Thinking about starting your own container garden? You’ll want to know what it is, and what the benefits are.

I planted my garden with the cheapest materials possible and considering I don’t have a green thumb, I wasn’t expecting much. So why didn’t I go crazy and get the best fertilizer and seeds money can buy?? Well, what I love about container gardens is their resourcefulness. The idea of using the space you have to incorporate acts of nature restoration in your daily life is a great example of what happens when accessibility meets sustainability. I hope that by choosing inexpensive products and documenting their effectiveness, I can encourage more people to participate. Especially fellow students! 

For my container garden, I planted some radishes and bell peppers. I chose to plant radishes because they have a low water footprint and they tend to sprout faster than most veggies. I planted the bell peppers because they are my favourite products to use when cooking but often come with lots of unwanted plastic packaging in stores. Feeling spontaneous, I decided to take a leap and grow my own! You can plant your garden to address any issue you would like, whether that’s introducing more native species or simply eating what you grow. I started my journey to become more water-conscious this year so radishes really stood out to me for their relatively low maintenance and low water consumption.

Caring for the Garden and Watching It Thrive

  • My garden was located on my balcony, in an area with lots of direct sunlight.
  • I added soil and one seed to each cup.
  • I added three cups to each wooden container (pictured below) and also added some more soil to soak up any excess water. 
  • Every two weeks, I added fertilizer. 
  • I watered my plants sometimes once or twice a day depending on how hot it was.
  • As the plants grew, I added more soil as needed to keep the fragile stems upright.

Week 1: Radishes planted! 

Week 2: Bell peppers introduced!

Week 3

Week 4

Materials I Used:

  • Wooden containers 
  • Jiffy pots 
  • Schmidt all purpose plant food 
  • Cherry belle and white tip radish seeds 
  • Bell pepper seeds 
  • Jiffy premium seed starting mix

Perks for Students That Want to Get Involved

I know that the target group for container gardens were people with limited or no yard space. However, I really think that students could benefit from taking on a project like this regardless of if they’re living in an apartment or in a dorm. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know the Carleton dorms have huge windows with access to lots of sunlight and space for a mini garden to thrive. Now, it’s so easy to feel isolated and alone but having a living thing to take care of can improve your mental health and keep you on a routine! Also, it’s so exciting once your plants start to sprout. I literally screamed when I saw mine!  As a student, it’s also great to start getting into the “growing what you eat” mindset. A container garden is good practice for managing a larger garden and can even save you some money! 

Once I actually got up and started my garden, I found the process very straightforward and easy. I think the hardest part for me was finding the materials and trying not to talk myself into failure before I even started! Since I had never done a container garden before, I found it very hard to convince myself I was taking the right steps. But even if your garden doesn’t grow, it’s still a learning experience and a valuable lesson on patience. Even as I write this and my radishes grow healthily and tall, my bell peppers are nowhere near sprouting!  

Container gardens have shown us that space, which has once been a limiting factor, isn’t anymore. I hope that now you are more motivated than ever to get out there and start planting!