Container Gardening Basics

Start with container gardening basics. Successful container gardening depends on the right container and soil. Careful feeding and watering also keep your containers thriving.

You’ll learn the container gardening basics in this video featuring Garden Making Editor-in-Chief Beckie Fox:

1. Choosing a container: consider the size and weight, the material it’s made from and the style. Does it have adequate drainage?
2. The right soil: potting soil vs soilless mix. No garden soil.
3. Feeding: fertilize more frequently than garden plants, but much more lightly (more dilute)
4. Watering: good drainage, water thoroughly

You can learn more container gardening basics as well as design tips and suggestions for “plant recipes” to create stunning containers with our other resources.

More on container gardening:

• Video: How to design and plant a container
• Article: Easy steps to gorgeous containers
• Article: Buying good plants for containers