Welcome back!

Are you - like much of the planet - feeling the pinch?

Holding on tightly to your wallet?

I know exactly how you feel. I’ve neverr seen a time like this, but I don’t intend to focus on the negative.

So what does freaking container gardening and Joe the Plumber have to do with the credit crunch so may ask?

Well 2 things. Self-suffiency and Go it Alone.

Don’t wait for help, handouts, lower taxes, and the election. Take things by the hand and go it yourself.

Why waste your hard-earned $$’s on pesticide infected foods - grow your own lovely fruit, vegetables, and herbs in the comfort of your own home.

The Key Advantages to Go-it-Alone Container Gardening:

1. Flexibility: Enjoy plants, fruits, vegetables in any place - especially where a traditional garden is impossible or awkward.

2. Go-Organic: Grow your own chemical free Herbs, Fruits, Vegetables

3. Save $$

4. Be Happy : Plants have been scientifically been proven to improve mood, improve concentration and even help in the recovery process when you’re sick.

5. I’m an Artist - Darling : Express your creative soul through container gardening. Use colourful or stylish plants and containers to create a colour scheme or interior design theme

6. Smell GRRRT! : Enhance the interior of your home - without chemicals that may irritate the respiratory system. Try some sweet fragranced container plants and flowers instead.

7. Get a date: Container gardening is a great hobby - with plenty of enthusiasts. Get to know the ins and outs of the trade - so you come across as informed, and chat up your fellow enthusiasts today.

8. Get Zippy : Grow ‘Super foods’ like wheatgrass - and what your energy & vitality soar!

9. Solve home problems : Air too dry or too much moisture in your home, container plants can help manage environmental conditions.

10. Reduce Radiation : Work on a computer all day? sit near electrical equipment? Photocopiers? Well particular container plants absorb the Radiation - so you don’t have to.
For more great Container Gardening Tips and Snippets visit:
www.containergardeningexpert.com

Unlike container gardens, traditional gardens grow well in the ground in a wide range of soil conditions. When soil is placed in a container, soil conditions automatically change and not for the better. Water does not drain the same within the limitations of a pot. Average garden soil can become too heavy, hard and compact for plants to grow well, so typically soil-less potting mixtures are used for container gardens.

When shopping for soil mixtures, look for a mix that is lightweight and well drained. Dark colored soil does not always mean that the soil is better. If you are unsure in your decision, ask an employee at the nursery for some of whatever they use for their plants. Mixtures that are homemade can also be very effective.

There are also no inborn fertilizers in soil-less mixtures, so you will need to add fertilizer before planting. In addition, your maintenance will need to include adding fertilizer periodically. Please make note that dry fertilizers are not as effective as liquid mixes.

Controlling weeds is an essential part in maintaining the health and look to your garden. Knowing your weeds and understanding them is very helpful when deciding how to treat them. Keep in mind that weeds may pop up even in cleanest soil mixes used in containers. The key to effective and quick weed control is to eliminate the weeds while they are still relatively small. The more you deal with this, the quicker you will learn which seedlings will grow into weeds. Once you know what to look for, it will take only a quick glance to spot a plant that needs attention.

For more information on growing great container plants, flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables click here or visit www.containergardeningexpert.com

In a world of busy professionals with extremely tight schedules, fast food and limited space, container gardening is ideal and seems to be more practical. In recent years the practice of container gardening has become increasingly popular and even considered somewhat of an art form.

Common plant material can take on an entirely new look when displayed in containers where each plant’s unique color, texture and form can be spotlighted. It can change the entire look of a room, terrace, office or patio. Successful container gardeners know that good looking containers just don’t happen. When a few basic principles are applied, even the novice gardener can create and maintain attention-grabbing containers.

Consider the following tips and guidelines when organizing your container garden.

Before making your choice in which plants you want to use, find out how much light you have. Some plants can survive on little light, while others thrive on light.

• If you buy brand new clay pots, you will need to season them by immersing them in water for at least fifteen minutes prior to putting soil in them. This helps keep the soil nice and moist.
• Be sure to use potting soil. It is specifically made for potted plants and works best.
• If you have old pots, be sure to scrub them well before using them. They may have fungus or pesticides from prior use, so you want to rid yourself of that for the freshly potted plant.
• Make sure to place your pots on saucers. This helps protect your surfaces.
• Do not use cheap plastic pots or terracotta pots, as they weaken. And, wooden planters tend to rot. Ceramic, glazed pots are a very good choice.
• Use larger pots (minimum 15 quarts), because smaller pots restrict the roots.

For more information on growing great container plants, flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables click here or visit www.containergardeningexpert.com