I'm new to gardening in general and was wondering... Do you mulch your container gardens?
Mulch in containers?
Mulch help to conserve moisture, container tends to dry out faster than garden ground level. So yes I mulch mine. What type of mulch? I use living mulch many a time, other 'fillers' plants when I can get them.
It'll also help keep weeds out of your containers just like it does in garden beds. I have way too many containers now so I've never gotten around to mulching them, but back when I didn't have as many I used to mulch them and I definitely have more weeds now! LOL
Here is some of the living mulch in my containers:
OK, Lily, I am so JEALOUS right now!!! Look at that VIEW!!!! Do you really want us to hate you?? ;)
hey ecrane... since you have so many containers, i have another question: when using LARGE pots to garden, do you ever put things in the bottom so you don't have to use as much soil? am i making any sense?
LLL, let's move down South, when the land is still affordable. lol.
I do, I sometime use an upside down plastic container inside a large one to reduce the soil volume that is needed to fill up a large container if the plant doesn't have such a big root ball to require all the space.
LOL, there is no need to hate, lets love Lily love Kim and move in with her! I do the same as her, mulch mulch those those planters.........
(((((((Clemen)))))))), how are you sis?
I have a lot of containers but most of them aren't really that large (or if they are large, so is the plant that's in it so it needs the space for its roots)
Lily--I love your view too! I would love to live on the water! I'm not sure I could handle Alabama summers though, I've gotten spoiled by our low humidity out here!
ecrane3, I am dreaming of California myself. One of these days I'll visit. And yes, humidity is very high here in the SE.
Hey girl, more hugs, can't wait to start posting pictures soon, so i hope!
This brug babie is well mulched and happy!
That's it, we're moving in with Lily_Love... I want to LIVE with that view!! Absolutely beautiful!!!!
So, I was asking about the large containers because my husband (non-gardener LOL) said that his mother used to fill extra large containers with things like milk cartons to take up space so that she didn't have to use as much soil for certain plants... Like for instance, I'd like to plant tomatoes and peppers in large containers, but I don't want to have to use up an entire bag of soil on it... They'll be large plants... It sounds like a good idea... hmmm...
YEap i agree with mil girl! I use stones, anything to fill those pots and less soil!
but don't stones become dense the more you pile them in? will it allow water to go thru? i have PLENTY of stones!!! i could definitely use those.
I usually put a huge one at the bottom and then let it be and fill up the rest with the potting soil............
I also mulch my containers. I grew elephant ears last year and they LIKE being evenly moist. So... I not only put hydration crystals in the soil I kept a good layer of mulch fine bark on them. They grew very well!
This message was edited Apr 11, 2009 10:11 PM
I have been using the Rubber mulch for the last few years. here is what I have found out about it. It is about 2 1/2 times as expensive as regular Pinebark mulch which I used to use. However it doesn't disintigrate with time and therefore doesn't need replacement as often as Pine bark, so it is a trade off. It contains Sulfur which is good for my acid loving plants. It keeps the soil structure open and aerated. I have heard that it is toxic to some animals but have never seen it proven to be so.
I have read that the ancient Indians in the Jungle used a soil composed of clay Shards and charcoal for their gardens and were able to raise enough vegetables plants in their hot steamy jungleto feed their tribes,-so I have incorporated charcoal(hardwood pieces) in my mix for potted plants. Not just a layer at the bottom of the pot to "sweeten it". They seemed to do well, somewhat better than those pots with my usual soil mix of pine bark pearlite and topsoil. This is still experimental for me since I have only tried it 1 year. and it is not a controlled experiment , but it will be interesting to see what comes of it.
I have read that the ancient Indians in the Amazon jungles used a soil composed of clay Shards and charcoal for their gardens and were able to raise enough vegetables plants in their hot steamy jungle to feed their tribes,-so I have incorporated charcoal(hardwood pieces) in my mix for potted plants. Not just a layer at the bottom of the pot to "sweeten it". They seemed to do well, somewhat better than those pots with my usual soil mix of pine bark pearlite and topsoil. This is still experimental for me since I have only tried it 1 year. and it is not a controlled experiment , but it will be interesting to see what comes of it.
arfitz your stuttering..LOL
My friend gardens exclusively in containers and in the taller ones he fills the bottoms with empty soda cans. It takes up space, and permits aeration, plus it makes the pot lighter if you have to move it.
soda cans! that's an awesome idea!!! :)
LLL I think you 'll have better luck with plastic bottles with there lids on....
They wont crush.as easy..IMHO Shipping peanuts work IF they are contained.
We didn't once,wont do that again
Tubby
Amen to the peanuts Tubbytee. I spent one whole winter chasing them around our yard, and our neighbor's yard and their neighbors yard...well you get the pic. I think the drink bottles are a great idea too, but someone may object due to the possibility of chemicals leaching out of them and you never know... D
so the moral of the story is... everyone's opinion/experience is different... i'll try different thing in different containers! :-)
When I'm planting huge containers, I go to my recycle bin and fill about 1/3rd with small bottles. etc. I then cover it all with old dirt from expired containers and then fill the rest with new potting soil. It seems to work well.
Lily, your view reminds me of my nephew's place on Lake Martin, are you near there?
KatG, wonderful container and living mulch! Nice job. Irwells50, I'm on Lake Logan Martin, not very far from Lake Martin by the crow fly. :-)
Well, I have certainly gotten some good ideas for filler for containers here! Which will make DH happy--since he's in charge of hauling the soil for my containers. :-)
I would just like to throw out one dissenting vote for filling the bottom of pots with peanuts, cans, bottles, etc. I'm sure that there are some cases where you can get away with it, such as extremely tall containers, but if you're interested in the subject you should really do yourself a favor and read the sticky threads on this forum. Tapla does a great job of explaining both soil structure in containers and how filling the bottom of a container raises the water table in your containers which could cause problems for your plants' roots.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/527353/
I do mulch all my containers though. In my area it gets so hot in the summers that I find the soil dries out quickly. Plus, I like the look of the mulch in the container.