Ok so it makes me feel Incredibly dumb but i know nothing about planting from seed in Pots. my mother has always had her gardens, but honestly she always planted them directly in the soil. Now i live in an apartment and i miss her Morning Glorys, Teresitas (thats spanish name i dont know what theyre called in english) and my cat misses her catnip. So this is my Dumb question. what are the first steps to planting seeds in a pot? i know about spacing my seeds when i plant them directly in the soil, but how does spacing work in a pot?? esp small ones? when it says, plant no less than six inches apart, is that per seed? i m planting a few herbs, basil, parsley, marjoram, chives and sage (cuz i love cooking w/ fresh herbs) and for rec. plants i have some morning glory seeds.
i guess pple around here arent so friendly..i doubt i m the only one that doesnt know this. theres 4 replies to the thread posted right after mine, so i know pple havent overlooked my question...
Growing plants in containers can be tricky. With limited space the key is to plant most efficiently putting plants in the smallest container possible so as to not waste space and allow for more plants. This is rather difficult since plant tags do not contain information on the size of the root ball or a recommendation for a minimum sized pot. Therefore you can only experiment and learn from other's experiences.
For example, the container size for growing tomatoes is a big issue. Many people claim to have success in 5 gallon buckets or less but that depends upon the type of tomato grown. My neighbor has a patio breed of tomato on her balcony in a very small little pot (8" wide) and it has grown very nice round tomatoes (but not very many). Plants like hot peppers seem to thrive in 5 gallon buckets and over the years I have learned to use them exclusively. You can get away with even smaller containers for herbs like basil and parsley. Perennial herbs like chives, sage, and oregano can start in smaller containers but if you keep them alive for a couple of years you'll need to promote them to larger containers if you want them to get bigger or you can split them into several containers. If you don't just keep them as is.
I'm no expert at planting seeds in pots but when I do I tend to forget the rules and in a say 8" pot, place 5 or 6 seeds equidistance from each other in the soil. When they start to grow then separate into bigger pots or let them grow as a clump of flowers. Many plants are easy to transplant this way. The key is to start small and promote the plants to bigger pots when necessary.
As for morning glories, this year I experimented with one in a very small 6" pot, 5" deep. Since I grow a lot of morning glories in containers my goal was to understand its root system better to see if I can optimize my system next year. Eventually the root ball filled the entire pot and started growing out the bottom. I then made a rudimentary hydroponics system using the plastic cover of a 50 CD-R spindle. The pot fit perfectly in the plastic cover leaving a few more inches at the bottom which then filled with water for the roots to grow in. Over the last month or so the roots have almost completely filled that area too and the plant has grown more than 10' high producing a lot of flowers in a relatively tiny little area. You might be able to get away with something like this on a balcony although you do need somewhere for the MGs to climb.
thank you so much for taking the time to reply, this helped me alot! :)
so its ok to place a couple of seeds in one pot right? thats what i was gonna do. but i didnt wanna mess them up. i m planning on maybe trannsplanting the MGs into the soil next to the fence once they start to grow and get bigger.
Hi, Planting in pots is not all that different from planting in the ground. Spacing is just a matter of experience and common sense. I would tend to plant the seeds very closely, and then thin them out, later on. You should select a pot size appropriate to the resultant size of the plant, in question. Use a well draining mix for your pot, like a potting soil. Make sure there are drain holes at the bottom. I cover these with stones to allow water to pass, but not soil. Pots tend to dry out much more quickly than ground soil, so keep the pots well moistened. Biggest problem I have with pots is figuring out which plants are the ones I planted from the many varieties of weeds that want to take over.
Good Luck with the Pots,
Sherw> Ok so it makes me feel Incredibly dumb but i know nothing about
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