By Victoria Nampala Bugembe
Worry less about having a passion for gardening or without any piece of land.
This is because due to innovation, everything is possible using the very materials one can have in a home with ease.
Josephine Kiiza, director of St. Jude Family Projects says that for people living in urban centers most especially, container gardening is an alternative to explore and enjoy fruits from your veranda or backyard.
What is container gardening?
A container garden is a garden that is grown in containers. this can be customized to any space, respectively
“This can be as simple as a pot of kitchen herbs growing on your veranda or a big 4-by-12-foot wooden box raised fresh vegetables in your compound, “says Kiiza.
Advantages of container gardens.
Weeds are easily controlled because they cannot spread faster like in a normal garden due to limited space available which limits their growth.
The plants are easily protected from pests that feed on them like animals because the plants are maintained within the vicinity.
Plants in a container garden are easy to relocate from one location to another like during the rainy season to other shelters or direct sunlight for safety unlike in the garden where they can be hit and destroyed with ease.
Container gardening allows one to have plants in almost any space, anywhere, and in any season.
Veggies, flowers, herbs, and fruits can thrive outdoors during dry seasons and indoors when the weather outside is less than ideal.
Disadvantages.
While containers can slow the growth of a plant to make it more manageable for growing both indoors and out, the plant can eventually outgrow its home.
Moses Ssebinene a gardener says, “Plants with large and extensive roots will eventually require larger vessels to provide them with the soil and nutrients they need.”
Replanting is an expensive and tiring process.
The soil quickly dries out.
Because container gardens don’t retain water the way normal garden soil might, they therefore dry out quicker and require frequent watering.
Kiiza notes that because container gardens are watered more frequently, they also need to be fertilized more often than plants in a normal garden.
Attraction of pets.
Purple Kisakye, another gardener adds that pets can also be a challenge due to their curious nature, particularly as dogs and cats like to dig in the soil. She says, “Adding large rocks or stones to the soil that can be evenly watered can discourage those practices.”
How to choose containers for your garden.
From wooden boxes and hanging baskets to pot arrangements along a patio, on a porch or balcony, and more, a creative homeowner or gardener can add versatility and ambiance to spaces of all sizes.
When choosing your container(s), one must first consider the size. Larger containers hold more moisture and nutrients, but they are also more difficult to move around.
For people in a small space, they can consider focusing on small-scale pots. However, there is a need to keep in mind that in case of absence from home, there is someone who can water the plants as potted plants dry out quickly.
