Container Gardening Archives - The Micro Gardener

Need a little help with Container Gardening ideas? What to do with pots? Which container to choose to grow your plants in? With plenty of inspiring photos, these articles will help you visualise what’s possible in your garden.

9 Secrets for a Low Maintenance Easy Garden

Do you feel your garden is hard work? Too much digging, weeding, watering and fertilising? For minimal results?

The principles for doing less work, with greater rewards are simple. These are just a few of my secrets for creating an easy garden. Dig in!

Easy Garden Ideas

1. Good Design

One of the secrets to less work in your garden is thoughtful planning. You may feel overwhelmed if you aim for perfection. I spend time applying Permaculture principles to ‘design out’ potential problems. You can refine and add to your plan later.

Begin one project at a time. A simple DIY edible planter is a good place to start. Once you gain confidence, you can create the next element in your garden.

Locate your edible containers and food gardens close to your kitchen for easy access.

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Anne Gibson2018-09-07T09:40:28+10:00Categories: Clever Design Ideas, Container Gardening, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, Plant Selection, Problem Solving, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Clever design ideas; Tips & Tricks, Container gardening, Mulch, Problem Solving, Soil, watering, Work with Nature|7 Comments

17 Water Saving Tips for Container Gardens

Are you trying to grow a garden with little rainfall? Struggling with a dry season, heat, drought or water restrictions? If so, it can be especially tough to grow food. You CAN grow healthy crops in pots – with the right strategies. These easy, water saving tips may help YOU achieve an abundant harvest.

One key to success is to adapt your growing techniques to keep your garden alive and thriving

Discover the best containers to choose; how to improve your growing medium; suitable plants; where to position your pots; and how to maintain them to save water.

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Anne Gibson2022-11-25T11:04:47+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, Grow Your Own Food, Plant Selection, Problem Solving|Tags: Container gardening, Problem Solving, watering|3 Comments

3 Steps to Prepare Your Garden for Planting

Do you ever wonder why your plants don’t grow well? Or just survive instead of thrive? Sowing seeds or plants into ‘dead dirt’ just won’t cut it if you want to grow a healthy garden! If you’re a beginner gardener, there are some basic principles to learn so you succeed every time.

You don’t need to spend much time, but a little effort every season to revive your soil in pots and garden beds will reap BIG rewards.

Just like we thrive on a nutrient-dense diet in a stress-free environment, healthy plants need food and a happy home to live in too!

“If you meet the ‘needs’ of your plants, they will flourish, blossom and produce a bountiful harvest.” – Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener

Are you:

Getting ready to plant new season crops in an established garden?
Planning to sow seeds in new soil?
Trying to revitalize tired container gardens?
Building a garden bed from scratch?

If so, then follow my three steps to boost your soil and help your garden thrive:

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Anne Gibson2020-01-26T08:09:44+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Garden Maintenance, Planning & Design, How to Grow, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Clever design ideas; Tips & Tricks, Fertilisers, garden maintenance, Getting started, Healthy soil, how to grow, planting|12 Comments

6 Tips for Abundant Edible Container Gardens

Struggling to grow food successfully in pots? Would you love to have abundant container gardens? Overflowing with delicious, healthy, colourful food? Fruit and vegetables that nourish your body? Give you joy to grow, cook and eat? If you think this is in the ‘too hard basket’ read on for my tips …

Grow an abundant harvest of home grown food in edible container gardens | The Micro Gardener

This is the kind of food I love helping people learn how to grow.

A continual abundance of organic vegetables, herbs and fruits that sustain you with good health can be yours to enjoy.

When I first started planting edibles in micro gardens, I made a LOT of mistakes. I wasted so much time and money. There were plenty of ‘dried arrangements’ (dead plants!) as a result. I struggled with poor harvests. Over the years I’ve realised container gardening requires a different set of skills to growing directly in your garden.

Delicious nutritious vegies are easy to grow at home in edible container gardens

With some basic knowledge, delicious nutritious vegies are easy to grow at home in container gardens.

These are 6 key techniques you can use to maximise your harvests. Grow a continual abundance of delicious home grown organic food. Tuck in!
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Anne Gibson2023-01-14T19:45:04+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Grow Your Own Food, Tips & Tricks|Tags: Benefits of container gardens, Container gardening, Flowers, grow your own food, how to grow, Micro gardening, Pots & containers, seedlings, Small kitchen garden, vegetable & herb gardens|18 Comments

6 Easy DIY Container Garden Projects

Looking for creative DIY container garden projects? Micro Gardening in containers offers you SO many benefits. If you are a beginner or need some ideas to get started, I’ve compiled these tutorials to inspire you – regardless of your space, skills or budget!

Easy DIY Container Garden Project - I change the flowers in these bright pink gumboot planters seasonally - an easy way to upcycle outgrown boots. I also plant in my adult pairs when they split. Just drill holes in the soles! I put tiny pots into the top of this pair & they sit nicely with a clay worm as garden art.

I change the flowers in these bright pink gumboot planters seasonally – an easy way to upcycle outgrown boots. I also plant in my adult pairs when they split. Just drill holes in the soles! I put tiny pots into the top of this pair & they sit nicely with a clay worm as garden art.

