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Container gardening has so many benefits, it’s hard to believe more people aren’t doing it.

Container gardening is a great way to make the most of the limited space you have. If you live in a home with a tiny yard or even an apartment, it can be hard to find a place for a garden. Containers allow you to have a garden on your patio, on the porch, or even inside of your home.

Some people have these gardens in their sunroom, in the kitchen window, or even in the window of a spare bedroom. Others utilize a closet space to grow plants by using a grow light.

Another major benefit of container gardening is the ability to move plants if you need to. If you’re growing your plants outdoors and bad weather comes, you can bring your plants inside where they’ll be safe. If your plants are getting too little sun or too much, you can easily move their containers to a better location. And you can even move your plants on a whim if you decide they’d look better elsewhere.

Plants grown in containers don’t contract diseases as easily compared to plants grown directly in the soil. It’s true that plants grown in containers can still become infected with diseases, but you will find the probability is much less than if you had grown them in your landscape. Potting soil is generally free of disease-causing organisms, so your plants will be safer.

Keeping your plants well-fed is also easier when they’re grown in containers. It’s much easier to ensure the fertilizer you use gets to your plants if they’re confined to a small area of soil. When you fertilize plants that are growing directly in the soil, the fertilizer may drain away or be absorbed by other nearby plants. This is not as likely when plants are grown in containers.

Of course, when the soil area is relatively small, there is a chance the fertilizer can be washed out of the soil faster. Because of this, you do need to fertilize more often than you would a traditional garden. But you can rest assured that your plants are probably getting more of the fertilizer before it does wash away than they would if they were in the ground.

You’ll also be able to extend the growing season of your plants when you have them all in containers. You can wrap the pots that your plants are in with blankets or other materials for insulation that will help keep them warm. This way you can easily start plants inside and then move them outside when it gets a bit warmer.

After the first frost, you container garden can continue to grow by applying careful insulation and bringing them indoors when it becomes too cold.

One of the biggest benefits of growing your plants in containers is the fact that it makes gardening accessible to almost anyone. Handicapped individuals find growing their plants in containers makes it easier to locate plants where they can easily reach them. Many people in wheelchairs like to place their pots on a low table to make them more accessible. Elderly people who can’t work traditional gardens may find container gardening to be an excellent way to once again enjoy their favorite hobby.

Even small children find container gardening to be fun and easy, since they don’t have to have someone till the soil and there isn’t raking, weeding, and hoeing to worry about.

If your space is limited for gardening in a traditional landscape, then using pots instead is a great alternative to allow you to enjoy your plants.

Last 5 posts by Sarah Duke

• The Basics of Bonsai Gardening - July 17th, 2008
• Vegetable Gardening in Small Spaces: Yes You Can Do It! - June 14th, 2008
• Healthy, Delicious Organic Vegetables: Grow Your Own! - May 25th, 2008
• What is an Edible Landscape? - May 18th, 2008

Tags: Gardening Tips