Earthly Garden

The Plant: What’s the proper plant for a container garden? Fortunately, anything goes. Trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, herbs, vines-just about anything can grow well in a proper container. Some plants do best in full, hot sun. Others thrive in the shade. Be sure to pick plants to match where you want to place your containers and to group similar plants together. Sun or shade? You have got to know this before you do any plant selecting. Also consider a plant’s rate of growth: Try to avoid mixing slow-growing and aggressive plants. When choosing plants for your container, be creative. Consider a bamboo plant or Japanese maple for the patio (but, be ready to bring it indoors come winter). For color through the seasons, pair early season plants with those that thrive into the summer and fall. With vegetables, for instance, plant lettuce or spinach around the outside of the pot and a tomato plant or green beans on a trellis or tripod in the middle. For flowers, combine early bloomers with late bloomers.

The Pot: If you plan to keep you containers out over the winter, choose your containers wisely. Glazed pottery and concrete are popular choices. Those made of resign plastic and wood are also good options; check for labeling that says its frost-proof. For portability, look for containers on wheels or small, decorative potholders on wheels. More important than the materials, however, is the size. If the pot’s too small, it stresses the pant and there isn’t enough room for the roots. Always go larger than you are thinking. Additionally, drainage holes in the bottom of your containers are imperative. Drainage holes are the secret in all successful planters… There should be drainage holes drilled in the bottom of each container. This allows airflow and drainage for the roots. If the container does not have holes drilled in the bottom, it is wise to plant the plant inside a plastic pot and drop the plastic container inside the ‘attractive’ container.

The Soil: When it comes to soil, the old saying that you get what you pay for is very true, especially with containers. All potting soil is not the same. If you pay $2 for a bag, don’t expect the plants to be responsive. Pay $7 or $8 a bag, and the plants will perform 100 percent better. The best potting soil should be bark-or peat-based and combined with worm castings, mycorrhizae fungi and beneficial soil microbes, at the very least. Additionally, potting soil is designed to help retain water and should not be combined with clay ground soil. When combined, the soil will not drain well, causing plants to rot very quickly. (BHG 08)

Good morning!

Yesterday I talked about container gardening and how many different things can be used as containers. Today let’s talk about caring for container gardens. The first thing to remember is that plants in containers dry out much faster than those in the ground, so they need to be watered more often. Choosing plastic rather than clay pots will help, but you’ll still need to water frequently-maybe even as much as once a day! When you do water, be sure to do so early in the day so that the leaves will have a chance to dry completely. When foliage is allowed to sit wet alll night it encourages fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. If your pots have saucers attached, make sure to detach them after watering or rainy weather so that the pot will drain correctly. A side affect from all this watering is that your plants will need to be fertilized regularly as well.(Frequent watering washes nutrients from the soil rather quickly). Choose a good liquid fertilizer(powders and sticks don’t feed evenly or completely), and follow the directions.

Make sure the containers you choose will be large enough for a fully grown plant. This is especially important when growing veggies in containers. Rootbound plants produce smaller and lesser fruit. If you’re growing cukes,tomatoes,or beans, you’ll want to make sure you plants are staked securely to keep them upright and protect the veggies as they grow. If you have problems with insects, use an insecticidal soap such as Safers or make your own by adding a teaspoon each of dishwashing soap and cooking oil to a spray bottle of lukewarm water. Shake well and spray. If you decide to buy a commercial one, read the lables VERY VERY carefully and AVOID any insecticide with the word “Systemic” on it. If you use a systemic on your veggies, you will literally make them poisonous-they work by being taken up into the plant itself. That way, any bug that tries to suck juices from it will die. The same thing will happen if you, your pets, or the local wildlife eat anything from the plant!

