As you may have guessed, there are both advantages and disadvantages of container gardening. Sometimes container gardening is the only option if you’re living in either a rented space or smaller space.
Other times, you might be able to consider either container gardening or a traditional in ground garden. Our goal today is to help you compare the advantages and disadvantages of container gardening to help you decide if container gardening is the right choice for you.
Looking for more content on container gardening? We have a bunch of resources for new container gardeners, check it out here.
Table of Contents
Advantages
Able to Garden in a Small Space
The first major advantage to container gardening is that you can garden in a small space. If you’re in an apartment, or a house without a large yard, it may not be an option at all to have an in ground garden.
Another consideration is if you only want to plant a couple of plants, it may not be worth taking the space up with an in ground garden. Planting a couple of plants may not be worth the hassle of setting up an in ground garden. A good alternative could be to plant your plants in containers.
Plants can be Moved as needed
This may be an obvious perk of container gardening, but its a perk none the less.
If you plant your garden in containers, they can be moved around as needed. This is particularly useful if you’re renting a space or may be moving at some point in the future. Container gardens are easy to pick up and move to your new place whenever you need!
You can also bring your plants indoors during the winter. This means that your plants can live a lot longer than a normal grow season, and depending on the type of plant some can live year round. You can even bring your plants indoor or outdoor as needed when the weather fluctuates.
No Heavy Garden Equipment Needed
When setting up an in ground garden you often need a fair amount of expensive equipment. Soil tillers, wheel barrels, sprinkler systems, garden hoes and more are all things that you might need to get started with an in ground garden.
Container gardening, on the other hand, really only requires pots, potting soil, and your plant of choice. They’re much simpler and easier to set up and take care of season after season.
No Weeding Necessary
With container gardening, you virtually never have to weed your garden. You’re also less likely to run into pest issues that you’d have in an in ground garden.
Disadvantages
Plants cant draw nutrients from the ground
In an in ground garden, your plants pull nutrients and moisture from the ground. When you put plants in containers, they lose this ability. This can somewhat be balanced out by fertilizers and ensuring that your potting soil is made with high quality ingredients.
Another benefit plants get when living in an in ground garden is earthworms help fertilize the soil. This isn’t something that’s really possible for container gardens, so that is a disadvantage and something to keep in mind.
More likely to overwater
Overwatering is a pitfall that many beginner gardeners run into. In an in ground garden, its not as likely to be detrimental to your plants. This is because water will run over your plants roots and get soaked into the ground.
When plants are in a pot, the water is contained in one area. You can mitigate this somewhat by adding drainage holes, mixing in perlite to your soil, or other solutions. However even with these solutions in place you need to be mindful that its possible to overwater plants when container gardening.
Another lesser known issue that plants in containers can run into during summer months is overheating. Especially in pots made of terracotta or something similar, overheating can be an issue that damages roots of plants and dehydrates them. Be mindful of how much direct sun the pots are getting and if you’re concerned, you can also consider a grow bag.
Not all Plants do well in Containers
The final disadvantage we’ll mention is that at the end of the day, not all pots do well in containers. While many can thrive, its just not optimal for a few types of plants.
This can be disheartening if you’re looking to plant a specific type and don’t have space for an in ground garden, but its better to know upfront than to plant something that will end up withering away in your pot.
Do your research on the type of plant you’re planning to plant in a container before actually planting, you may save yourself some heartache in the future.
Do you have an in ground garden, or a container garden? Let us know in the comments below!
