Take a look at Container Gardening to get tips and plans for dressing up your outdoors with container plants. Mix in a scant handful of all-purpose or organic fertilizer. Planting . Place them on the ground or on a pedestal, mount them on a windowsill, or hang them from your porch. It's a fact of gardening life. Fill the bottom of each container with a few inches of potting soil, which will be where potato roots will grow. Place a small piece of window screen or mesh, or a few pieces of broken pottery, over the holes, so the soil doesn’t wash out when you water. Make the holes at least a half inch in diameter and space them evenly on the bottom of the container. I used the height in the back, petunias and filler in the middle and dichondra in the front since it … … Instead, increase the pot one size at a time Watch for disease and pests. Wildflowers, rose bushes and creeping vines make exceptionally attractive choices for a bathtub container garden. Add one or two broad, mid-height plants such as heliotrope, coleus, African daisies (osteospermum), or dwarf dahlias. Add about 5 inches of peat moss to the top of the soil. With careful planning, you won’t have to choose whether your small patio is used for growing food or for relaxing and entertaining. Depending on the size of the tub use anywhere between 15 and 30 lbs. Sometimes even the most expert gardeners will kill plants. Your container vegetable garden may look incomplete if you don’t grow some herbs. For a well-designed small space garden, you will need to consider things like framing, softening the edges, creating paths, and maximizing your patio's potential. Small pots dry out quickly, so plant groups in large containers to help reduce the chore of watering; Avoid potting a plant (particularly slow-growing types such as camellia or citrus) with a small rootball into a large container: the excess compost can easily become waterlogged, and that can lead to root rot and death. One of the most vital steps in finding success when container gardening is to pick the appropriate pot. Fresh herbs can enhance the taste of your meal always, so it’s a great idea. 2. In the middle of the container, add a “slow-release” hard fertilizer (e.g., Osmicote) to provide the plant with food. Here’s how to plant your container garden: Water the plants you’ll be using so their roots won’t get damaged during planting. If you choose to go with a 24-inch pot, use it for larger vegetables like squash plants or pepper plants. The Ingredients Clockwise from left: Container garden essentials include a pot with a flared mouth, potting soil, a trowel, slow-release fertilizer beads, a mix of plants, feet to elevate containers and keep from trapping moisture on wooden decks, pruners to tidy up plants, pottery shards to place over drainage holes, and gardening gloves.