Pots and containers are a brilliant way of growing a few veggies and you can get great results. In theory, you can simply fill a pot with multi-purpose compost, plant a seedling, water and Bob’s your uncle. But you’ll get much better results by following our top tips:
- Add a good layer of broken terracotta pieces or stones to the base of the pot. This stops the vital nutrients and compost from escaping through the drainage holes.
- Use potting compost. It contains extra nutrients than normal, multipurpose compost which is designed to be added to soil (which already carries a certain amount of nutrients).
- Mix in a handful of worm cast fertiliser with the compost. This will boost those nutrient levels more, and importantly, will release the nutrients slowly. This is great because most composts lose their nutrients within 4-6 weeks of being planted up in the spring, but the worm cast will keep those levels topped up for the summer.
- Keep plants well watered. Whilst the soil in raised beds etc will retain moisture quite quickly, pots tend to dry out surprisingly quickly.
- If you’re growing perennial herbs and plants in pots, sprinkle them with a handful of worm cast fertiliser at the beginning of each spring to keep nutrient levels topped up each year. Move them onto bigger pots with fresh compost as they outgrow their pot.