Growing Veggie Plants in Pots

The # 1 reason to grow plants in pots

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What if you could move your garden inside when there are some cold nights? Or if you could move it so there is 6-8 hours of sun during the growing season? Or you could replace the soil in your garden with properly balanced soil mix with no harmful bugs and disease lurking below the surface every year? Well, you can if you grow your vegetables and herbs in pots (light enough for you to lift!)

Some of your herb plants will survive the winter and keep on going for a few years. The annuals like basil and parsley may not make it through the winter siting by a window but will survive the late spring cold snaps and early fall ones inside your house. For the annual vegetable plants the goal is not to survive the winter, but to provide the best growing environment for success.

Gather up everything you need to plant in pots. The potting soil, gardening gloves, watering can, and of course the plants. The weather outside is erratic in April in the mid-Atlantic. If you plant in pots there is nothing to worry about. Just bring your plants in on cold days and nights and move them back outside when things warm up.

To plant in a pot remember these important things. There must be drainage holes for the water to get out. When the plants are outside in the rain there needs to be a way for the water to escape or the roots of your plants will rot. You can put a small layer of stones at the bottom to improve drainage but that is not a must do step for smaller pots. Then fill the pot 3/4 of the way with potting soil.

It is important to loosen the roots when you remove the plant for the growing container. they have been growing all tangled up in the tiny pots at the store and need to be released. make a well deep enough for the plants roots in the soil and firm the dirt around the plant. Lastly, water the plant once it is firmly in the new pot.