Preparing your garden/planters

One of the first steps in preparing for this year's planting season is preparing the land for planting. In my case, the land equals all of my patio planters and the soil in them. Plants grow best in soil that contains the vital nutrients they need to sprout, develop, and grow big enough to produce fruit, vegetables, or flowers. For me this involves preparing my potting soil, cleaning up the leaves and stems-left-overs from last year's harvest, and preparing the potting soil. Last year potting soil preparation was not on my list, seeds went straight into the potting soil mix distributed straight into the tiny cups on my five plant starter trays, so I decided to give my potting soil some preparation this year to see if I can get a better yield this time round. Last year only about fifty-percent of the pepper seeds I planted grew to healthy sprout that went on to be placed in their adult plant pots.

I plan to add some extra nutrients to those already present in my potting soil, things like a little Epson salt, cinnamon, worm casting, and vermiculite. The worm castings for a little extra nutrient, the cinnamon and Epson salt to protect against fungus and the vermiculite to improve the water retaining property of my starter soil mix. When all of the above is complete I will sew my seeds and wait for them to sprout. This year, just like last year I will be planting peppers, and also finding a space for the new grape vine waiting to be dug in. I'm kind of making this stuff up as I go along and even though I was happy with my small patio harvest last year my hope is that this year more than fifty-percent of my sprouts will make it to maturity. Peppers, tomatoes, and onions are on my planting list again this year; the grapes will add to the long established fruit trees already in my backyard and hopefully, eventually provide a nice red grape crop one day.

The thing I like about planting in a planter, or Pots, is that I can grow my plants inside, or outside and as long as I am careful not to select a planter/pot too large, or too heavy for what I call my mobile plants (plants I move inside during the winter, and outside in spring/summer), and of which I can only really say I used to have two, now there is only one so change plants, to plant when talking about my mobile pot. Added to other indoor plants I find that the greenery they provided indoors can at times be therapeutic, just ask me. I want to say something about some of the indoor plant choices that do well inside, but first, let me say this about planters or flower pots.

Most of my pots and planters are plastic and that is something I hope to change over time switching out my plastic pots and planters for non-plastic, most of which were gifts, or just happen to be around when the planting bug bit me. The reason is just about all of the other planters and flower pots, that are not plastic, do a better job of keeping my potted plant soil from becoming too soggy by helping with the absorption of moisture and preventing root rot. Black plastic being the worst offender that can tend to overheat plants when placed in direct sunlight. Potted plants or plants in planters need to have good drainage make sure your pot or planter has sufficient drainage holes on the bottom for the size of pot you select.

Okay now about those choices of plants that do well inside cherry tomatoes, salad greens, lettuce, and herbs like rosemary and oregano are all inside plant species that grow well indoors. They will need four or five hours of sunlight so a window to the outside world will be necessary. Fill the container as close to top as you can to make sure the roots have plenty of room to grow, cover about and 1/8" inches of your potting soil, tend to them keeping the soil moist and in a few weeks say hello to your new baby sprouts.

I checked with my local nursery and verified that trying to grow grapes inside would not be a good idea or else my house may end up looking like a scene from the movie Jumanji, grape vines like room to spread out, everywhere! A little too much greenery for me. Just remember if you don't have backyard garden space remember your balcony, kitchen windowsill or bedroom will do when it comes to growing your own vegetable garden in a container(s).  Clay soil has a tendency to shrink away from the sides of the pot and drains poorly, and the broken pottery doesn't seem to help the water drainage either when I used clay soil. Blending in some sand, and increasing the organic material in my potting soil mix worked best for the proper drainage in my planters and pots.