Fixing 8 Common Problems With Container Gardens
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2024
- Container gardening is an awesome growing method, especially for us cold climate growers, but it's not without its issues. We picked the 8 most common issues container gardeners will face and how we solved exactly those issues!
Container gardens are often looked at as being an "easy" gardening solution, so it can throw many gardeners off when they develop a number of issues that are directly caused by having your garden in containers. We tried to provide our best guidance, based on decades of growing food in containers.
Once we solved all the issues with container gardening, the method has generally been one of our "go-to" growing techniques. Although we do practice other methods from traditional to non-traditional, our container gardens are always a source of inspiration for us and hopefully you all.
Since we grow in the subarctic, one of the main things we focus on in our "public" gardening practice is various variety trials. Container gardens are almost always one of the growing methods we use to test those varieties.
We grow a ton of food in containers. A non-comprehensive list of what we grow in them includes:
Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, beans, corn, artichokes and quite a few others!
We've tried some new things in this video that we haven't practiced previously, that's part of the deal with us becoming better at video editing.
Thanks a ton for watching & supporting us! We've received a tremendous amount of support from you all and we are extremely grateful for it!
We mention a couple of our other videos in this one, so here they are:
Our full container garden setup:
• Container Gardening, D...
Water soluble vs. Granular Fertilizers:
• More Important Than Fe...
You can check out our "OG" content at FrostyGarden.com. We've been writing content, focused on subarctic food growing, for nearly eight years now! There's a ton of stuff you can learn there, whether you're a cold climate gardener or not!
Thanks for stopping by to give a watch! I'm pretty proud of this video, I cut through all the years of learning processes in container gardening that I had to go through and just lay straight the major things you need to pay attention to with the gardening technique. We hope you find it helpful! As always, we appreciate your support and thanks for stopping by!
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You should be it’s very well spoken/ broken down, super helpful
I had to go to container gardening because I have bad knees and I could not dig in the soil anymore. I’ve been very successful with it. I watched a lot of videos and I’ve learned a lot. Thanks for your tips. The one about not enough soil really was enlightening. And the part about fertilization was good too.🥰
Fantastic! Thanks for all the views, glad we could help you! We're just ramping up for our 2024 season, so we'll have more to come this year! Appreciate the comment & watch!
I have a condo so container gardening is all I can do. My everything grows well. 😅😅😅even stuff I never planted. Great video.
Nice, that's awesome! I did a balcony garden for years, too, back in the day! Thanks for the watch and kind comment!
I use buckets and grow bags so I can move my plants during heat waves or severe storms. One thing I do in every bucket is add flowers and companion plants.
So as a rule every bucket has a Marigold or Nasturtium in it as well as Chives plus whatever else can fit, sometimes just clover. I also use a drip water bottle in each bucket.
I mainly do peppers but I have some tomato plants. I use coco coir as a surface cover.
Subirrigation is a goal of mine but the water bottles and ouyas get the job done so I can hold off.
Cool! We do some multi-planting in our containers, too. We've found we can knock down aphids in the greenhouse planting some flowers they don't like! Definitely helps! Thanks for the watch, comment and insight into how you use containers!
Thanks for your tips on container garden i welcome some more
Glad to help! We're learning that CZcams likes our container garden info, so we'll definitely make more videos on the subject!
Very informative, thank you!
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for the watch & the kind comment!
Awesome information 🤓 Container gardening is Awesome, TFS!
Indeed it is. Thanks for the kind comment!
I’ve got a dozen containers of berries. I set them all up with 4GPH drip emitters into 1/4” soaker hose loops under cocoa fiber mulch mats (I soak the cocoa in a vinegar solution and rinse it before I use it, since a lot of cocoa is rafted in salt water). I want about 1” of water per week in 2 sessions. 4 GPH gives .0667 gallons per minute. A gallon is 231 cubic inches, so .0667 x 231 = 15.4 cubic inches of water. The surface area of my planters is ~177 square inches ((15 x 15) x .7854), divided by 15.4 is 11.5, so 2 6-minute sessions will deliver ~185 square inches of water 1” deep. Good enough.
Nice. We do like using drip irrigation. A lot of people don't want to go through the troubles of calculating water delivery, even though it's fairly basic math. We did all the math on our raised beds, but am reluctant to create a video on it since it'd probably be seen as "way too technical." Thanks for the watch & comment.
Thanks for the headstart on the math! Starting drip this year.
