A plant growing in a pot is more likely to be affected by a shortage of minerals than a plant growing in a garden why is this?

On reason is Rain fall garden plants are surrounded by large areas of earth so when it rains water moves across the surface of the ground and carry's surface minerals with it from one area to the next,water will also move under the surface of the ground and carry minerals with it as well.Also Rain Water is formed in the atmosphere and contains minerals itself,most potted plants are watered from well water and not rain fall.

Another reason is that when potted plants are watered a certain amount of that water will escape through the drain holes in the pot each time this water travels through the soil from the top to the bottom it takes with it minerals from the potting soil so the minerals in the potting soil will be depleted faster as they are continuously washed away each time the plant is watered. Garden plants do have this problem as the surrounding earth soaks up and holds the water and allows it drain away at a much slower rate.