How to Garden With Bamboo Containers
- 1). Purchase a variety of plants suitable for the bamboo container you have chosen for you garden. For optimal production, choose vegetable plants that will not be crowded in the bamboo container when mature. A combination of flowering plants, herbs and vegetables can be planted in larger bamboo containers. If the container garden will be a combination of ornamental plants, a designer rule of thumb is the tallest plants should be twice the height of the container. Choose plants with the same moisture, sunlight and temperature requirements.
- 2). Check to see if the bamboo planting container has drainage holes. A bamboo container should have natural drainage between the pieces of bamboo. If for some reason the spaces between the bamboo are sealed, drill several holes 1/2 inch wide to provide drainage. If the spaces between the bamboo are so wide the potting soil will wash through, spread a 1-inch layer of gravel over the bottom of the container.
- 3). Fill the bamboo container half full of potting soil.
- 4). Add plants as desired while adding potting soil around the plants so they are planted at the same depth as in the previous container while leaving a 1-inch space between the soil and the top of the container. If the bamboo container is viewed from the side, the plants with the tallest mature height are planted in the back with the medium-sized plants next and the smaller or trailing plants along the border. For containers that are viewed from all sides, the tallest plants are planted in the middle.
- 5). Add water into the planting container to settle the soil around the plants. Add more potting soil as needed, keeping a 1-inch space between the top of the soil and the top of the planting container.
- 6). Spread a 1-inch layer of mulch over the surface of the bamboo planting container to conserve moisture and give the container an attractive appearance.
- 7). Water as often as needed to keep moisture in the soil at the required level for the type of plants you have planted. Vegetables and flowering plants need moist, but not waterlogged, soil during the growing season, while succulents are tolerant of dryer growing conditions. Plants in containers always need more water than plants growing in the ground.
- 8). Fertilize with a water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half strength twice as often as instructed on the fertilizer container label. For example, if the instructions call for fertilizing every two weeks with full-strength fertilizer, fertilizer every week with the fertilizer diluted to half strength. Always water the plants in the container before fertilizing to prevent fertilizer burn on tender new plant roots.
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