My quick and easy guide to starting your own container garden.
It’s the middle of June, but it’s not too late to start a small garden, whether it is a backyard garden or small container garden. You can still purchase started plants at your garden center. (By now, some may be discounted!)
But wait, what if you aren’t able to create a backyard garden? You don’t have time to create a space in your yard, or maybe you don’t have a yard.
That’s okay, because you can container garden!
This is what I did last year, when I longed for a garden, but wasn’t able to go all out. I had a baby at the time, my raised beds were overgrown, and I didn’t have the opportunity to clear out the beds and get everything going. So instead I did a small container garden on my deck. You can see my container garden and cozy deck tour from last summer here.
The nice thing about a container garden is that you can do it even if you only have access to a deck, patio, balcony, or even a sunny windowsill.
If you’ve been contemplating starting some kind of garden (or even just getting a few plants), but you’re still on the fence, then first read my post on why you should plant a garden. It will give you the motivation to get started!
After all, there’s no time like the present. Don’t wait until next year, even though you long for a garden now. Plant something today!
Check the links in the Resources section down below. I’ve linked videos with interesting container gardening ideas and other resources to help get you started.
(And if you want to see updates to my garden this year, be sure to follow me on Instagram. I post garden progress pics on my IG stories!)
How to Start a Container Garden
First, evaluate what you have
What kind of space do you have to work with? Is it a small patio, are you adding pots to an existing flower bed, or do you just have a balcony? If you have a balcony, is it well-built? A large pot full of soil can weigh upwards of 70 lbs, so take that into consideration. Also consider if you have neighbors with a balcony or patio underneath yours who may not appreciate being dripped on whenever you water your plants.
Evaluating your space will help you determine how many plants you can reasonably fit and care for – before you end up buying too much from the garden center.
Do you already have supplies you can use? Or will you need to purchase new pots, as well as the potting soil and supplies? You can start making a list of what you’ll need to buy.
Observe your space
Next, before you even purchase materials, observe your space. Find out how much light your spot gets, and at what hours of the day it gets sun. Do you get full sun 6 or more hours a day? Sun only in the morning? Be sure to write down how much light you get and at what time of day you get it for when you go to the garden center. This will help determine what kind of plants will thrive in your space.
Make a list of what you want to plant
You also need to decide what kinds of plants you want in your container garden. Is your goal to have a little kitchen herb garden? Do you prefer flowers? Maybe you want a few tomatoes or peppers in pots.
Then decide exactly which plants you want. If you’re going for a kitchen herb garden, what herbs do you use the most? Basil, parsley, and thyme grow very well in pots. (Basil needs a large pot, in my experience; parsley can take a smaller pot. Thyme will grow as large as the space you give it.)
If you want flowers, decide on a color scheme, if you like everything to look connected. Make a list of your favorites and go from there.
Or maybe you just like to live dangerously and pick up whatever catches your eye at the garden center. You do you!
Research your plants’ requirements
The point of making a list of what you want to plant is to make sure they’ll thrive in your container garden. You already observed your space. Now look up the light requirements for the plants on your list to see if you can meet their needs. Most plants need at least six hours of sunlight a day.
Find out what size pot you need for them. Some plants grow deeper root systems than others and need larger/deeper pots. This is especially important if you’re growing something like tomatoes, which need deep pots. If you only purchase small shallow pots, your plant won’t live.
Find out how often they need water. If it’s a thirstier plant, and you’re not going to be home often enough to water it every day, then you probably shouldn’t plant it.
Will your plant need support? Some vegetables vine or climb. Be sure to purchase adequate support for your plants, or you won’t get good results.
You can also look up what kind of plant food they like, and what pests they’re prone to attracting. You may want to consider getting additional plants that help deter pests, such as marigolds or nasturtiums.
Get your plants and supplies!
