If your container plants have lost their lust for life and you want to do something about that, watch this video. Sloat Gardens is a 10-store California gardening chain operating in San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. Here an expert from Sloat Gardens reveals two products that are key to successful container gardening. A business-like presenter takes 2 mins, 54 seconds to impart this knowledge.
Whether you are planting veggies, herbs or color plants, use good potting soil and transfer the seedlings in their plugs to the container. Then you take something called Zeba (a cornstarch polymer tagged as “super absorbant granules”) on the box and put a little of it around the root zone of the plants - not too much. This retains moisture in the soil and breaks down in about a year. (You can also use Zeba when sowing seeds.)
After that you take a product called Sure Start (a kind of ancient fungal material with a scientific name I couldn’t quite catch) and put about a cup of it in the container. The Sloat Gardens representative swears by this product. She says that if you put two containers next to each other and treat one with Sure Start and the other one not, the difference is “like night and day”, with the Sure Start container doing much better, of course. “There is a symbiotic relationship between the Sure Start and the plant,” she says. “Sure Start encourages the plant to take up nutrients and water while the Sure Start draws some starch from the plant’s roots.”
Although this 59 second Wonder-How-To video is entitled “How To Grow And Care For Black-Eyed Susans”, it really only tells you how to water the newly-planted established plants thoroughly. According to the Wonder-How-To spokesperson, “It’s really important to reduce transplant shock by soaking perennials very well.”
You use a hose, preferably with a long nozzle attachment, that is producing a gentle stream of steadily trickling water. You water them from the top first then move the hose down to the base and let the water really soakd the root area. Leave it there for an half an hour if you can. That’s really all there is to it…
TheGardener talks in his chummy style for 2 mins 21 seconds about terra cotta pots, or rather how to manage them. While terracotta pots really “look the business” according to TheGardener, they tend to dry out in summer so you need to line them with a plastic bag with holes in the bottom. The bag need not show above the rim — cut it off so the top will be below the soil level. Much more moisture gets retained that way.
Also you need to feed your plants, so consider using slow release pellets that will release nutrients over 6 to 9 months. Put them in the soil when planting your plant. If you forget, then use an apple corer to create a funnel down to where you want the pellet to be i.e. near the roots. Saves your fingers getting full of soil, says TheGardener, who is the neatest and cleanest gardener you could ever hope to encounter.
So particular is he that the puts a pair of tights over his wellies when he leaves them in the garden shed “to prevent spiders from getting in.”
Don’t forget to consider organic fertilizers for your container plants!
This video is entitled “Hobby Hydroponic Gardening Indoors and Out”. It is presented by Carl Anderson of Virginia Hydroponic. This video is a great resource for hydroponic gardening. Carl really seems to know what he is talking about and he presents it in an easy to understand manner. This video is simple but very informative and not boring. The total time for this video is two minutes twenty-five seconds.
The topic of this video is hydroponic gardening. Carl begins by showing a full size tomato plant that is growing in a small planter. This is an abnormal occurrence using normal gardening methods. However, this tomato plant was created using hydroponic gardening. Carl goes on to explain that the flood and drain hydroponic system makes growing things like this tomato plant easy. It enables you to have full-grown plants all year long.
With hydroponic gardening, you can bring your system inside when it gets too cool outdoors. While you have the benefit of natural sunlight outside, you can use an energy efficient high intensity garden light inside and have wonderful results as well. You don’t need a lot of space indoors either.
The flood and drain system is the most versatile out of the many hydroponic methods. It enables a wide variety of plants such as full-size tomatoes, herbs, or houseplants.
The flood and drain system works in the following manner. The lower reservoir holds the water and nutrients. When the timer comes on, the roots of plants in the upper tray are bathed in nutrients. When the pump stops, fresh air is brought down, which brings fresh oxygen to the roots. Four floods per day are needed with this system.
With indoor hydroponic gardening, you can have fresh herbs year round. This means that you don’t have to rely on prepackaged herbs. You can experience the wonderful taste of fresh herbs grown in your home. You can also have yearlong vegetables and flowers. How wonderful is that?!
This video is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about hydroponic gardening. It is an excellent source of information.
