If you have little space, poor soil, or are surrounded by cement and blacktop, you can still have a thriving youth garden project – in containers. Even the smallest outdoor nook can feature a thriving crop of vegetables, herbs, and flowers in containers. And because plants in containers depend, in large part, on the gardener to meet their needs, they can inspire a variety of student-designed growing investigations.

We've compiled years of container gardening experience from kidsgardening.org and garden.org to create a comprehensive guide, complete with lessons for students, to prepare your class for exploring this handy and creative horticultural technique.

Why Garden in Containers?

A container garden can be as simple as a few pots of herbs in a window box or as elaborate as an array of large, outdoor tubs with plants that rotate seasonally. All you need is a container with drainage holes, potting soil, and plants. Benefits of container gardening include:

• Maximizing your space. You can take advantage of small areas like sunny window ledges and courtyards.
• Testing the waters. You may want to make sure gardening will work well with your audience before committing lots of resources.
• Portability. If you’re faced with challenges – vandalism and theft, or upcoming construction that will displace your plots – you can design container gardens that are easy to move on a daily or seasonal basis.
• Soil control. By using containers, you can be certain about the safety of your growing media and enjoy eating your harvest. This is a concern where soil may be contaminated with lead or other industrial pollutants.
• Blacktop greening. Perhaps you are in an area void of soil and green space. You can place containers on concrete or cement surfaces.