Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the ground. A container in

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

is a small, enclosed and usually portable object used for displaying live flowers or plants. It may take the form of a pot, box, tub, basket, tin, barrel or hanging basket.

Methods

Pots, traditionally made of terracotta but now more commonly plastic, and window boxes are the most commonly seen. Small pots are called flowerpots. In some cases, this method of growing is used for ornamental purposes. This method is also useful in areas where the soil or climate is unsuitable for the plant or crop in question. Using a container is also generally necessary for houseplants. Limited growing space, or growing space that is paved over, can also make this option appealing to the gardener. Additionally, this method is popular for urban horticulture and urban gardening on balconies of apartments and condominiums where gardeners lack the access to the ground for a traditional garden.

Species

Many types of plants are suitable for the container, including decorative flowers,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

, vegetables, and small trees and shrubs. Herbs and small edible plants such as chili peppers and

arugula Arugula (American English) or rocket (Commonwealth English) (''Eruca vesicaria''; syns. ''Eruca sativa'' Mill., ''E. vesicaria'' subsp. ''sativa'' (Miller) Thell., ''Brassica eruca'' L.) is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used a ...

can be grown inside the house, if there is adequate light and ventilation, and on outdoor terraces, larger vegetables may be planted.

Planting

Containers range from simple plastic pots, to teacups, to complex automatically watered irrigation systems. This flexibility in design is another reason container gardening is popular with growers. They can be found on porches, front steps, and—in urban locations—on rooftops. Sub-irrigated planters (SIP) are a type of container that may be used in container gardens.

Re-potting

Re-potting is the action of placing an already potted plant into a larger or smaller pot. A pot that fits a plant's root system better is normally used. Plants are usually re-potted according to the size of their root system. Most plants need to be re-potted every few years because they become "pot-" or "root-bound". A plants' roots can sense its surroundings, including the size of the pot it is in, and increasing the pot size allows plant size to increase proportionally.

Gallery

File:Condominium balcony container gardening at night.jpg, Balcony gardening at night File:Tomato plants growing July 2013 in garbage cans.JPG, Tomato plants growing in a pot farm alongside a small house in fifteen garbage cans filled with soil File:Senecio Angulatus7.jpg, '' Senecio angulatus'' growing in clay and plastic pots on a veranda

References

External links

University of Illinois Container Gardening Guide
{{Authority control Types of garden Horticultural techniques Garden features Urban agriculture