Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Pre-owned.
It is also common for new gardeners to pick up used pots from a number of
sources, such as friends, family, other gardeners, yard sales, etc. These are still fine to use
as long as you exercise a little caution. Make sure to thoroughly clean all containers with
warm soapy water before use as they could be harboring some unpleasantness that you
won't want to bring into your container garden.
Since you don't know the history behind the container or what was placed in it, it is better
to be safe than sorry. Old dirt can contain everything from pesticides to old salt deposits,
mold, disease, weeds and even the eggs of insects. Scrub your containers with a plastic
brush to make sure everything has been cleaned before using. Simply rinsing it out with
water will not do the trick.
2. Soil
Your container garden is only as good as your soil. Good soil = good plants. Don't rely on
how dark the soil is to tell you if it is worthy of your plants. If the soil doesn't have the right
balance of the right ingredients, it will not offer your plants the nutritional value they need
to succeed.
But you also have to consider space. When a plant is in the ground, their roots can travel
as far as they need to in order to obtain what they need from the soil. But container plants
are confined to the space of the container. If they can't find it in such cramped conditions,
they don't get it. That's why the size of the container, not just the quality of your dirt, is
everything.
The choices of soil mixtures available from your local gardening center are almost as dizzy-
ing as the choices of containers. In order to make the best choice for your plant's needs, you
need to first understand what it is that your current soil has and what it doesn't have.
Healthy soil is rich in minerals, giving it the right structure, composition and balance to
grow healthy, vibrant plants. But another key characteristic of good soil is that it also has
enough room for the really important stuff—air and water. Densely packed soil limits the
amounts of these two components, which in turn hurts the soil's composition. Good soil is
loose and features “pockets” to allow water and air to penetrate to the plant's root system.
But these pockets are also important because they won't impede root growth. In fact, it en-
courages it, which is exactly what you want. Retaining moisture, allowing “breathability”
and offering a multitude of directions for roots to spurt outward is the perfect combination
to promote growth.
