PVC is another material that is used often in building
outdoor planters because of its durability. It can be used to resemble wood or to give a clay appearance and is long lasting. PVC is inexpensive and lightweight and will tolerate use for many years in harsh brutal weather elements with very little care. There is also another excellent garden container that can be placed on your front porch to that will add beauty not only to your front garden but also to your house and that is a
polyethylene self-watering square planter that is designed to look like wood. Clay outdoor planter boxes are good for the health of your plants; but due to their weight and fragility you many not want to put them in all locations. They are available in many shapes, sizes, and styles; you may even be able to purchase other outdoor yard decorations that will coordinate with them.
Metal outside planter boxes are quite common and work well with other materials such as rattan and wicker. Many styles come with decorative feet, some are tall, box or circular shaped. Some will require a plastic liner when it is going to be used outside and some are
self-watering metal windowboxes. Hanging planters are also excellent containers for the beautiful flowers that like to drape over the side and can be hung just about anywhere. These containers are also available as self-watering.
Just about anything can be used for growing your favorite flowers or vegetables. In addition to above mentioned containers you can also use bushel baskets, old plastic milk containers, pressed fiber pots or anything that you can find that will be deep enough for what you want to plant. For instance a container that is 6-inches deep is good enough for planting radishes but not a tomato plant. You want to use the largest planter box possible because the more soil it holds the more space for the roots to go and the plants will go longer between waterings.
Make sure your containers have enough drainage holes, on the sides if possible instead of the bottom so the excess water can drain out and the roots will not become waterlogged. Usually the larger pots will have drainage holes on the bottom so you want to elevate them on wood scraps or bricks so the water has some place to drain. A twenty gallon outdoor planter should have between 4 and 6 three-quarter inch holes and a thirty gallon at least 8 one inch holes. If you use a well-aerated soil mix you will not need to place broken crockery or stones in the bottom because this will be taking away valuable space for the plants roots.
You will probably need to check your plants once or twice a day, particularly when the weather gets hot, if you are not using self-watering planters or a drip system. If you have many planter boxes the drip system is probably the way to go. To help retain moisture in the larger containers you can place a layer of mulch as cover. You do not want to use water that has gone through a softener because the salts are very toxic to plants. Rainwater that you collected during the rainy season is best. In order to minimize moisture loss and create humidity you can create a micro-climate by clustering together your
outdoor planter boxes.
elevated cedar raised bed is a handy planter that does not require the gardener to bend over to plant or maintain the flowers.
