I've had a couple of potted plants for a year or so, and have noticed that they are both turning yellow from the stem up. I don't know what type of plants these are; they are foliage only and do not flower. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, the plants were fine for about a year. Could it be overwatering, not enough or too much light, or too much fertilizer? Any help you can offer will be appreciated. It looks like I'm going to lose the plants if I don't do something? Should I take them out of their pots and put them in the ground?

Thanks,

Does anyone know if those silica products (Soil Moist, etc.) and moisture-holding soil mixes are in fact safe to use in growing vegetables and herbs? My neighbor is using them in her tomato plants, but the idea makes me uneasy, no matter what the label says. I know there's a lot out there that is labeled safe, but I would rather play it safe. I mean, something must seep out of that stuff and it can't be good, can it?

Does anybody have any tips for holding moisture in their container gardens?  I haven't had much luck with container gardening.  Either the plants have died because I forgot to keep watering them, or the plants looked like they got sick or something and began wilting.  I don't know if it was because they were underwatered or overwatered, or got a fungus or what.  Help!  I love to see flowering plants or hanging plants in containers, but haven't had much luck.  Can somebody just give me a few pieces of advice on how to make my container garden not die on me?

I know this forum is about container gardening, but I want to plant flowers in "raised beds". Is this similar to container gardening, just over a larger area? Does anybody have any experience in planting raised beds? If given the choice between raised beds and container gardening, which would you choose?

Thanks,

Williewonka

I would like to start an herb garden to get fresh herbs for my cooking. Can anyone tell me what types of herbs will grow well together in a container garden, and how deep does the container need to be? What types of herbs should I make sure not to put together? How long do herbs take to mature before they're ready to pick?

Thanks,

Malia

Has anyone ever done vegetable container gardening? With the high cost of fresh vegetables, even at our local farmers' market, I want to start growing some basic vegetables that our family uses all the time - tomatoes, onions, lettuce, green onion, carrots, etc. Has anybody had good luck with growing vegetables in containers? I'm really not into digging up my backyard and dealing with weeds and all. Any help and advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Malia

I love my outdoor container plants. They adorn my patio areas and really set off the key locations around my porch swings and garden paths. Some of them get naturally watered by rain like the rest of my plantings. But given the fact that they are in planters, should I be watering them more or less? How does a gardener approach the care of container plants as opposed to in ground plantings?

I like to go to flee markets and yard sales. I usually find pieces that would make great non-traditional planters. The problem is, they weren't designed to be planters. This normally seems like something I could overcome with a little creativity, so long as I knew it was okay if they did not have holes on the bottom. It would be pretty hard to drill holes into a cement bird bath for example, but that doesn't mean one couldn't make a great planter. So, whats the deal, do they have to have holes or not to be a good planter?

I have quite a few plants that move in and out of the house on a regular basis due to weather. These plants usually do well as a result, but I want to make sure that they are getting the proper space to grow. So my question for the forum is, how do I know when I should transplant to a larger pot? What are the indicators, and how can I make sure that I don't wait too long and damage my plants?