Gardening
Gerald Filipski
One-Container Gardening
Container gardening continues to inspire gardening thinking that is outside
the box. In the past, pots and containers were used for flowering plants
almost exclusively. Today, it is not unusual to see perennials, small evergreens,
and even vegetables growing nicely in a container on a balcony or deck.
A single container can be a mini-garden all on its own.
Using a single container does
not restrict your choices in
what and how you plant.
An excellent gardening system
for small spaces or for a single
pot or container is a three-tiered
system. With this system, tall
or climbing plants are planted
at the back of the container up
against a wall or trellis. Medium
height, bushy plants fill in the
majority of the container while
cascading plants fill the front
of the container, softening the
composition of the container.
This one pot works with all
three dimensions of gardening,
namely, vertical height, vertical
drop and the horizontal. Adding
a trellis to a wall can be as
simple as stringing some nylon
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garden netting on the wall or
as ornate as adding one of the
popular obelisk-style trellises if
you have the space. There are
several fast-growing annual
vines, such as morning glory or
canary vine, that will rapidly fill
in the background of the planting
without overcrowding the other
plants in the pot.
If flowers are not your choice,
you may consider a small salad
garden in one container. You
can have cucumbers climbing up
the trellis, cherry tomato plants
in the centre, and a variety of
lettuces growing on the border of
the container. The beauty of this
example is that the arrangement
would be very aesthetically
appealing in addition to being
very functional. Vegetables can
be quite attractive plants in their
own right. The textures and leaf
colours are pleasing to the eye.
One of my favourite looks is a
container full of colourful kale.
The number of plants you
fit into a container can vary.
If you are prepared to do the
extra work, you can cram the
container chock full of plants.
The extra work comes in the
form of consistent watering and
fertilizing. With a container full
of plants, the requirements for
water increase dramatically.
If the location is a south facing
one, you may need to water
twice a day during hot months.
Fertilizing should be done with
each watering. A good balanced
fertilizer like 20-20-20 should
be applied at the recommended
strength with each watering.
The recommendations for
spacing plants can often be
adjusted to your needs. The
square foot gardening system
developed by Mel Bartholomew
is one example of high-density