@@SDaulton Figure ~150 GPH max total off a 1/2” main line. Keep 1/4” lines as short as reasonable.
Great video. Thx from south Ga
Thanks! Appreciate the watch!
Great info. Thank you!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing
You are welcome! Glad you found it helpful, thanks for the watch!
👋🏽😻Hi! I just found your channel and subscribed. Thanks for the tips. Happy gardening 👩🏻🌾
Welcome! Thanks for the sub, appreciate the kind comment!
Learned a lot of things in this video. Thank u, you have answered some concerns ive had for a few years. Not many ppl in my northern region that grow food
That's great to hear! We're working hard to show that food production is very practicable in the north! Thanks for watching!
I am really inspired by your video. This is the way to for people without alot of space.
That is definitely true! Containers are absolutely great for small garden spaces! Thanks for the kind comment!
Great video ❤
Thank you! Appreciate the watch!
Loved listening to ur interview on container gardening I’m planing on planting herbs for tea into growing bags I’m wondering if I’ll find any solutions and if it would work because mints is my favorite and it’s very invasive it kind of grow into other herbs that u don’t want it to cross pollinate so I want to try out planting into grow bags pots will seem to freeze and plants may die I live in zone 4 a but I usually plant anything for zone 3-4 so it has a better chance to survive
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.
Appreciate the kind comment! Thanks for giving us a watch!
Thanks for sharing. I tried container gardening this summer
You are welcome. Glad you gave it a shot. How did you do?
Very informative 😁 Thank you 🙏
You are welcome, glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching!
@@frostygarden907 You're welcome 😁 I definitely did..
great video
Thanks kindly, appreciate the watch!
Clearly spoken. ...Lots of good info. Thank you!!
Wonderful. We're glad you found it helpful! Thanks for the kind comment!
Brilliant video, very well done, saving
Thank you! Appreciate the kind comment, thanks for watching.
I learnt a lot.
Excellent, glad we could help with that! Appreciate the watch!
Love your Matt. Come back when you have a warrant. That's awesome!
Ha, we're big fans of it, too! Thanks for the comment!
love your videos
Awww, shucks! Thanks so much, we appreciate you watching and the kind comment!
Thanks!
You are welcome! Appreciate the watch & your comment. Happy growing!
Thank you. Sweet Tomato Vine Homestead on CZcams not sure if you've seen her channel she grows so much food in raised beds & containers.I'm learning each time you post a video. Thanks.
Thanks for the kind comment! Glad we could contribute to your knowledge & thanks for the watch!
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA... thank you for the information 🎉
Thanks for finding us, glad you enjoyed learning from us! It's awesome to see our reach from remote, rural and northern Alaska!
Great video! Surely, it will hit 1M views.
Thanks! That would be awesome, if it did! My biggest so far is about 150K, can't even imagine a million! Appreciate the view!
Thank you very much for helpful information...I'm Merina from Cape Town.. South Africa and really loves container gardening...works wonderfully 🙌🙏💯
You are welcome! Appreciate the comment, thanks for visiting from such a far way away from us!
Great info! This is my first year container gardening. I got rid of all of my raised beds and have about 30 grow bags in my backyard. This gave me some useful information that I intuitively thought may be true, but you helped me recognize that I need to make sure I keep up on fertilizing. I was doing it every other week but once a week does sound better considering I’m washing out so much watering as frequently as I am. I do need to invest in a drip water system. That’s probably gonna be for next year. Thank you for the helpful information! I really appreciate you!
Thanks for the kind comment, glad you found it useful! Sounds like you're covering all the bases! Good luck with your growing efforts! Appreciate you watching and sharing your experience!
Sub arigation i'm try that i love drip pan is smart, i do grow bags Thank You
We did grow bags for a lot of years, they work great! Drip pans are fantastic, especially with those bags. We only had to change our solution as we moved our container garden off-grid and had limited water. Good luck!
Newbie here good info that I can use
Excellent! Good luck with your learning efforts. Thanks for the watch & kind comment.
This came too late for me , I have around 30 containers that all have drainage holes built in so sub irrigation wouldn't work. Also we get a lot of rain and tubs without drainage just fill up and the plants drown then rot. I can't afford to replace all the pots so maybe a deep pot saucer inside the pots would create a reservoir that would then drain through the holes beneath the saucer if over watered or rained on. We seem to be getting many more rain events now. A month's rain in one day. This is in West Wales.