This is a nicely done, short video on “Organic Container Gardening”. In just one minute thirty-three seconds, Allan Smith walks us through container use and basic organic gardening in containers. Though short, this video is informative and helpful. The narrator seems to be very comfortable in front of the camera and this is reflected in his presentation. He presents the material in an easy to follow manner. For those of you interested in Organic Container Gardening, it is highly recommended.
Allan begins by explaining why containers are important. He says that they serve as focal points and points of interest throughout the entire garden. He says that he grows vegetables, herbs, and flowers in a wide range of containers.
He goes on to explain the down side of planting in containers. Apparently, this means that you will need to water frequently. Because of this, nutrients can leak from the soil
Allan goes on to explain that success starts with the soil and how you care for it. He explains his organic approach. Apparently, organic fertilizers stay in the soil longer and they don’t leak out as fast as synthetic ones do. To basic potting soil you should add cottonseed as a source of nitrogen, bomine for phosphorus, and green sand for potassium. Organic gardening allows for the benefits of the trace elements. In addition to adding to the soil, you need to continue fertilizing throughout the growing season with a liquid organic fertilizer. Allan recommended Fish Emulsion Natural Plant Food.
Allan did a great job of making organic container gardening sound like a really good idea. You will learn more by watching this video. It is worth your time if you have any interest at all in the subject matter.
This video is on “Weed-Free Outdoor Hydroponic Gardening”. This video starts out really slow and there is a lot of dead time in the video. The quality of the video is a bit rough and fuzzy in places. The narrator (who presents the video behind the camera the whole time) has probably not made a lot of videos. However, he does bring out some good points about hydroponic gardening. If you are looking to learn something about the subject matter, then you should definitely take the time to watch this video.
According to the narrator, hydroponic gardening is the better way to garden. There is very little labor involved. You don’t have to do any weeding or watering. All you have to do is trellis fruit and then pick it. With hydroponic gardening, production is great and labor is low.
A lot of video time is spent with the narrator discussing what he has grown using hydroponic gardening. He talks about Carmella tomatoes, giant tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, rosemary, hot peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, basil, and all of the basics.
Here is how it works. You need a basic hookup with a spigot on the house. One side controls the water hose and the other side has a ¼” line which is buried underground. A float valve keeps the water level where it needs to be so it never runs dry. When it’s working, a timer will kick the pump on and nutrient solution will run through the tubing into trays. For half an hour, nutrient solution is delivered to the plants. The timer then shuts the pump off and everything drains back down. As the water is draining back down, it pulls fresh oxygen into the roots. This is what keeps the roots healthy and why hydroponic gardening is so successful.
Nice wide rows make it easy to find fruit. You will have a lot less bugs and weeds if you use hydroponic gardening. There are several different hydroponic systems to use depending on what you want and what works for you.
This video is recommended for those of you who need basic introductory knowledge of hydroponic gardening. You will most likely need to seek additional resources after watching this if you wish to embark on hydroponic gardening, as this video is not incredibly specific.
Kim Todd, a UNL Extension Landscape Horticulture Specialist, presents this video on “Fall Container Gardening”. Kim appears to be very knowledgeable and shares a great deal of information. The target audience is people interested in container gardening. Apparently, it opens up numerous possibilities. This video is very informative. Production quality is good. Total video time is five minutes two seconds.
Kim spends a great deal of the video discussing good choices for Fall containers. She suggests:
· Annual Panasinos – These are grasses with a wonderful purple fall color
· Peppers – The kind shown were little tiny black peppers that turn red when they ripen
· Cabbage or Kale – These add an interesting and strange texture.
· Pumpkin – When set amongst fall containers, this helps pick up on the orange and adds a cool texture
· Rebekia – This is not a reliable perennial, but is still worth it
· Cherokee Sunrise
· Cherokee Sunset – This is double with tonal coloration.
For more color contrast, you can add these to the container:
· Purple Majesty Millet
· Polius – This comes in all sorts of colors and shapes.
· Swiss Chard – This is an edible landscape with great color.
· Fall Blooming Aster – This is an early perennial that will give great combination.
· Grasses – These are also a great combination.
Kim provides many tips for container gardening. She also points out that container gardening is wonderful for many reasons. The containers are beautiful. There are many colors, sizes, and shapes of containers to choose from. You can mix containers with plant material. You can change locations with containers. Lastly, you can change plants from spring to summer to fall when using containers.
This video is recommended for those who have an interest in container gardening. It is a good resource for container gardening.