Container gardening is easy and fun, and it allows even city dwellers to take part in the joys of growing things!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

container gardening,caring for vegetables in containers, tomatoes,cucumbers,beans,gardening,insecticidal soap

container gardening, caring for vegetables in containers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, gardening, insecticidal soap

Good Morning!
Even if you live in the city, you can grow vegetables! Veggies will grow anywhere provided they have lots of sun, and many do just fine in containers, including tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. Suitable containers can be found at the garden center or home improvement stores of course, but there are other places to find great planters as well. Try a bakery, deli, or grocery store-most will be happy to give away their empty 5 gallon food pails. Another great idea is to simply plant them right into a bag of potting soil or in a large plastic trash bag. The only things you need to keep in mind when chosing a container is drainage and size. Without good drainage your plants wil die from root rot.
Tommorrow, more about growing vegetables in containers!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

container gardening, vegetables,vegetable gardening, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce

container gardening, vegetables, vegetable gardening, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce

Good Morning!
I ran across a really interesting article in Scientific American about Urban Gardening. It seems that in Singapore, where the majority of the population live in government built high rises, “apartment gardens” are all the rage. Since owning a house is not something that is an option for most people there, apartment gardens are their way of having a little slice of paradise. Apartment gardens have become so popular and have so many benefits that the government has begun encouraging them! You can read more about Singapore’s apartment gardens here.

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardening, gardens, apartment gardens, singapore

gardening, gardens, apartment gardens, singapore

Mornin’ earthly gardeners! I thought I’d share a photo of my little Mexican lime tree with you. A friend says it’s the same as the “key lime.” Last year it bloomed off and on all spring and summer, and actually made a handful of fruit. What fun! It sits on a semi-shaded porch, and was doing great until we got a lot of ice last winter. I thought it was dead, but it’s not–it’s coming back! I’m always amazed at the rejuvenation power of plants.

It’s been raining profusely here off and on for the past week or so, and the garden is waterlogged. I’m really anxious to get these seedlings out of the office and into the ground. They aren’t quite ready, but I figure IF the sun comes out, they’ll catch up eventually. That’s the hope, anyway.

I hope some of you others are closer to spring. I haven’t heard the weather reports from other parts of the country in a few days, but I expect some of you are still chillin’. Now is the time to pore over those garden seed catalogs (if you still do the paper thang) or sit and browse through all the online garden seed suppliers.

If you haven’t started seedlings yet, there’s still time. My new idea is to set out a few at a time, spaced a few days apart. I don’t really have room for all these seedlings, so some will have to go into containers. Speaking of containers, the tomatoes in the EarthBox are doing fabulously, as are the two remaining tomato plants out in the raised beds.

Next week, I’ll talk about using raised beds in your garden, and tell you how you can build an easy, fast, almost instant garden anywhere! Really! So until then, do a Google for “small raised bed gardens” and get some ideas. And have a good weekend…

Until then, dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.

raised bed gardening, rain, tomatoes, small space gardens, easy gardens

Yesterday, Stephanie asked me if I had any suggestions for growing veggies in pots. As a matter of fact, I just got a new packet of lettuce seeds that are great for growing in pots and small containers. Specifically, the seeds are for Garden Babies Butterhead Container Lettuce, and are available from Renee’s Garden seeds. The Baby Butterhead lettuces are a new variety, originally developed for the Japanese luxury salad market, where flavor and quality are very important.
Here’s a specific link to more info. about the lettuce.

I potted up some seed into small peat pots, and they sprouted within a week. Once they get larger, I’ll put them outside in a semi-shady spot in a small pot. They don’t get huge, and supposedly are bolt resistant, which means they can take a little heat, unlike a lot of other lettuces.

Other than these specific lettuces, there are lots of veggies you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, bush cucumbers, miniature eggplants, etc. Most large seed catalogs have a section specifically for the smaller plants. Just remember, if they’re in pots, they’ll dry out faster. You might want to put one pot inside another, that will help with the watering because the inner pot won’t get so hot. Water them daily, keep an eye on them for insects, feed them with a good organic fertilizer such as liquid seaweed (my fav) or fish emulsion, and harvest when the veggies are young and small.

Enjoy, and dig it!

bobbi c.
All text and images here (other than photos provided by others) is Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

growing vegetables in pots, cherry tomatoes, Renee’s Garden, vegetable and flower seeds, liquid seaweed organic fertilizer, fish emulsion