My husband and I owned a plant nursery several years ago. It was a wonderful opportunity to teach our daughters a good work ethic, how to handle money, and deal with customers. Of course, it helped pay the household bills, too. I was also a Master Gardener and subsequently our local chapter president. Part of my duties as a Master Gardener was to share my knowledge at gardening clinics, from fair booths, and to clubs and organizations that wanted a speaker. Since we owned a nursery, my calendar was always full. One of the topics most requested was on container gardening.
Container gardening is wonderful way to grow vegetables, not just flowers. It is also a good way to “contain” certain plants that you don’t want to get away from you, such as strawberries. Creative gardeners can actually grow more than one type of vegetable in their containers, which makes better use of available space. One the things we have done, is plant lettuce around the outside of a container with a tomato or two in the center. As the tomato grows larger, it helps protect the lettuce from too much sun, while the lettuce helps keep moisture in the pot. Adequate moisture and feed are critical to successful container gardening. Too much water and the plant will rot, too little and it dries out and dies. Being watchful of outside conditions and adjusting these levels will enable you to grow good plants.
The same applies for us, as people. We are walking “container gardens”. The food and water we intake nourish our bodies, while what we read, hear, and see feeds our minds and souls. The “fruit” we bear depends on how well we have nourished ourselves. The better we take care of ourselves, the more we have to offer to those who need us.
May your garden be plentiful!
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