Tub and Kettle Water Gardening

Tub and Kettle Water Gardening

When talking about tubs and kettle containers that are going to be used in your water garden, these are most often the smaller containers that are smaller than five foot wide and just about three foot deep. The smaller types of containers such as these are widely used in corners of the gardens, along the deck or patio or in the greenhouse where you want a great change in your gardening tasks. If you are going to use a wooden barrel be sure to line it with some type of plastic or rubber liner so that your container water garden will last longer.

You will need to pay attention to where you are placing your containers so that your plants in the containers can have the best water environment that will keep them growing and thriving. The real answer to water gardening in a container is that you place you container in an area where it will not be hit by the strong high temperatures of the mid summer day. When the temperatures are highest during the day, your container should be in the shade or the indirect sunlight. While your water garden will need sunlight, the highest temperatures of the day will warm the water too much and stress out your plants in the container.

First starting with your container and then filling it with water, you should let the container sit for at least two days before adding your plants. This will give you ample time to address leaks, problems, or the arrangement of where your water garden is situated before you get too far in your project. The settling of the water over the two days will also ensure that any chlorine in the water will settle to the bottom of the container before adding your plants.

With the container water garden, you should also be aware the mosquitoes can be a problem for the small area of water. Placing a few mosquito fish, snails, and keeping snakes in your area (just don’t kill off the ones that you have) will help control the mosquitoes around your container water garden. After setting your plants in the container water garden, be sure to wait at least ten days before introducing fish to the container so you will be balancing the environment for your fish and your plants together. Always know how many fish of any type can be put in a certain amount of water so that you are not adding too many fish to the smaller container water gardens so your fish will enjoy and thrive in their new environment.