4 Steps to Create your DIY Container Garden

You can make a new or repurposed planter for a herb, vegetable, ornamental or flower garden in just a few easy steps: (more…)

Anne Gibson2018-04-19T11:50:36+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Container Ideas, How To DIY Projects & Recipes, Portable Gardens, Repurposed Planters|Tags: Beautiful gardens, Cachepot, Container gardening, DIY, Getting started, Micro gardening, Pots & containers, repurposed planters|17 Comments

Fast Food! DIY Instant Veggie Garden: Part 2

After moving house sixteen times, I’ve learned to adapt my gardens to all sorts of spaces – large and small. This is a handy list of plants I’ve found to grow well in containers plus the depth of soil they need.

Some of my edible container gardens

If you have difficult soil like sand, clay or rocks; limited space or funds, then I suggest you try growing at least some of your food in containers. Pots offer loads of benefits.

“Growing your own veggies is the first step to self-sufficiency.” – Clive Blazey, The Diggers Club

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Fast Food! DIY Instant Veggie Garden: Part 1

Do you want to make a quick mini garden? You can grow healthy ‘fast food’ like salad veggies and herbs in a simple box. Best of all, you can make it in about 15 minutes. The bonus is you’ll be eating the rewards in just a few weeks for only a minimal investment of time AND money. Let’s get started!

A wide variety of seasonal herbs, veggies and flowers can be grown in micro gardens and can reap you a rich bounty of food for minimum effort.

This is a system I’ve used for years with great success and it’s so easy. Even if you’re a beginner gardener or on a budget and need a thrifty solution, this is it! An easy container garden with just a few ingredients to get started. (more…)

Choose Safe Containers for Growing Food

Do you want to grow food in safe container gardens? Whilst not wanting to dampen your enthusiasm for using repurposed planters or getting started, I encourage you to do your due diligence when choosing that perfect container. Even raised beds are big containers. So it’s worth considering the materials you use so you are not accidentally introducing chemicals that leach.

The majority of pre-loved or second-hand goods may well be safe to use. However, before you reuse a container for planting in, there are some considerations, other than whether it can hold some dirt and leafy greens!

My philosophy is “to err on the side of caution – it’s better to be safe than sorry!”

Tips to Help you Choose Safe Containers for Growing Food

1. Check the Skin it’s In!

What is the container is made of? If you can, find out what material the planter or item is made from (especially on the surface).

Can you find out more from the manufacturer? Check their website or contact them directly.
Is the surface porous? Some materials such as terracotta or unfired clay are extremely porous. They can absorb and leach water-soluble chemicals through the surface into the soil.
Make sure you wear PPE (personal protective equipment) when handling repurposed materials to avoid accidental contamination. Dust, peeling paint and chemical residues are easily inhaled or absorbed through your skin so take care to wear suitable gloves, masks and eye protection.

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Anne Gibson2020-05-03T15:15:57+10:00Categories: Container Gardening, Container Ideas, Grow Your Own Food, Repurposed Planters|Tags: Cachepot, Growing food, Pots & containers, repurposed planters|151 Comments

DIY – Make Your Own Garden Planters

Why buy new when you can DIY and save money? Need a little inspiration to get your garden started in a container? Check out what some amazingly creative people around the globe have used to grow a garden in – just about everything!

School desk edible planter - just one of many Clever Plant Container Ideas @ www.themicrogardener.com

This old desk school desk has a new life in the garden as an edible planter filled with luscious lettuces, shallots and colourful flowers.

Ideas for Repurposed Planters … INCLUDING the Kitchen Sink!

Stuck for where to start? Looking for inspiration for what to grow your next garden in? Look no further! I hope you like these creative planters as much as I do.

Porcelain planters seem to be quite popular in some gardens.

A new meaning for ‘potted’ plants! These old toilet cisterns have also been given a new life as planters. Porcelain is long lasting and with built in drainage, their prior lives could be concealed behind other plants or a bamboo screen around the base.

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Anne Gibson2022-10-17T08:21:21+10:00Categories: Clever Design Ideas, Container Gardening, Container Ideas, Frugal Gardening, Repurposed Planters|Tags: Container gardening, Frugal gardening, repurposed planters, small garden design|33 Comments

Repurposed Container Gardens – Turn Trash into Treasure

Ever wonder why some people’s gardens look so beautiful, full of character and have that special charm? If you look closely at pictures in garden magazines or visit open gardens and nurseries, you’ll notice one of the clever design tricks they use is adding interesting features, repurposed containers and collections.

Small courtyard garden with good design creates an appealing space to enjoy.

This small courtyard garden is a good example of clever design and use of a collection of new and old pots. A seating area, water fountain, screening plants and coordinated colours also help unify this tiny space.

These little touches help to:

unify a garden
give it focus
create a theme
reflect your personality
add character

and enhance the visual appeal so you want to spend time in that special space.

“Designing your garden space is even more important if you have a micro garden.”

With a limited space and budget, it’s not always possible to buy new plant containers or garden art but you can still achieve a dream look and great functional growing spaces by ‘turning old into new.’ You don’t need special skills – just a little inspiration … and perhaps a little time to hunt around for the right object.

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Anne Gibson2018-04-19T18:04:55+10:00Categories: Clever Design Ideas, Container Gardening, Container Ideas, Frugal Gardening, Repurposed Planters|Tags: Container gardening, Frugal gardening, repurposed planters, small garden design|4 Comments

12 Next

Easy Garden Ideas

1. Good Design

4 Steps to Create your DIY Container Garden

My philosophy is “to err on the side of caution – it’s better to be safe than sorry!”

Tips to Help you Choose Safe Containers for Growing Food

1. Check the Skin it’s In!

DIY – Make Your Own Garden Planters

Ideas for Repurposed Planters … INCLUDING the Kitchen Sink!

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