Our container gardening efforts have seen many evolutions over the years. It's never too late, you'll only improve! Keep trying to make things better and deal with your challenges! Thanks for the watch & comment!
Have you looked at using 6.5 or 7 gallon buckets for some of the bigger plants like tomatoes? They may not work with the GroBuckets, but you could come up with a simple DIY fix.
I certainly have considered it. I'd probably prefer 6.5 gallon, but they can be really difficult to source. Being in Alaska, sometimes we have to work with what we have access to as opposed to what we'd like. Shipping can be quite crazy, especially for "big volume" items like buckets. I looked into getting a 10 pack and it was over $125 just for freight!
Thanks for your tips on container garden I am growing my Veges in container on my Balcony in Oshawa north ON Canada I guess for me too your tips will work GOD BLESS YOU AMEN !
Wonderful! These tips will work pretty much anywhere, but especially for us northerners! Thanks for the watch & comment.
Thanks for the help. au
You are welcome! Appreciate the watch & comment!
Thank you so much! We have a project about urban gardening and it involves pure container planting. Its been very tricky and watching this video prove my conclusions. By the way im watching here in the Philippines sending likes!
Cool! Container gardening is perfect for many urban applications. Anywhere can be a garden! Good luck with your project. Thanks for the watch and comment.
Nice information. sir do your car tyre has air deficiency?
I had to re-watch this video to figure out what you were talking about. :) Yes, it's an older car we're trying to sell and has been sitting for awhile.
Hi
Thank you for this video. I am going thru the same issues. How do you nake sub irrigation pots.can you post a video or give me some tips.
You might be interested in watching our video where we go much deeper into our sub irrigation setup! We also have write ups on our website that talk about it even further! Hopefully this helps. Thanks for the watch and comment! czcams.com/video/x4FwfdL71fI/video.html
Although I 've been researching and brainstorming container gardening systems for a long time, I only recently started experimenting with it during the non-stop 100+ degree summer we've had for the past2 and a half months. 🤣🤣🤣
Sub-irrigation is the approach I find most efficient as well. The biggest challenge I foresee is maintaining adequate dissolved oxygen for the water sub-irrigation reservoir(s) to prevent anaerobic conditions. For that, I've come up with a solution borrowed from the aquaponics community using an airlift water pump design to run a recirculating water sub-irrigation system. For the wicking material, it also helps to use an inert media to also help mitigate anaerobic conditions (compost and water mix makes for quick loss of O2 and anaerobic muck) -- sand is cheapest but rock wool also works for good wicking material. But yea, while container gardening has some limitations that in-ground and raised beds don't have, containers also have their own unique benefits.
Your system reminds me of Larry Hall's raingutter gardening system. Anyway, thanks for the video production. 👍
Thanks for sharing your experience! I was worried about O2 when I built this system, but honestly, I haven't found it to be an issue. It makes sense, in hindsight. In true hydro, there's no opportunity for O2 injection unless the grower accounts for it. In sub irrigation, there's plenty of O2 exchange in the soil/media. Muck doesn't develop if the system is light tight. Thanks for the comment & watch!
Larry was a legend! RIP
I use flat stones to hold moister in my pots, works well, also keeps soil off produce. 5 years going strong.
That works, too! It helps to reduce the evaporation that occurs and reduce the overall water losses! Thanks for the comment and appreciate you checking us out!
@@frostygarden907 the only problem is some compaction of the soil. But using flat thin stones lower the compaction cheers Robin
You might consider trying weed free straw as an alternative. It provides the same benefits without the risk of compaction. We used straw for a lot of years, plus straw is great if you do any kind of composting.
@@frostygarden907 tried that, and sugar came mulch as well, I find the animals get into it and then its mess every where. But still experimenting.
Hi Jeff . Based on the name of your canal , I assume you live somewhere where is not warm . Do you mind to tell us what climate zone you live in ? Now , I live in climate zone 3 and this is new experience for me because I came from warm climate zone .
Here is an idea for new video : Maybe you can talk about vegetables that grow in cold climate zone and what time of the year to plant them and also how to protect perennials from frosty winter .
Thanks for this video .
