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Container gardening
Hello from Florida! In this video I want to share with you how I prepare my containers
for vegetable gardening. Now in most learning, you build on what you learned; however, container
gardening is different in that the first step is the most important step for success in
growing your vegetables. The first step is preparing the containers. This is due to the
fact that soil is important to ending up with a quality vegetable and that is hard to do
without quality soil unless your hydroponic gardening which is soilless gardening. Since
I have a problem with fire ants creeping into the draining holes in my containers after
a few weeks being placed outside, I line the bottom with a mesh like material or use newspaper
to allow drainage but guard the roots from such pests. I also use gravel or hay to provide
a strainer to allow the pot to stay drier and not block the drainage holes. It's better
to have your container mostly dry since fungus, algae, mildew, like moist soils to very wet
soils. Raise your container at least an inch to provide good drainage. The second step
is then to nick your seeds gently with a nail file to help with germination. As you can
see, almost every snow pea germinated after being nicked with a nail file. Keep an eye
on the weather for rain. When it is going to rain, don't water two days before until
three days after a good rain since rain is the best stimulator for the seeds to grow
and to control diseases. Only water when the soil looks dry and is dry to the touch. To
prevent disease, water only on the soil and not on plant foliage and leaves. After two
months or around the time the plants are going to bloom, whichever comes first, refresh your
containers with high quality soil again since high quality soil is a stimulator for better
growth and the nutrients are fertilizer for the plants. Refreshing the soil also prevents
that worn out look when soil starts to lose its dark color and get lighter. Thanks for
watching and remember to check out my book at the link on my google plus page. Thanks
again.