your types and condition of your garden.

It would be better if you plan your own drip irrigation system. You are advised not to bury the irrigation line because it will facilitate you to make adjustments to your watering pattern required. Moreover, while purchasing irrigation kits choose a kit which can be expanded and you will therefore be able to add new drip lines in the future if required. By joining certain parts like tubing, valves, automatic timer, fittings, filters, emitters etc. you can make your own irrigation system. If you find any difficulty, you can visit a nearest garden for more information.

Drip irrigation system is generally used in agriculture area where there is harsh environment and the limitation of water. As the time went off the farmers experienced that this method of drip irrigation help them increase yields by lowering the water use. After that this irrigation technique takes the shape of trusted one which is adopted method not only in agriculture but also in commercial landscape and residential gardens also.

Drip irrigation facilitates slow supply of water directly to the root zone of the plants. This helps in maintaining a required moisture level in the soil and this is how less water is lost in the environment. In other words, the water supply at the required place facilitates less evaporation of water from soil or leaves and this helps in saving water which is an added advantage. Moreover, it stops the germination of weeds grown between your plants. This drip irrigation system if ideal for sloping oddly shaped areas and windy atmosphere.

Bill Hays is the key member of Irrigation Direct which offers premier drip irrigation products, garden sprinkler and irrigation supplies like controllers, kits and valves.

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Irrigation System with Sprinklers For Gardening

A drip irrigation system has many benefits for the beginner and the experienced gardener. There are many diverse drip irrigation systems, so it is essential to make a careful study of the options, and reach an informed decision before committing to the purchase. Drip irrigation supplies can be costly, and therefore an ounce of preparation can save you a pound of doing over.

Drip irrigation is best if you live in drier areas , where water scarcity if felt. A drip irrigation system will supply water sprinkling, exactly where it is needed, with slight waste. If you make combination of a drip irrigation system with a thick layer of fertilizer and an intelligent watering schedule, you can save yourself a lot of time and money, and improved result in your garden .

Even in areas with plentiful rainfall on an annual basis, there can be dry spells. As much as we like to look at our lawns, standing about with a hosepipe can become tiresome after a while . Sprinklers offer enjoyment for the children, but they do waste a lot of water through evaporation, which costs you money and brings an unnecessary burden on the clean supply of water

Assignment of nozzles is a vital concern - they should be very close to the roots of each plant. Have a watch on clogged nozzles - ants can be attracted to the wetness and go through nozzles to reach the water and get crushed into an immobile mass when the timer ticks over and the water starts to flow. Always keep an eye for blockages.

If you have a nonstop perforated hose drip irrigation system , then you need to give careful thought to the path your hose will follow. The purpose is to get the most out of portion of the water into the garden beds. Keep in mind, too, that you will want to access the hose from now and then, especially if it develops a leak or has some other problem , so think ahead and don't lay the drip irrigation system where your new patio or car port will be built.

Please remember, we want to endorse deep roots for stability, so don't leave your drip irrigation system running 24/7. A good soak each few days is a better idea.

Select a drip irrigation system which offers additional components for sale individually. You never know when your resident landscape architect will have a dazzling idea about re architect the garden , and you want to be able to buy extra drip irrigation supplies as the need arises.

As with anything else, you get what you pay for with drip irrigation systems. The low price ones will break quickly and cause you more headaches than they are worth. Prefer a decent brand from an established supplier who will offer support and maintenance service you for the life of your drip irrigation system.

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Erich is an eminent writer and expert in subject regarding landscape and gardening. To learn more about the advantages of drip irrigation and other irrigation supplies and equipment like garden sprinklers, hose, raid bird and other lawn irrigation product.

Drip Irrigation System– A Smart Water management Watering System

Whether it is for humans or for any living organism, water is life for the whole creation.

For this reason, whether it is industrial or agriculture area, the adequate use of water is the issue one needs to understand. As for agriculture or gardening, drip irrigation is such technique which helps in saving water.

Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a method of water supply which involves minimum use of water to nourish garden plants and vegetations.

This irrigation system supplies adequate level of water to drip very slowly to the roots of plants through a fine network of tubing, emitters, valves and pipes.

Drip irrigation is very expensive watering system, but it offers the best results in supplying water to plant roots with least losses.

Even a careful understanding of the factors, for example, agro-climatic conditions, land topography, soil, water and crop can be a great help in deciding what king of drip irrigation system will suit to your garden.

This irrigation system can be most suitable and effective to earth with sloping or uneven land and with dry sort of climate.

While it is gardening or home improvement, water saving need to be at the top of our priority.

For this reason, our all efforts have to be geared to fulfilling this water conservation concept.

Even learning few instructions and tips on the installation and application of drip irrigation system can make a difference.