Hi all, I have an itty bitty garden space in my itty bitty backyard in downtown Allentown PA. To expand my growing space I like to use containers, preferring clay pots. My biggest problem is remembering to keep them from drying out. Anyone out there have any ideas or experience that could help me out.
When I had trouble keeping outdoor pots watered I salvaged a wading pool from the roadside and filled it with a couple of inches of water, placing the pots inside it. Much easier to keep them watered that way, and if you go on vacation, you can fill it with about twice the amount of water. You can also pile up mulch around the outside of the pots, and that keeps them from evaporating so fast.
I have used a capillary mat the same way, putting a layer of plastic between the mat and the cement of the patio, and tucking an end of the mat in an old pail full of water. You could use a thick cotton cord the same way, like an i.v. tube, burying the cord in the pot's soil and keeping the other end in a water source.
I did the cord trick when the kids wanted to grow a giant pumpkin, substituting the plain water for whole powdered milk and compost tea. (This was in the regular garden space, and you graft the cotton 'wick' directly into the vine). The pumpkin weighed in at 87 pounds, which was amazing since the seed variety we used was ordinarily a 10 pound fruit.
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I am contemplaing the same issue with my clay pots. They were so cheap a couple years ago that I bought I bunch, painted them, planted in them, and set them in full, HOT, DRY sun on the porch. Part of my solution has been to plant low-water flower and herb varieties, or varieties specific to container planting. My local garden center was great in helping with those choices.
Since I will not eat anything I plant in them, I am considering using these little crystal bits that you add to the potting mix. One tablespoon per gallon of soil. I also am going to make my own potting mix with compost, pearlite, topsoil, and the crystals. This year I am going to mulch the exposed soil surface as well to keep some of the moisture in. I have also considered "painting" the inside with some sort of sealer or lining them with plastic to help out as well. I really like the wick suggestions and think I will try that too.
I garden in the hot dry south and almost exclusivly in containers. Most plants will not do well in the summer months in clay pots but they do fine in plastic or the newer foam pots. In the cooler months flowering plants do quite well in clay pots. Many herbs do better year round in clay pots as they tend to like dryer soil.
In many situations I place containers in a small hole and mulch around it which helps in watering and looks good.
Hi all, Thanks for all the great ideas. BTW, I work at Organic Gardening but I'm the only one here that has a city garden and I'm fairly new into it. You guys are a great wealth of information. Thanks.
Hi....For the last 2 summers I have lined the inside of my clay pots with plastic and it has worked like a charm. I still leave the bottom un-lined for drainage reasons, covering the hole with a coffee filter to hold the dirt in. I first tried this with a clay pot at our school garden because I wasn't able to keep close watch over it like my pots at home. I was able to go almost 2 weeks between waterings using the plastic lining inside the clay pot.
I'm like you - I love the look of clay pots and for me this has been a great solution. Happy growing!
