A raised gardening bed is a significant structure that lies firmly on the floor, with the ground beneath it exposed at the bottom. A sturdy bottom lies on four or even more legs, lifting the planter box from off the ground.
Both alternatives allow you to grow many vegetables and flowers, but raised beds are more extensive and have more soil capacity.
With all of these advantages, it’s no wonder that gardeners adore planter boxes. Fortunately, growing effectively in various sizes and designs of boxes is not difficult. However, check out the following suggestions to get much more out of your planters.
Use a Planter and Container-specific Soil Mix
While covering your planters with potting soil may be tempting, do not succumb to this urge. Heavy, thick soil is used to fill in-ground gardening. That’s not a good mix for container gardening.
Choose a sterilised mix made for plants and containers rather. Materials to aerate and lighten your soil (such as crushed bark or coconut coir), materials to improve soil filtration, mineral nutrition and compost or other organics are generally used in these mixtures.
They could even be devoid of soil. Using the proper soil mixture for your planter box will guarantee that your plants do not dry out and receive the minerals they require.
Make Sure your Planting Box is Well-drained
Make sure your planter container isn’t impervious to fill it with healthy soil. When turning basins or irrigation troughs into plants, this can happen. Water must be able to escape. Otherwise, your plants’ roots may become soggy.
Wooden planters frequently contain holes where the wood joins. Water can frequently flow in these situations. In some circumstances, more drainage will be required. Drainage openings should be approximately 9″ apart and less than 34″ in diameter.
Select the Appropriate Box Size for your Seedlings
Landscape planter boxes are simple to use and versatile. Planters come in various shapes and sizes, including L-shaped and U-shaped planters and the typical rectangles. What you need to understand is how big you should go.
The simplest way to determine what width and length planters will best suit you requires measuring your space. If your planters are two feet or smaller, you won’t require access from both sides to care for your bed because you’ll be able to reach across without difficulty.
What about depth, though? While most veggies may be grown in less than 24″ of soil, some require three metres. For planter boxes, these are generally not the most excellent options.
Place your Plant in the Appropriate Location
Like any other garden area, your planters will require enough sunshine to support the plants you want to grow. The majority of veggies benefit from 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Lettuces, Greens, Kale, and Swiss chard, for example, will withstand fewer hours or thrive in shaded areas in the afternoon.
Use a sunshine calculator or one of the free sunlight applications on your phone to assess the amount of sunlight available in several different areas on your terrace or balcony.
Another factor to consider when deciding where to put your planter is its accessibility to water. If you’re not installing sprinklers, you’ll want to be near your hose bib so you don’t have to tote water around.
If you’re going to utilise a soaker pump, this is also true. When growing vegetables and herbs, keeping your planters nearby to the kitchen can be beneficial.
Conclusion
There’s generally a planter container to accommodate your patio, lawn, or balcony, no matter how big. You can produce fresh fruit, veggies, and flowers practically anywhere with the correct soil, position, and plants.
