The practice of growing plants in pots and containers is known as container gardening. Container gardening is mostly practiced in urban homes, multistorey buildings of towns and cities and in places where availability of land is a major constraint. Brassica leafy greens are popular container-grown plants among urban populations. They can be grown in containers successfully.

Some of the major considerations while preparing for raising container garden of Brassica leafy greens are: choosing right containers, choosing a good growing media, and preparing a gardening schedule or a garden calendar.

Selection of Suitable Containers/Pots: Earthenware pots are most commonly used containers for growing Brassica leafy greens. Wooden barrels and planters can also be used and these containers should be painted from inside as well as outside with waterproof oil-paints before using them. Plastic jars, pots, dishes and bowls, glazed clay and china (porcelain) pots, shallow bowls and troughs, pottery containers, boxes and crates, cement pots, cans and buckets, tin boxes, drums, brass, copper containers, or any such suitable containers may be used according to the circumstances and growing requirements of the gardeners. Similarly, when it comes to the shape of the containers, any shape of the container can be used whether it is circular, round, oval, elliptical, cone, pyramid, rectangular, square, or heart-shaped.

Containers should have at least one hole of an adequate size at the bottom as in earthen pots, to drain out excess water. Containers should easily be placed on the terrace, window sills, window boxes, balcony and verandah where sunlight is available for the plants. Containers should be able to hold sufficient volume of growing media and should be lightweight (for portability if needed), and easy to handle. Containers should be durable and free of toxic substances and also should prevent root circling.

Selection of Suitable Growing Media or Soil and Fertilizers: Growing media may be prepared from a mixture of good soil, river sand, well-decomposed organic manure (compost or farmyard manure), nitrogenous fertilizers (urea or ammonium sulphate) and recommended organic insecticides and fungicides. Growing media should be able to hold seedlings firmly. Media should be free of insect-pests, and should have good water-holding capacity. Growing media should also have excellent aeration and drainage.

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How to prepare a suitable growing media?

Mix good soil, river-sand and well-rotten organic manure in equal quantities with the help of a khurpi or shovel. Make sure that the mixture is free from various soil-borne insects, termites, red ants and cut worms. Add a small quantity of recommended fungicide (organic pyrethrum-based fungicides may be used)to the mixture before filling it in the containers; this helps to prevent seedling rotting caused due to fungal infections. After raising a crop for one season, the container mixture should be removed and cleaned of roots and exposed to the sun for a few days. This growing media could then be reused after mixing one-third the quantity of organic manure and a small quantity of recommended fungicide.

Alternatively, growers can prepare their own compost or vermicompost by using kitchen wastes and use it as growing media for their container-grown plants.

Preparation of a Garden Calendar: If you are planning for container-growing of Brassica leafy greens, then you should prepare a gardening schedule beforehand. A garden calendar should clearly address the following issues:

  1. Sowing Time: When to sow the seeds?
  2. Fertilizer Schedule: When to fertilize plants? How many times?
  3. Irrigation/Watering Schedule: How much irrigation is required? And when?
  4. Weeding and Aftercare: What are the weed control measures to be adopted?
  5. Harvesting Time: When can the leaves be harvested?

In addition to this, a container gardener should arrange the following garden tools:

  • Shovel: A shovel is needed for mixing the soil-manure mixture.
  • Hand Cultivator: It is needed for working around plants and breaking up soil clods for light replanting.
  • Trowel: It is used for transplanting purposes.
  • Watering can: A watering can is required for watering plants.
  • Hand Duster: It is used to apply chemicals in powder form.
  • Air Sprayer: It is the most popular equipment for applying liquid fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides through foliar spraying because it gives good coverage.
  • Strings and Measuring Tapes: These are required for measuring purposes.
  • Wheelbarrow or Garden Cart: It is used to transport soil and manures, garden tools, and harvested produce
  • Seeders: It is used for sowing seeds.

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