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http://bonnieplants.com Discover 5 simple tips for successfully growing vegetables and herbs in containers, from garden expert Melinda Myers. Tips include plant selection, proper container choices, best soil practices, watering techniques, and fertilizing advice. For more info on container gardening, check out http://bonnieplants.com/container-gardening/ Download our free Homegrown app for iOS and begin to record, share, and improve your food gardening skills. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id958646256?mt=8 Five Tips for Container Gardening Success Expand your planting space and make gardening more convenient and accessible. This is especially true when growing herbs and vegetables. Containers allow you to grow edible plants closer to your grill, kitchen, and your outdoor living spaces. Here are five tips to help you increase your success when growing edible plants and flowers in containers. Start by selecting plants suited to the growing conditions. All the plants in a container should also have the same watering and fertilization needs. Consider starting with a simple thriller, filler, and spiller design style. This works well for herbs and vegetables, as well as, more traditional flower-filled containers. Use taller flowers, vegetables, and herbs for your thriller. Tomatoes, peppers, Swiss chard, and dill, as well as peas and pole beans on a trellis, make great vertical accents. Parsley, sage, and basil make great fillers. And allow spreading plants like oregano, thyme, and marjoram to spill over the edges of the pot. Select a container with drainage holes to prevent overwatering, especially during rainy weather. Look for containers made of a durable material that complements your landscape design. Plastic, glazed, and fiberglass pots tend to hold moisture longer than terracotta. Select a pot big enough to accommodate the plants you want to grow. Selecting the right size pot with the right number of plants means better looking plants, bigger harvests, and fewer pest problems. Plus, larger pots dry out less quickly than their smaller counterparts, and that means you'll need to water less often. Fill your container with a quality potting mix. It needs to be well-draining, but still retain moisture and nutrients. Check the label to find out what the mix you select contains. Look for organic matter, like aged bark, compost, and/or sphagnum peat moss, to hold nutrients and moisture, as well as perlite and vermiculite for drainage. Some potting mixes contain fertilizer to get the plants off to a good start, while others use a slow-release fertilizer for season-long feeding. More on this a bit later. Proper watering is easy. Water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil slightly moist. If the soil dries out between waterings, the fruit of peppers and tomatoes will develop blossom end rot, and others may fail to fruit. Containers need checking every day, but if you don't have time, don't let this stop you from growing in pots. Here are a few tips that can help. Use self-watering pots that extend the time between waterings. Or, install a drip irrigation system with a timer. Many garden centers and garden catalogues sell easy-to-install systems that are specifically designed for containers. And don't forget to mulch. Spreading a thin layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic matter helps conserve moisture until your plants grow and cover the pot. Check the label once more before adding fertilizer. If the label says, "provides a season of nutrients," you're set for the early part of the season. Plants in pots often need an extra feeding due to the frequent watering that can wash out some of the nutrients. Let your plants' growth and productivity, not the calendar, be your guide. Consider mixing a slow-release fertilizer labeled for herbs and vegetables into your potting mix when you plant. Make a second application if your plants look light green and hungry, or use a liquid fertilizer every week or two. Just be sure to check and follow label directions. No matter what plants you choose, keeping these five tips in mind will help you increase your container gardening enjoyment and success.