Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 260 6/5/17 3:32 PM
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 261 5/24/17 12:31 PM260 chapter 6STOCK TANK PLANTERS
Large, galvanized stock tanks have always been
familiar to ranchers and farmers who raise
livestock, but now we gardeners are putting them
to good use, too. Instead of filling them with
drinking water, we’re filling them with potting
soil and plants, using them to grow all manner of
wonderful plant combinations, from salsa gardens
to cut flower combos.
I’ve seen stock tanks used as accessible planters
in public gardens for people with disabilities, beds
for colorful vegetables in school gardens, and as
easy-to-harvest lettuce beds on an urban farm.
Their versatility is pretty wide-ranging.Another creative way to use a stock tank is
as a water garden. Plug the drainage hole, fill the
tank with a mixture of soil and water, and plant
it with aquatic plants, making a raised mini pond.
Because the tanks are galvanized and weather-
proof, your stock tank water garden can stay
outdoors year-round. Plant hardy aquatic plants in
it if you want them to live from year to year.
In addition to using stock tanks as raised
bed-like planters, there are many other items
easily repurposed into similar garden beds. Large
items such as old, metal wash tubs, water tanks,
and even bathtubs, are readily converted into
containers. Smaller items, such as baby pools
and even empty dresser drawers make nice mini
raised beds, too.
Use stock tanks to create raised garden ponds like
this one. The horsetails (Equisetum hyemal) growing
it in complement the modern style of the house and
patio furniture.This stock tank planter hosts a combination of
flowering and foliage annuals and dresses up an
otherwise barren area.Text Black Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete #175 Dtp: 229 Page: 260700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 260 5/24/17 1:07 PM
More Container Concepts 261CARNIVOROUS-PLANT
CONTAINERS
Carnivorous plants are surprisingly easy to grow
in containers, if you provide them with conditions
that mimic their natural habitat. Like other
plants, carnivorous species use sunlight to make
their own food, but they also digest small insects
that get caught in their jaw-like leaves, trapped
on their sticky surface, or fall into their water-
filled, tubular leaves. The plants then digest their
victims with the help of numerous enzymes.
Carnivorous plants do best in bright areas
with high humidity, and they require wet, but not
constantly saturated soil. Though not all species
of carnivorous plants are winter hardy, some are.
If you want your containerized carnivorous plants
to survive the winter outdoors, make sure you
choose varieties hardy to your area. Some species
are fully hardy through much of the northern
United States and Canada.
Carnivorous plants naturally grow in boggy
areas, where the soil is lean and acidic. To
accommodate their needs, the following project
uses a casserole dish with no drainage holes as a
planter, but you can grow carnivorous plants in
any bowl-like container that lacks drainage.
At season’s end, if you’ve selected winter-
hardy plants, bury the container in the garden or
compost pile so the top of the pot is level with the
top of the soil and forget about it for the winter. Or
if you’ve selected non-hardy varieties, move the
pot indoors into a cold, but not freezing, basement
or garage with a small window. The plants need
to shift into winter dormancy for a few months,
during which time the soil needs to remain damp,
but not waterlogged. When spring arrives, the
container should be moved outdoors again.Carnivorous plants, such as these pitcher plants
(Sarracena spp.), are surprisingly easy to grow
in containers.Hardy carnivorous plants can be overwintered by
sinking the pot into the ground. Non-hardy varieties
are best overwintered by moving the container into a
cold basement or garage.Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 260 (^) Text Black Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete #175 Dtp: 229 Page: 261
700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 261 5/24/17 1:07 PM