Container Gardening Year 2

Last year was the first year of container gardening. All in all, I think my growing season was pretty successful. Now it’s time to get things prepared for this year’s growing season.

Changes this Year

This year I’ve removed the wheels from the bottom of my containers. While the idea was a good one, it wasn’t truly necessary. Once the plants started growing, I didn’t move containers around the deck. Additionally, the wooden boards I used as the base were made from particleboard so they disintegrated after a few heavy rains.

This year, if I find myself needing to move the containers, I’ll just have to drag them across the deck.

Container Casualty

One of the Rubbermaid containers didn’t fare too well during the harsh winter months. As you can see from the photo below, the outer container of my self-watering container duo split rendering it useless. I purchased a replacement container.

The inner container is rather heavy so I have to remove some of the dirt in order lift the inner container to insert it into the second container. If you read my blog last year, you’d know the inner container was configured in such a way so that the two containers together create a sort of self-watering system.

Re-Growth

As I inspect my various containers and flowerpots, I see re-growth of the following items I planted last year:

1. Spearmint (no surprise there)
2. Dill
3. Strawberries
4. Catnip
5. Tarragon
6. Lemon balm
7. Celosia
8. Salad greens
9. And another tall green plant that I planted last year and didn’t label

I’m pretty excited about the re-growth. Guess I did some things right last year.

Now my task is to prepare my containers by cleaning out last year’s debris and adding a bit more bokashi soil. I’ve got to decide what in addition to tomatoes, basil, kale and collards I’m going to grow this year. I love this time of year!