Here are the questions that were answered in the Webinar:

1.    What are the basic requirements to permanently
grow plants in containers? 

2.    What is the ideal container to plant in? 
Size 
Material 
Are there certain guidelines to what containers are able to be used? 
What containers do you recommend? 

3.    Fertilizing Your Plants (When to feed? What to feed?
– compost, compost teas/extracts, Do the plants need extra minerals?) 

4.    Since the roots of plants in containers cannot go down
deep to access minerals, do we have to or would it be a
good idea to add minerals at intervals, especially to perennials?  
If so, what forms...rock dusts? 
If so, by what techniques? Soluble minerals? Some other form? 
What are the guidelines about how often? 

5.    What are the options for growing mediums? 
Soil 
Soil Mixes 
Compost 
Vermicompost 
Mulch 

6.    Some people recommend using various inert gels and
granules for their water holding capacity - vermiculite as an
example - within the compost/peat/soil mix. 
Do these substances have a place in container gardening? 

7.    We are using and suggesting a mix of 1:1 ratio of
coco-coir and vermicompost and a handful of soil as a
base mix for container gardening and a supplement of compost,
aerated manure, water as regular additions.
Coming from India, is this a good base soil mix
for rooftop container gardening? 
Any corrections and improvements in this? 

8.    How can we get maximum soil biological diversity
in our vermicompost bins?
We suggest small scale (literally a paint bucket size)
vermicompost bins with red wigglers, and what we suggest
is working on hundreds of rooftops already here in India.
That said, I am constantly thinking about
increasing the diversity of soil biology in those bins. 
Any suggestions regarding that since hot composting
is not an option on home scale in the ultra dense
urban situations here in India? 

9.    Watering systems 
Spray 
Drip 
Water trays 
Any comments on self watering types? 

10.    Is there potential for making the soil of container plants
go anaerobic with some watering techniques?
If so how must we water container plants to make sure they do not go anaerobic? 

11.    If we have water coming out of our potted
plant containers, does that mean that the soil is anaerobic?
I was always told to water the containers until water starts
coming out of the bottom. Would that be correct? 
What should be the moisture levels of the soil for potted plants? 

12.    In 55 GAL. drums, garden walls, vertical gardens and
small containers how does heat affect biological life and moisture
evaporation when sun hits the top of the containers and sides all day? 
How often should the plant be watered?
And when to add tea (fertilizer) to reduce the confined
root space and heat stress and keep it alive and
producing it's life cycle? ( NFT like system? ) 

13.    Where I live in Brazil, borderline tropics (22° S) with
800m altitude, there are at least 2 periods per year
(one in late spring, and another in mid summer),
when it rains almost straight for two weeks
(sometimes drizzly, sometimes harder).
The soil in my plant containers gets and stays very very wet
during these periods. Should I be concerned about this?
I realize that good drainage is important, but if the drainage
is too good, the soil does not hold enough moisture and
dries up as soon as the rain stops and it gets hot again (25-30° C).
What do I need to consider, especially in terms of soil
composition and soil biology to manage this situation? 

14.    It is possible to keep tubers producing up to the top of a
drum adding layers of soil as long as the vine grows up or vice versa ? 

15.    Does container growing cut down on water use? 

16.    The Bad Guys - Pests and Diseases 
Are these a sign of a poorly managed soil? 

17.    What to use or add to control aphids (almost microscopic
spiders/net on myrrh leaves and snails on almost all trees specially on papaya? 

18.    Repotting Plant & Caring for Containers 
Does the soil get exhausted? 
Do you need to rotate your crops and practise fallowing? 

19.    What do we need to do differently to manage the soil
used in rooftop gardens (plants in containers) vs. planting
in the ground, considering a borderline tropical climate
where temperatures rarely drop below 13ºC, but get up
to 30º in the summer (dry winter, wet summer)? 

20.    Indoor Container Gardening 
Can you permanently grow food crops inside? 

21.    Could you please share your thoughts on Soil vs. Hydroponic container growing? 

22.    I am also very interested in knowing more about hydroponic
growing and using the soil food web. 
I would like to know whether the microbes will survive in
the system as it is at present – we grow our plants in sterile
rock wool, and we use a nutrient film technique for the system
where water is recirculated and a premixed fertiliser
normally used for lettuces is added in – chemical fertilizer that is. 
Could it still be beneficial to add compost tea as things are at present? 

23.    Is it good to mulch container plants? 
Is there any down side to doing so, anything we should or should
not do with mulches of container plants? 
Also, what do we need to do for container plants to take them
through freezes and bad winter weather? 

24.    Everyone says you have to change the soil in the containers
every 1-2 years. Is it possible to maintain the complete
soil food web in containers, prevent leaching
(and consequently prevent having to change the soil),
and have a year-round sustainable production of at least leaf greens and vegetables? 

25.    In vegetable container gardening on a balcony
(no contact with the earth), if you have red wrigglers and
don't have a litter layer in your containers, will they eat the plants? 

26.    Is there a species of worm especially well adapted to containers? 

27.    Could one keep those composting worms happy and
thriving with a mulch on top of the soil, which one refreshes often? 

28.    Is it bad for houseplants to have an earthworm in the pot? 

29.    Do you recommend sprouting seeds in compost?
If it’s nicely balanced does it ward off damping-off disease? 

30.    These plants require a well balanced nutrition scheme
from the beginning, and have a higher Ca and Mg demand
at the early to mid flowering stage. 
How should the biology be applied to guarantee that all
nutritional requirements are present from the beginning
of the transplant stage? Also, what strategy should be used
to make extra Ca, Mg, P, and K available to the plant during
the pre-flower to the flowering phase? 

31.    Could you talk to us about the F:B ratio, the type of nitrogen
and biology required to grow this crop in containers. 

32.    Here in Mexico a lot of creeks and tiny rivers are
contaminated with Colibacteria or toxic chemicals,
so you can imagine that kills everything. 
How can we built a "plant container" as a bio-filter for
contaminated rivers, creeks, or water stream in order to
clean the water or to reduce the contamination? 

33.    What tips do you have for growing in green houses? 

34.    Could you also point me to any good reference
materials on this topic that you know of? 

35.    What are further considerations for producing nutrient dense food? 

Watch it here: http://soillearningcenter.com/containerwebinar-lp

Keeping your soils healthy,

Soil Food Web Team

Together we can make a difference.

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