News from Warner's Nursery

May 28, 2010

Warner's Nursery eNewsletter

Container Gardening

In This Issue

5 Steps to Container Gardening

Common Container Gardening Mistakes

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Finally! A nice weekend is upon us. I don't know about you, but we are fed up with this wind and super cold nights we've been having! Seems like every year at this time we go through the same thing.

One way we've found to combat the unpredictability and severe weather we often experience in Northern Arizona is to plant in containers. That way, you can easily move your tender plants in each night that it gets too cold; then transfer them back outside during the day to soak up all the sunlight they need.

Container Gardening is also great if you have limited gardening space, or even if you have a lot - nothing makes a better first impression than a colorful container garden at your front door.

We've summarized all the key points to Container Gardening here in this newsletter. This should get you started!

5 Easy Steps to Container Gardening

Container Gardeneing

Any patio or porch can play host to a vegetable crop or gorgeous flower garden! Container gardening gives you lots of flexibility with size and function in your garden. And planting in a container is incredibly simple! Follow these simple steps to creating your very own garden.

1. Choose your container

Just about any container can be used for your mini garden. Consider these guidelines:

Avoid narrow openings - too hard to plant in!
There are pros and cons to each container material: Ceramic pots will last a long time, but require drainage holes. Plastic pots will deteriorate quickly and probably only last one season. Terra cotta will dry out quickly, so you'll need to water often. Wooden containers may be susceptible to rot unless treated; and the chemicals used to treat them could harm your plants. Redwood and cedar are great wood choices. They can be used without treating, staining or painting; and are rot resistant.
Let the size and number of plants determine your container size - but don't go too small because the plants will dry out too quickly!

Click here for the 5 Steps to Container Gardening.

Common Container Gardening Mistakes Hands holding plant

Container Gardening can be very simple, but there are some common mistakes that have been made by many a gardener. We've listed them here so hopefully you'll learn from our mistakes rather than having to make your own!

1. Filling your container prior to placing it. Once filled with soil, your container can be extremely heavy, so put it where you want it to end up first to save the lifting. When planting in very tall containers, fill the bottom with plastic bottles, rocks or gravel, or pottery shards to save having to fill the entire container with potting soil.

Click here to read more about the Common Mistakes made by Container Gardeners.

Vegetable Container Gardening

Vegetable container gardening can be fun and yield great results; especially in our harsh climate, as you can more easily bring in or cover the tender plants when needed. Just about any vegetable can be grown in a container, but there are some special considerations to take into account that will save you a lot of gardening troubles!

Click here to read more about vegetable gardening in containers.

Enjoy our first really nice weekend and have fun creating your Container Garden masterpiece! Remember, if you have any other questions, stop by and see us. We'd love to help!

Or, better yet, attend our Container Gardening Workshop this Saturday at 2pm. You will create your own Container Garden with our expert supervision and artful guidance. There is a fee for this workshop, which includes all of the materials you will use to create your Container Garden. Visit our website for more information and to register.

Sincerely,

The Warner's Team
Warner's Nursery