Container gardening is the easiest way to start gardening almost anywhere. Fill a container with soil, and you’re ready to start. You can grow most herbs and vegetables in containers, but it does come with some limitations.
In today’s video, we will discuss the pros and cons of vegetable gardening in containers so you maximize the benefits, understand and mitigate the challenges, and have the best garden possible.
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Pro: Easy & inexpensive to begin
00:44 Pro: Can garden anywhere
00:55 Pro: Maximize/minimize sunlight
01:10 Pro: Portable, take with you
01:14 Pro: No weeds!
01:18 Pro: Fewer pests & diseases
01:29 Pro: Good soil right away
01:58 Pro: Harder to overwater
02:11 Pro: Most crops grow in containers
02:26 Con: Pot limits the size of roots
03:13 Con: Dries out quicker
04:08 Con: Nutrients are flushed out
04:42 Con: Temperature fluctuates more
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container gardening is the easiest way to start a garden fill a container with soil you can garden just about anywhere you can also grow most herbs and vegetables in containers but it does come with some limitations today we’ll talk about the pros and cons of container gardening so you can maximize the benefits and understand the challenges and have the best Garden possible I’m Angela from growing in the garden my garden is in Mesa Arizona I want to help you Ed even if you’re gardening in tough conditions let’s start with the benefits it’s easy and inexpensive to get started a 5G bucket or a grow bag is probably the least expensive way to begin gardening they’re also versatile and flexible you can put a container just about anywhere if you’re trying to Garden in a smaller space containers are perfect for you you can maximize sunlight in the winter or minimize sunlight during the hot summer months choose a location that has the best light at that time of year and then if you need to move it when conditions change it’s easy to move moving no problem you can take containers with you no weeds gardening is more fun when you don’t have to pull weeds fewer pests and diseases generally you’re starting with fresh soil so diseases are less of a problem pests also haven’t built up in the soil and they’ll be easier to spot and manage you can give plants access to good soil right away fill up your container with good soil and get started regular garden soil is too heavy for containers use a mixture that is light and Airy I use the raised bed mix from Arizona worm farm in all of my containers it has compost with worm castings for fertilization and Coca cor and perlite for moisture retention and drainage containers are perfect for beginners because it’s hard to overwater one of the biggest mist mistakes we make as gardeners is overwatering our plants that can be tough to do in containers you still can but as long as you have good drainage extra water will drain out the bottom you can grow just about every kind of vegetable herb and even many fruits in containers there are a lot of choices of what to grow however there are challenges let’s talk about some of them and the best ways to manage them one of the biggest challenges is limited growth space a container naturally limits the size of the roots which will limit the size and vigor of the plant choose the right size container for the crops you’re growing understand how large crops grow and always choose the larger container when you have a [Music] choice the other way to make sure you’re providing enough room for your crops is to fill the container all the way up with soil don’t add rocks or fillers use soil in the whole container another challenge with container gardening is watering plants Roots can’t go looking for water when they’re in a container it is up to you to meet their watering needs two things that can help with this challenge are a moisture meter and OAS a moisture meter makes it easy to tell if your plants need more water no more guessing an Oya allows you to add extra water to that container so plants Roots don’t dry out as quickly don’t forget to mulch that will help hold that moisture in the container the type of container you’re growing in will also make a difference in the amount of water that it needs grow bags will dry out more quickly and require more frequent watering metal or ceramic container ERS will hold in that moisture and won’t dry out as fast terracotta and wood are also more porous and may dry out quickly another challenge is the nutrient levels in the containers it’s hard to build up that good soil like you can in raised beds and inground areas that drainage hole That’s essential for allowing that water to escape also flushes valuable nutrients with it we have to replace those nutrients when we’re gardening in containers use good soil soil it will hold on to more of the nutrients fertilize monthly with a balanced organic fertilizer light doses more often are more effective it’s never a bad idea to add some compost and finally temperature fluctuations this is a big one especially in hot climates like where I live plants in containers will cool down and heat up more quickly this can be helpful in the spring but it’s harmful during hot summers and during freezing Winters plants have preferred growing temperatures and can get stressed with wide fluctuations in temperature stressed plants don’t grow as well and are more susceptible to pests and diseases group containers together for an insulating effect this is helpful during hot and cold weather use larger containers they’ll have less temperature variation put smaller containers away during the hottest months of the year if you live in a hot summer climate during the winter these containers grow so so well but when it gets hot it fries the plants when it gets hot I’ll put these smaller containers away until temperatures come back down in the fall where you put your containers matters don’t put them next to a block wall on a cement pad during the summer they will heat up too much in the winter avoid the cool spots in your yard and look for sunny locations instead let’s look at our list use it to help you decide if container gardening is right for you based on your circumstances and preferences although container gardening has challenges hopefully now you know what to do I’d love to hear about your experiences let me know in the comments
26 Comments
Good morning from CG ,really love your garden, so beautiful ❤❤
Awesome teaching Angela and great reminders. 😊 Thank you so much for teaching us all ❤😊
Thanks 😊
Thanks for the great tips! Most of my gardening is in containers for 2 reasons, First, I have extremely alkaline soil and the water here is pretty bad too. Second, we have a ton of rabbits and jack rabbits. The containers really help but I have pictures of rabbits up in medium sized containers, happily munching away, so I mostly have to use extra tall ones. Zone 8a New Mexico.
Did a little experiment with some 20 gal grow bags last summer.
