How To Fill Large Garden Planters

Repurposed whisky barrels made from high quality durable oak, make wonderful containers for plants – providing a decorative feature for any garden, as well as a practical solution for creating a bed to grow plants, herbs or vegetables. This is especially useful for those who are short of space, or lack greenery in the garden.

An oak planter can be adapted to fit into just about any place in the garden and can host a wide variety of different plants, provided it is correctly filled and has adequate drainage.

Filling Your Planter

The Base

The base of the planter should be adapted to allow for drainage – place a layer of large stones or broken pots along the bottom of the planter. This will help the water drain freely from the pot as well as ensuring that there isn’t an excess build-up of moisture, it will also help to fill the planter. The filler should take up at least ¼ of the pot.

Filling up large planters can take up numerous bags of soil and potting material, and once filled planters can be extremely heavy and difficult to move around. It is therefore important to ensure the planter is in its desired location before starting to fill it.

Choosing the Right Compost

The type of compost for your garden planters will depend on what you would like to plant. All plants growing in containers are highly dependent on the compost for obtaining necessary nutrients, this compost however, can dry out very quickly making it important to ensure the most appropriate type for the best results. There are numerous different types of compost available, including multi-purpose compost, which is suitable for most types of flower beds, but may not however provide the required nutrients for cultivating certain plants.

When sowing seeds, use a specialist seed compost as this supports optimum root growth, providing enough nutrients to help the plant grow. Whereas fruit and vegetables generally require a richer type of compost with more nutrients, as this is necessary to ensure the vegetables are not only strong and healthy, but also taste good.

Although many composts contain peat, there are a number of peat free composts available consisting of alternatives such as bark, green compost or composted bark. Loam based composts contain clay and silt and can help to secure larger plants and anchor them into the soil.

Ideas for Planting

Herb Garden

Herbs are ideally suited to garden planters – they are not only attractive but are also useful for culinary purposes. A herb garden in a planter is a highly effective way to contain more invasive types of herb such as lemon balm or mint, which may otherwise take over the garden. Potted herbs dry out quickly, therefore it is important to keep them watered. However, some types of herbs prefer sandier types of soil and will rot in richer, moister soils.

Flowers and Shrubs

A container flower garden is ideally suited for those with limited space or to provide a decorative feature for a patio or terrace. Seasonal flowers can create a stunning feature, whereas some evergreen shrubs will look spectacular all throughout the year.

Vegetables

A wide variety of vegetables can be grown from a container garden including potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, beetroot, carrots and more.

For more information on buying repurposed oak planters, get in touch with Stretton Oak Tubs.