Hello there, fellow northerner! We are a bit north of Fairbanks, Alaska. We have gardens in zone 2a and 3a. So, very similar to what you're dealing with. I do have both of those ideas on my "to-do" list and will try to get it done! In the mean time, I'll link you to a couple similar articles we have up currently! Thanks for the comment, appreciate the watch!
frostygarden.com/topics/what-to-plant-in-subarctic-garden/
frostygarden.com/topics/zone-2-perennial-edible-food-forest-in-the-subarctic/
Tku for your videos i plant the zucchini now in October does they need fertilizer to growpls?
All plants need food to grow. We'd recommend fertilizer in pretty much all growing applications, so the plant has what it needs to survive. Thanks for watching!
Here’s my problem. I plant in recycled 25 gallon mineral tubs, cleaned up. I planted seedlings but they never sprouted. It seems like they were too dry. I dumped the pots when it was obvious nothing was going to grow. The bottom 3-5 inches was actually soggy. How can it be dry on top and soggy on the bottom? Suggestions to try please!
Seed germination wasn't likely related to the sogginess you found. The sogginess was likely related to inappropriate drains (holes) that prevent water from building up. It might have also been soil choice, too, that didn't drain particularly well. But, what was happening several inches beneath the soil likely wouldn't impact germination. We don't have any videos on our germination process and advice right now, but we have some planned for next season. So, if you think about it, check back in next March or April and we'll have a full video up on our seed germination practices and more advice surrounding that. It's harder than most people think! The keys are not too much water (proper moisture), proper soil, good light and appropriate temperatures. It's challenging, way more difficult than just "put seeds in dirt and wait" for sure! Good luck and thanks for your comment! If you're into reading, we've fully documented our germination process, tips & tricks and so forth here: frostygarden.com/topics/grow-garden-starts-indoors-cold-climates/
I had the same problem a number of years ago. I used a recommended product Kellogg's bagged soils for containers and raised beds. Half of the very large containers had sludge and the rest was dry. I had to buy other products to mix to solve that problem. I refuse to use those products now.
@@juneramirez8580 Not all soils are equal, that's a fact! It's unfortunate when you get something that is truly poor for growing. I do wonder how many people have given up trying just because they got a bunk product! Thanks for your insight.
@@frostygarden907 I know a lot of gardeners were burnt by bad soil about that time. Some companies refunded money. I didn't ask for a refund
you have a lot to learn. 🧡
Been gardening for nearly 25 years now and still learn new things every season! Thanks for watching!
Thanks 2023 30 September
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Enjoying the channel. You keep saying "sub-arctic" but you don't say roughly where you are. That would be handy so I can compare my situation to yours. Thanks.
Thanks for the kind comment. We are specifically a little north of Fairbanks, Alaska at about about 65 north. The subarctic generally refers to any northern location between 50N and 70N. We tend to be a bit "generic" as we have fans from places like Norway and Sweden, along with northern states, Canada and really all over the place!
@@frostygarden907 Thanks form the quick answer. Although I've been to your little corner of heaven, I'm a bit further south in Central Ontario (eastern shores(ish) of Georgian Bay, off the Great Lakes). Look forward t learning more from you. 🙂
@@frostygarden907 Thank for the reply. I fall just a smidge below your catchment area. I'm in Central Ontario, just spitting distance from the 45 parallel. Not really sub-arctic, but close enough that I'll be watching more of your videos... :-) Keep up the good work.
@@frostygarden907 Thanks for the reply. I'm in central Ontario, so you certainly have a colder climate than me. :-) As an aside, I visited Fairbanks once, back in 2004, and the temperatures stayed over 100 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time. Needless to say, my memories of Alaska are a bit skewed climate-wise. 🙂
Cool! We've learned cold climate is pretty much cold climate. There's slight differences in places, but most of it's the same. Appreciate you stopping by our channel. We have a pretty wide temperature fluctuation here, it can be as much as 150 degrees Fahrenheit (80+ degrees Celsius) different between summer and winter! We haven't made it that far east in Canada yet, hopefully someday! I've always wanted to do a cross-Canada trek!
How do you over-winter plants in containers?
For us, we just bring them inside. We're in a super cold climate, so that's really our only option. We do run grow lights throughout the winter for our houseplants and overwintering. Some people put them in a semi-heated garage, though.
Would u rather a raised bed on wheels?
It's an interesting idea, but probably not. I think in reality, it'd be much harder to move and take care of than containers. Elevated raised beds are nice, though, especially for seniors that might have mobility issues.