We are in a drought all summer and fall last year, no rain and 90F temperatures were cooking the plants in my grow bags. Had the idea of wrapping several grow bags with mylar blankets. The unwrapped grow bags had large temperature fluctuations, sometimes 30 plus degrees and 20 degrees hotter, while the wrapped bags stayed cooler and temps only fluctuated around 10 degrees.
Another side benefit was the wrapped grow bags needed about 1/2 the watering.
Stay Well!!!
Angela❤
Im Over here in Laveen, and i tried a massive container garden this year. They are all dying due to what I believe is Root Maggots. All my roots are eaten. Should i have waited to use organic fertz untill the plants were fully established? What can i do to kill baddies in the soil without killing the plants
I have a patio in Peoria, so I can only garden in containers. This video is very helpful. This year I’m going to try growing veggies.
Thank you for all you do! Definitely our go to (over here in Apache Junction) for info!!
My garden is all containers due to my age and ability to move around. As we get older but still want to garden it just makes sense to use containers.
I am such a fan. I always watch your videos with a sense of pride and excitement, like, "She's done it again!!!" Which makes no sense as I had nothing to do with it. ;'D. But I'm rooting for you.
Anyway, last year I grew the same tomato (sun gold) in a raised bed and in a bucket. I was FLABBERGASTED by the difference in the amount of tomatoes I got. It was like it wasn't even the same plant. There are a lot of pros of containers, but I learned it's just never gonna be the same as giving them space.
Good morning from Maricopa, zone 9a. I love your channel and all the stuff I've learned since starting a container Butterfly/pollinator garden last fall. 🦋
We’ve grown vegetables in containers. Just now getting into fruit trees planted in half whiskey barrels on the patio. Fig, kumquat and peach are doing great…. now! Thanks!
thank you! I feel tike the SW climate garden community is underserved, your videos are great!
I gave up on anything smaller than 5 gallons for the summer, and I may increase that minimum depending on how this summer goes (Houston TX). Using lighter colored containers also makes a big difference; my black grow bags were an immediate "nope". Still I'm very glad for containers. My yard is so weirdly shaped and I just finished mapping my annual sun angles this past solstice, so now I know how things change, and there's a lot of variance!
As always, your videos are wonderful. Thank you for posting. Cheers!
Good morning Angela from Buckeye.
Our container garden has flourished because of your timely videos and the purchase of your Planting Calendar.
May All have a bountiful Harvest season!
Please can you recommend an olla brand and what size to use per size of container?
I agree. I've gardened here in the 3, 400' elevation in the desert Northwest AZ in our yard now for 3 seasons and this will be the 4th. Nearly all the plants are in the planters, pots, and 2 raised beds. Only Sunflowers, or Corn, have been in the native soil. I have a lot of 20" very cheap plastic nearly 4 year old sage green colored plastic pot from Home Depot (not carried by them this year unfortunately). I also have some of the 16" size also same color and not available any longer. I tried to keep color lighter and have harmonious colors. Yes, on the Ollas! I have been seeing some less expensive Ollas now available online which is nice.
Many of the specifics you cite would depend on plant varieties and location, but I agree with your general principles. I would add a big con and that is gardeners tearing up plastic containers and growbags with weed whackers. Costs me a fortune.
I grow it like that because my garden is very small. It is currently the dry season, so no matter how much water you give, it is not enough when planting directly into the ground. Growing in pots or foam containers is the solution I am implementing. Of course there are pros and cons as you said.
Do you have weed fabric under the mulch on your pathways? Does the mulch attract critters like pill bugs or termites? I installed more beds and put down a commercial weed barrier between them. I put gravel between the other beds. Wondering if mulch is better. I have a huge problem with pill bugs and hoping to get rid of them.
I love your new video, it's amazing!🥰thanks for sharing. This is so useful to me! I'm Elaine. I would like to invite you to try our product. I have sent a message to your IG or email. Please reply if interested. 😊
So far my container veggies are doing well here in Sun City but we have had nice weather so far. We'll see when the heat kicks in. I do have some mesh shade tarps if needed. I do have some smaller to medium containers. Do you think wrapping them in mylar as suggested or something like bulap would help cool them from the intense heat?❤
I am in Mesa and only have one small corner in my yard with very sandy, hard soil. Two years ago I dug a trench down about a foot and filled in with good soil. My plants thrived for a couple of weeks, then all died suddenly. the next year, same problem. I couldn't figure it out.
This year I bought some 2 ft. deep raised garden beds, filled them with raised bed soil, and everything is growing incredibly fast and green (except string beans for some reason)!
I think I figured out what was killing my plants – I think when the roots worked their way down to the existing sandy soil, something poisoned them! I was feeling like such a failure. Fingers crossed this year.
Thank you Angela for this amazing tips, I have most of my vegetables in pots and grow bags right now it’s spring cool weather so it’s not drying yet but when summer comes I think I will place them on my lawn so they will have a little moisture. My surrounding is all cemented specially the backyard 😔 so I think the best thing is to get those wading pool and place them on it and fill up with water. Can’t afford olla so I have all this plastic bottles with small holes. I think my spinach is late cuz it’s not growing fast enough, it’s on a planter and under a shade tree. Thank you again Angela take care.
I keep plastic bins under every container and fill that with water because I do live in Denver which is fairly dry. I also put sticks with shade from old rags above them both of these help keep the temperature more even and the plant watered without me having to waste water at all and the plastic bins I got for free from people getting rid of them on our alleys so I'm upcycling as well