This post about planter box tips is sponsored by EcoScraps. However, all content presented in this post represents my own opinions.
The middle of May has snuck up on me and I’m finding myself scrambling to get our raised bed garden planted! We normally grow a small variety of things like lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and herbs. Now, I am by no means a gardener here – in fact I normally find myself asking my husband for planter box tips since he has worked with plants his whole life as a vineyard manager.
I do however like to give things a shot and try new things. There’s nothing better than going out door and harvesting everything you need to make for a summer salad or a tasty Italian appetizer. We try to get the kids involved with planting and watering every year too.
We did a little bit of planting last weekend, and hopefully we can finish things up this weekend. As you may know I made a raised bed a couple of years ago and we also use half wine barrels for planter boxes as well. This year I’m planting all of my herbs in one of those wine barrels as well as some tomato plants.
When using a planter box there are a few things I (the beginner) have learned over the past few years:
Planter Box Tips:
Don’t overcrowd the plants – it’s okay to thin them out and keep only the best –
If you have too many plants, you probably won’t have as much crop. There’s a reason why they tell you to have so many plants in a certain area. The space and soil needs to be enough to support the plants and their needs. Sometimes less is more!
Water them frequently –
Unless it’s pouring rain all summer you need to water planter boxes frequently. They don’t hold moisture as long as planting plants directly in the ground does, so in hot summer days we usually end up watering once a day. Just make sure you check your soil frequently.
Place the planter box where you want it, before it’s filled –
Don’t make the mistake of having the planter box in the wrong location. It’s not easy to move once you’ve planted your plants inside of it. You may just end up with it stuck in that location for the summer. 🙂
You need to feed your plants –
Really. Your plants need food! Just like us, plants need nutrients to grow! Even if you start out with amazing soil, it will get depleted of nutrients – so buy plant food! Ecoscraps has a variety of products that you can purchase at your local Walmart and the cool thing about Ecoscraps is that they are all all about reusing waste and keeping it out of landfills. Between 2011 and 2015, EcoScraps recycled 75 million lbs of food waste. And they are matching that number in 2016 with projected recycling of another 75 million lbs of food waste–this time in just 12 months.
For my herb garden I am using Ecoscraps natural and organic tomato, herb, and vegetable plant food!
Ecoscraps has also generously donated a $50 Walmart gift card to give to one of my readers! It’s super easy to enter – just follow the steps below on the giveaway! One lucky winner will be chosen on May 25th and will be notified via email!
Those are my beginner planter box tips – do you have any to add? Comment below and let us know!
~Melissa
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