Well done, however, your solutions mostly can not be utilized by so many of us container growers who live in a city building and are growing on a terrace with limited space and sun availability. Fortunately, I have had several seasons of success even growing full size plants like Beefsteak tomatoes yielding 25 or so tomatoes per plant growing in 3 and 4 gallon pots with 6 and 7 hours of sun. Of course constant attention to watering and fertilizer is paramount. Also , cost is a big consideration for many of us.
Sometimes you do have to work with what you've got, especially sun exposure. That's not necessarily a problem, but it's good to know what "ideal" is. You may not have any options to deal with it, so you do the best you can with what you've got! Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
How to set-up sub irrigation? Thank you
You might be interested in watching our other video, which describes our entire system in more detail! Thanks for the comment! czcams.com/video/x4FwfdL71fI/video.html
@@frostygarden907 thank you sir! Just found your videos and subscribed. Going to watch the video you suggested!
are there any risk with having standing water in drip pans?
Not usually, but there a couple things to watch for. If you're getting long periods of rainfall (like a week+), it's good to occasionally remove the water (if you can) to reduce the waterlogging impact. As long as you're getting wet/dry cycles, the water should get used up by the plants.
The second issue is that if you're in an area with mosquitos, it can theoretically become a breeding ground. That said, we live in Alaska (where we like to say the state bird is the mosquito, hehe) and we don't have problems with it. We think it's because mosquitos don't prefer to breed where people are constantly visiting. Hope that helps!
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Thanks for watching! Appreciate the short, but to the point comment!
13 min of straight container alpha
Haha, I hope you mean that in a good way! 😁 We do like our containers. Thanks for watching.
What about an apartment ?
Container gardens are great for apartments, especially if you have a balcony! You can grow lots of different things that way. I had a balcony garden for years, it kept me sane while I figured out a place with more space!
How in the heck can this video have over 80,000 views and only 3000 subscribers.
People are ridiculous....
I hope you mean that in a good way! We're a pretty new channel, just started in April of 2023. The whole "Frosty Garden" thing has been around for 9 years now, but we're just recently exploring video content. A lot of people were asking us to make videos...and well, here we are! Thanks for the comment and watch!
@@frostygarden907 I did indeed... People should promote what they are watching.
Well thank you! We appreciate it. We're grateful for the subs we do have, it's been really nice that people have supported our efforts.
Kind of funny I live in a rain forest and the rains are on occasion to be extremely heavy. Solution is a clear plastic roof which means I hand water (off grid no electricity) its a challenge
Indeed! We do a lot of rain water catchment, too. Off grid is a challenge, for sure! Thanks for sharing your experience, appreciate the watch!
Incorrect, container gardening is way more water efficient than growing in the ground or raised beds if you're watering the correct amount,and especially if your growing in buckets with a sealed bottom and just a few small water over flow holes a couple inches above the bottom of the buckets. Growing in ground allows all the water to move downward past the root zone as well as evaporate on the surface which has a much larger total surface area than a container. In ground gardening uses way more water than containers unless you're over watering the containers to where water is flowing out the bottom. Water should never flow out the bottom of containers, you only need enough water to keep the soil moist. Containers with holes on the very bottom are a poor choice. Use deep buckets with drainage holes drilled a couple inches above the bottom so a there will be a water reservoir on the very bottom no more than a couple inches, and don't over water. Always aim to keep the soil just moist for most plants and also mulch a couple inches on top of the soil. This will be far more water efficient than growing in the ground.
I think you're making an argument against a point I didn't try to make. I wasn't comparing water efficiency of container gardening against in-ground growing, just making the statement that it's also water inefficient. With how "most people" might water a container garden, via a hose sprayer, you're going to get overspray and high rates of evaporation. You can, of course, limit those losses by providing "exact" amounts of water or limiting flow through something like drip irrigation (which works to improve efficiency both in-ground and in containers), but a lot of people can't be bothered with that much complexity. When you're off grid, every drip matters, so that's why we pursue methods with 99%+ efficiency.
@@frostygarden907 Gotcha, I just heard you say container growing was water inefficient, and assumed you were comparing it against the traditional way of growing things. Yeah, if someone just puts a sprinkler on a bunch of containers that will definitely waste a lot of water. I'm so used to the common sense way of just giving a container the exact amount of water it needs.
Yes!
In a drought, contai ers may be more efficient, since you would have to water anyways. In a "normal" 1 inch of rain per week scenario, in ground may be more efficient since you may not need additional watering in-ground.