Most of us will simply water our container gardens by hand, and enjoy doing it. However, increasingly people do need to travel during the flowering season and may need to irrigate their plants during their absence. If you have considered irrigating your container garden, read on for our introduction to the systems available.

Irrigation systems are designed to supply an adequate amount of water in a timely manner to plants. Keeping this in mind is important when designing an irrigation system. 

There are two types of systems sprinkler/spray head and drip or trickle irrigation systems. Both can be used for container watering. 

However, drip irrigation systems are a great way to provide constant moisture to container grown plants without saturating. Drip irrigation works by applying water slowly, directly to the soil. This type of irrigation is highly efficient. 

Drip irrigation kits are available at most garden centers. They allow you to water plants separately with emitters, or water groups of plants with micro-spray stakes or tapes that ooze water along their entire length. 

Unfortunately, drip emitters suffer from a handicap as they are easily plugged by silt or other particles not filtered out of the irrigation water. Emitter blockages also can be caused by algae growing in the tape or by chemical deposits at the emitter head. 

As a result, on a farm scale drip irrigation systems usually require more filtration and require higher water quality than sprinklers. If the water source is surface water (for example ditch, reservoir), high quality filtration stages should be used. If a borehole source is used less filtration may be possible. 

However, when for the home and garden, the source is a potable water supply the problem of filtration does not usually arise, so the drip type systems usually work well. 

Emitters come in many different flow rates and styles. Some emission devices are designed specifically for dense plantings and are considered to be broadcast emission devices. 

The alternative for container plants is of course the use of automatic sprinkler controllers. At the top of the range these can include electric control valves, pop-up spray heads and/or the use of pop-up rotors. This can make keeping your landscaping or yard maintained in your absence a simple matter, however, such automatic controls are unnecessary for short absences with drip systems as these can be left to run continually once set up.

By Garden Magaziner 

Hi! I am “Garden Magaziner”!

I am looking forward to the pleasure of introducing “container gardening ” to as many people as I can, and by starting this new “magazine” (or blog!), I hope to introduce many more. There really is no bigger delight than showing people how to grow crops in different kinds of containers (pots, plastic or PET bottles, yoghourt pots, plastic bags etc.).

Anyone can do it, and even the most humble apartment dweller will normally have a few square feet of balcony or windowsill upon which to start a few containers.

It is surprising how many people just have not grown things before, and using the web like this is s great way to guide their involvement for their simple enjoyment of living things, and the reward of watching a flower blossom as a result of your own handiwork, or your container grown vegetables ripen to provide a tasty dish.

Very popular models are wood or wood tone materials that look organic in nature. Also very popular are containers made of stone which give a very earthy feel to any area of your home or even outside your home. If such a thing is possible, then people who live in urban environments can also enjoy the benefits of organic gardening. As a result of this experiment, I have learned that a dozen flowerpots are more than enough to produce a quarter of my vegetable needs. It is an art which deals with conscious arrangement or organization of outdoor space for human satisfaction and enjoyment.

If you are an organic gardener, and you are using worm castings or some other form of compost that is rich, this will help lighten the load as this material is light and fluffy in the beginning. Although you can grow plants of almost any type in your worm compost, it is better to mix it with regular soil or potting soil which will add density and weight to the container that you are placing it in. Few of us have a plot the size of Jamie Oliver’s, but the idea is that you don’t need a lot of space to grow fresh, organic vegetables. Windowsills, balconies and tiny front gardens can all be pressed into service.

It has the fantastic ability to transmute your desires into physical counterparts and create a new reality for you. You can do anything that your mind can conceive, as long as you have the belief and will power to back it up. You can get very creative with container gardening. Containers don’t necessarily need to cost a lot of money either.

For more great information on container and general gardening we recommend a visit to The Container Gardening Magazine web site.