Local gardeners have a limited canvas to work with when it comes to Aurora’s native soil. As much as one might beef up the dirt in a home garden with nutrient-rich manure, compost and plant food, the base is still likely to be clay and/or sand. It’s a result of the way the land formed during the last Ice Age thousands upon thousands of years ago; Aurora’s soil is an unavoidable challenge for even the most creative of gardeners.
But there’s a way to think outside the box when it comes to planting cool blooms that need a richer soil base than what the Colorado plains naturally have to offer. Actually, it’s more about thinking inside boxes … and pots, and old coffee cans, and hanging baskets and palettes.
The concept behind container gardening is simple: take a plastic pot and make it into your own, nutrient-rich plot of land. Skip the headaches of slaving in the sun and spreading around that poop. It’s an easy way out for those living in small spaces, would-be horticulturists who don’t have access to yards and plots of land.
But container gardening is more than a secondary option for people living in apartments and condos. The approach can be a way to create a mini-greenhouse in a kitchen, it can help a homeowner add color and life to a living room and it can even bring a spice garden to a concrete patio.
And folks can do it without messing with uncooperative dirt.
“They believe, and it is true, that their soil is crappy. They don’t want to rototill it. They don’t want bags of compost to improve their soil,” said Colette Haskell, a certified nursery professional at Nick’s Garden Center and Farm Market in Aurora. “They want to buy a pot and bag of dirt and grow a tomato. And you can.”
That doesn’t mean there’s no work behind container gardening. Depending on what you’re growing, you need different amounts of shade, different amounts of dirt and different sized containers. A pepper plant needs less room to grow than a tomato. Herb gardens can thrive in plastic containers or on a vertical setup hanging from a ceiling.
A pot of petunias, zinnias and other annuals can thrive with a containing gardening mix and a water-soluble fertilizer. With the right amount of love and attention, container plants can flourish in spring, summer, winter and fall.
But there are some basic rules about placement, light and water. Sure, you can get creative with what kind of container you use. There are pots shaped like animals at your local hardware store, and creative types can reimagine a plastic milk jug as a home for your new pansies.
There’s even a brand of container gardening that defies gravity. With the help of kits starting at around $30, it’s easy to make an entire wall a living container of its own.
But making any container gardening effort successful means paying attention. Make sure the receptacle has the proper amount of drainage. Read up on the breed of plant and its requirements — that means making sure it gets enough light, it has enough soil in its receptacle and finding the right kind of fertilizer. Read the plant tags, consult your neighborhood nursery and look into the breed’s own demands before finding that perfect spot for the container.
It all comes down to the specific requirements of the plant and its grower.
“If your pot drains and you have good soil and you’re keeping it watered and you’re keeping the things that need sun or shade in the appropriate places, there’s no going wrong,” Haskell said.
Disaster Containment
Container gardening may be an easy alternative to digging turf and laying down compost, but that doesn’t mean it’s fail-proof. Even planting in pots requires some basic ground rules for success. This means picking out the right kind of container for the right kind of plant. A small-scale herb garden for the kitchen is going to require a much smaller receptacle than a dogwood tree with roots, for example. Material also makes a difference. It’s as simple as choosing a container built of wood that won’t rot, or finding a plastic pot that won’t crack when the weather changes.
Speaking of changing weather, paying attention to the seasons can be a key to success. You can grow tropical plants in Colorado in containers, but their life cycles are short. The sunshine on a windowsill in June is going to be much different in December, and that can mean death or life to a plant as unassuming as a fern.
Finally, soil and drainage are critical. Take a cue from the hordes who have lost plants to Colorado’s sand and clay-heavy soil. Find a soil combination that can keep water and offer your blooms oxygen. Make sure there are enough holes for proper drainage and circulation.
GARDEN WARRIORS — April’s Cover Package
GARDEN WARRIORS: The Growing War in Aurora
GARDEN WARRIORS: Oh Yes You Can
GARDEN WARRIORS: Putting Down Roots
GARDEN WARRIORS: Grow, Grow, Grow Your Own
GARDEN WARRIORS: Something Old is Something New
GARDEN WARRIORS: Think Inside the Box
GARDEN WARRIORS: Five Garden Inventions That You Will Root For