They’ll never understand how you feel about potting in your garden shed. While once you had nothing but the left over space in the garage, amongst the other clutter, now you have a place of to call you own.
There it stands in all its glory. You walk out and open the door – the potting mixes and fertilisers are on the shelves. Neatly sorted pots of various sizes are lined up on other shelves. Hanging beneath one of the shelves are your trowel and transplanter; and your stakes and twine are easily found right where you put them. And there, near the window is your potting table.
New to potting in the garden shed? Here are some of the basics:
- Choose the correct sized pot for your plant and soil. A mature upright plant will need a pot with a side base for balance, whereas hanging plants will need a pot that they can drape over the sides. Make sure there is plenty of room in your pot for the root system.
- The height of your pot will enhance the look of your plant – for tall plants, the mature plant should be not much more than twice the heights of the pot and for wider plants the plant should not be more than about half the width of the pot
- You plant will need drainage, so use a pot that has drainage holes or spread a layer of gravel across the bottom of your pot – 1 or 2 inches should be enough.
- Your plants will thank you for using a good quality potting mix. Never use soil from the garden – it doesn’t have the drainage that potted plants need.
- If you’re potting different plants in the one pot for effect, select plants that require similar care when it comes to watering, sunlight and food.
- Potted plants tend to dry out quickly. If you don’t have time to water your potted plants daily, choose drought tolerant plants – they will be clearly marked at the nursery.
- Because potted plants heat up and dry out much more quickly than garden bed plants, put them in a position so that they get some shade during the day (even if the label says suitable for full sun).
- Watering for potted plants is very important. Unlike plants in the garden, their roots can’t go deeper in search of water. Check your potted plants daily to ensure they have not dried out.
- Don’t starve your potted plants – use a slow release fertiliser and mark your calendar so you don’t forget to feed them regularly.
- Have a variety of potted plants so that when one plant is out of season you can rotate with one that is in season and have attractive looking plants all year round. A selection of fresh herbs is always handy to have and taste better than the dried variety.
Thislittle gem from Rob Barron, your Garden Sheds man
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