Container Gardening

Curriculum developed by Starr Farris, Oregon Food Bank

For more information:

503.282.0555 x268, rsiplak@oregonfoodbank.org

Container Gardening Topics

Overview

Placement / Location

Containers

Soil

Watering

Plants and specifics

Container vs Terrestrial Gardening

Similarities

A wide variety of plants

can be grown

Growing season

Sunlight requirements

Differences

Watering

Fertilizing

Soil Care

Placement / Location

At least 6 hours sun is ideal

South facing patios/decks – almost anything

West and east facing – most things

North facing – root crops, spinach, arugula

Weight considerations

Avoid drip lines

Use vertical space to save room

Containers

What to Use

Good Containers

Little pots from nurseries

Yogurt containers

5 gallon buckets

Old recycling bins

Wine barrels

A bag of potting soil with

holes poked in the

bottom

Bad Containers

Tires

Treated wood

Painted wood

Buckets that contained

chemicals, laundry soap

or kitty litter

See-through containers

Preparing the Containers

Create holes in the bottom (at least 1 hole

per 2 square inches)

Avoid adding gravel to the bottom

Sanitize containers with dilute bleach solution

if they were used before.

Soil & Fertilizing

The Soil

Potting soil is essential

The soil must be replaced every year

Potting soil does not have enough nutrients

to support the plants all season. You have to

fertilize.

Fertilizing

Add fertilizer every two weeks

Types of fertilizers:

Compost tea

Worm casting tea

Fish fertilizer

Complete organic fertilizer

Watering

Containers dry out faster than soil.

Check the containers every day.

When the soil is dry, add water until it runs

out the bottom of the pot.

Infrequent deep watering is better than

shallow frequent watering.

Plants

What to Grow in Containers

Final yield per plant will be smaller than for

the same number of plants in the soil

Container gardening is more expensive than

gardening in the soil due to the potting soil

and the amount of fertilizer required.

When choosing plants, focus on quantity and

quality.

Your best choices to maximize your

harvest

Quantity

Cherry tomatoes

Pole beans

Peas

Arugula

Lettuce

Hot peppers

Quality

Gourmet Salad Greens

Herbs

Basil, cilantro, parsley

Thyme, oregano,

marjorum

Minimum Container Depth Four Inches (4” b/w plants)

Asian greens

Green onions

Lettuce

Radish

Six Inches (2”b/w plants)

Beans

Peas

Eight Inches

Basil (8” b/w plants)

Carrots (2” b/w plants)

Garlic (6” b/w plants)

Parsley (8” b/w plants)

Spinach (4” b/w plants)

Ten inches (4” b/w plants)

beets

2 gallon pot (1 plant each)

Chard

Collards

Kale

3 gallon Pot (1 plant each)

Cucumber

Eggplant

5 gallon pot (1 plant each)

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Summer Squash

Tomatoes

Varieties

Cherry tomatoes

Bush type squash

Compact varieties

Leaf-type lettuce / greens

Summary

Use fresh potting soil in well drained

containers

Fertilize often

Choose the right size plant for the right size

pot

Focusing on varieties and plants that are

suited for container gardening will help you

get the most out of your container garden.