Now that all the boring planning is out of the way, it’s time to get your supplies! Some plants are really easy to get. You can find flowers, herbs and sometimes even vegetable plants at your grocery store. Big box stores also have everything you need to start your container garden – started plants; potting mix; pots of every size, shape, and color; plant food; stakes.
You may also have a local nursery or locally owned garden center that starts its own plants. These can be wonderful places to purchase your plants. Here’s why: big box stores get plants that have been grown elsewhere and shipped there. Sometimes the plants go into shock and don’t do as well. At local nurseries, the plants were started there from seed, so they haven’t gone through the trauma of transport. These plants are generally higher quality and may have a better success rate for you.
Be sure to purchase the right size pots for your plants and adequate potting soil for them. If you’re like my husband, you can do the math and find out exactly how much soil you need for all the size pots you have. Or, if you’re like me, you can just buy a bunch of bags of potting mix and hope it’s enough.
(Note: if you’re new to this gardening thing, then yes, the kind of soil you get does matter. For container gardening always get potting mix or container soil. The store will have cheaper options of other kinds of dirt, but those lack the nutrients for your plants to live.)
If this is your first time planting anything, make sure you purchase a small hand spade and a pair of gardening gloves. A good size watering can is also useful.
Plant your container garden
When planting in a new pot, I like to first estimate how much soil I’ll need. For flowers, I choose a pot that is slightly larger than the plastic pot it comes in. I set it inside the new pot to estimate how much soil to add first. Usually this is only an inch or two.
You want the soil in the plant you bought to be damp, but not sopping wet. If it’s bone dry, the dirt will just fall apart. Remove the plastic pot above your new pot, so any soil that falls out falls straight into your new pot – thus eliminating extra mess for you to clean up later.
When transplanting you want to leave about 1/2 – 1 inch of space from the water line at the dirt to the top of the new pot. Fill in around the outside of the plant with potting soil until the pot is full. Go ahead and water your plant (gently, don’t go spraying the bejeezus out of it with the hose).
If you’re planting a vegetable, especially a tomato, you’ll need a pot that’s much larger than the small one your plant start comes in. Tomatoes especially need large deep pots. Fill your pot up 1/2 – 3/4 of the way with well draining potting mix. For most vegetables or herbs, you can plant them similarly to flowers. For tomatoes, you want to plant them very deep. Prune off the bottom leaves and then plant the whole stem deep. (I will link a tomato planting guide below in the Resources section.)
Caring for your container garden
Plants in containers need to be watered once a day if it’s hot. If it’s a very small container, and the weather is very hot, then water it twice a day. I have flowers in window boxes with coconut liners, and they can dry out very fast on a hot day, so I sometimes have to give them additional water.
Keep a close eye on your plants. Prune off spent blooms and dead leaves. You can fertilize them throughout the season – I prefer to use a liquid fertilizer solution. You can also find plant food specifically for tomatoes and other vegetables.
I hope this guide has inspired you to start your own container garden this year! I’d love to know – what types of plants to you like to plant in containers? Leave a comment below!
Resources
Videos: I love both of these channels for all their great gardening ideas and advice. Be sure to check them out!
YouTube channel Roots and Refuge Farm tutorial: Make a $7 Kiddie Pool Raised Bed Garden
Bonus – Roots and Refuge Farm: Guide to Growing Tomatoes
(if you’re into gardening, check them out on Instagram!)
YouTube channel Robbie and Gary Gardening: Robbie’s back deck container garden with cheap compost-in-place containers
Bonus – Robbie and Gary Gardening: Quick, Easy, and Cheap Composting in Place
(I started composting in place thanks to Robbie’s videos, and I’m so glad I did!)
Resources from Heirloom Seed Company Websites
Renee’s Garden Guide to Container Gardening: A great resource with lots of information on container gardening and small space planting.
Baker Creek’s Growing Guide: A list of many garden plants and individual guides to growing them. It has all the information you need for whatever you’re growing, especially vegetables.
Pin it for Later!
