Container Gardening Made Easy

Container gardening is fun, therapeutic, and easy to do!  Come Spring, it's so comforting to head to the local nursery, pick out some plants, bring them home and watch them grow.  Here is a "How To" Guide to container gardening for beginners.  Start slow and pick easy to grow (aka Hard To Kill!) plants for your first container garden!

(Geraniums, Cherry Tomatoes, Rosemary, Geraniums, Basil)

PLANTING your CONTAINER GARDEN
1.) Head to your local home improvement store or nursery.

2.) Pick up a bag of pre-mixed potting soil (Like Miracle Gro Potting Mix).  Make sure you buy POTTING mix (not garden mix) - it is best for container gardening.

3.) Choose your herbs and flowers.
Easy to grow...

Flowers:

Geraniums

Petunias

Herbs:

Basil

Rosemary

Lavender

Cherry Tomatoes

4.) Choose your pots.  I have found that pots at least 12 inches wide work best for most of the flowers and herbs I'm growing.  And they also must have draining holes in the bottom to allow for proper water drainage.

5.) Fill pot 1/2 full with soil mixture (or as much soil as you need to bring the flower up as high as you'd like it to be once the pot is full of soil and flowers).  Squeeze the plastic pot that your flower came in to work it loose from the container (works best when the soil is wet).  Slowly remove the flower or herb from the plastic pot it came in.  Being mindful of the roots, gently work your fingers through the bottom roots of the herb/flower.  This allows the roots to burrow into the new soil easier.  Place flower in pot and fill up pot with more garden soil.  Gently press down to secure flower.  

6.) Repeat with the rest of your herbs/flowers.

7.) Give your new babies a good soak with water.  Most herbs and flowers like to be watered at the spot where their stem meets the dirt, not from the top of their petals.

WATERING and FEEDING YOUR PLANTS

1.) Stick your finger down in the soil about an inch to 2 inches every day to see if your plants need to be watered. Watering differs from climate to climate.  The only way to start to get a feel of how often they need to be watered is to get your hands dirty - if dirt is dry, water 'em.  You can over water however, so you have to try and wait for the soil to dry out before you douse them.  It's the hardest part (I think) about gardening.  But sooner or later you'll get a feel for it and your plants will thrive.

2.) Feed your plants every 2 weeks.  I bought 2 different fertilizers.  One that promotes BLOOM growth for my flowers (to get more color) and one that is good for herbs and veggies.

PRUNING your PLANTS
Every plant has different pruning practices. Here are the plants I have on my deck:

Geraniums: Once bloom head dies, remove entire head and stem down to where it splits from main stalk.

Petunias: Remove dead heads below the green cup that holds the bloom.

Basil: Prune basil often to promote growth.  Make sure to clip off clusters BEFORE they bloom white flowers at the top.

Rosemary: Cut stalks as needed for cooking, or more often to promote growth. Can cut anywhere.

Cherry Tomatoes: Suckers grow in the "V" of where the main stalk splits into branches.  Simply pluck those little suckers out of the v when you see them.

Lavender: Cut off dead blooms to promote more growth (Save them and dry them to make lavender sachets!)

Happy Planting!
Kate

Fresh Basil Pesto

Fresh pesto is one of my favorite springtime and especially summertime recipes.  Made with home grown basil straight out of the garden? Delish!  As we are all coming down off of the St. Paddy's day high, I thought we could usher in almost Spring with some fresh pesto. Store bought basil will do the trick until your fresh basil grows a little bigger in the garden.

This pesto goes great on paninis, crostinis - basically anything ending in "ini" :)  This recipe is simple and so much tastier than store bought pesto.  It makes quite a bit, so be sure to freeze left over pesto in ice cube trays.  Then you can pop them out whenever you want to whip up a quick batch of Pesto Chicken Pasta, or make Chicken, mozzarella and pesto paninis  (check back tomorrow for that recipe!)

xo,

Kate, Kara, and Kacey

Fresh Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed)

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese or parmesan reggiano

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1.  Using a food processor, combine the basil and pine nuts. 

2.) Add garlic and pulse

3.) With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

4.) Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the cheese and pulse.

5.) Toss in salt and pepper to taste and pulse to desired final consistency.

Linking to:

Mabey She Made It