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JUNE 2023 HOME 5 Containers From Page 3 What about watering? Let's start with water. Containers dry out quicker than plants in the ground. When the plants are young and small they probably won't need much water. When they get bigger, you may end up watering twice a day, especially in hot weather. The best way to keep an eye on the water is to check it daily and water as necessary. What about fertilizer? Since containers are well-drained, nutrients wash away quickly. The com- post in the soil mix is going to be a big help because it is a slow release fertilizer in itself, but additional fertilizer will probably be necessary. Because we're dealing with vegetables, an organic, slow- release granular fertilizer should be mixed into the soil. You can also supple- ment with a liquid organic fertilizer throughout the growing season as well. Weeding? Not so much Now the best part of container veg- etable gardening. There is almost no weeding, and the weeding that needs to be done is very minimal. Last year I had around 100 containers of hot peppers (I'm a bit of a hot pepper fanatic) outside my back door, and it took me about 15 min- utes to weed all of them. I've only scratched the surface here. Every year I try something new, and I haven't found anything that doesn't grow in a container so far. It only takes a pot, some soil and a little experimentation to grow your favorite vegetables. Happy gardening! (Michael Timm is chief horticulturalist for Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia.) Photo by Michael Timm Horticulturalist Michael Timm is a big fan of pepper plants. Last year he had about 100 hot peppers. Containers help reduce the weeding time needed.