Earthly Garden

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

Hi all,

I was horrified yesterday when a reader told me that rainwater collection is illegal in Colorado. I would never tell someone to do something illegal…except in this case! I think it horrifying that a state in general would not put any controls on over-development or population, but would make it illegal for a gardener to collect rainwater for their garden. So, if you live in CO, get a bucket, collect some rain (next time it rains) and collect it for your gardens. THEN try and get the laws changed. Thank goodness there are no such silly laws in Texas!!

On other more pleasant matters, yesterday I received an order of dibbers from my Nova Scotian woodturner friend and artist, Derek Andrews. I had never even heard of dibbers (AKA dibblers or dibbles) until I saw them on his Seafoam Woodturning Studio website, but now I’m finding out what great little tools they can be in the garden. You can use them for planting bulbs, seedlings or young plants, and I love that he’s marked measurements on them. Derek does wonderful work, and we have a few of his other pieces in our collection. His dibbers are smooth as glass, and I *almost* hate to get them dirty. I had to run outside and try them, and I love the way they work! I’ll write more about them when I use them to plant my new tomato babies. It’s so seldom that you find handmade garden tools! (And these are VERY affordable, too, and will last forever!)

dig it!

bobbi c.

rainwater collection, Seafoam Woodturning Studio, handcrafted garden tools, dibblers, dibbers, dibbles, wooden garden tools

Mornin’ all!

I was excited to find a good selection of heirloom tomato plants at our new garden center last night. It’s hard to find heirloom anything around here, much less ready-grown plants. I bought a few Roma tomatoes and a Cherokee Purple. I wasn’t going to buy plants this year, opting instead to start my own from seeds, but I’m a sucker for the heirlooms.

Here’s an article I found that talks about heirloom plants and why you might want to grow them.

I like to grow heirlooms mostly because of their connection with gardeners of the past…gardeners who lovingly saved seed from their favorite vegetable because it had been given to them by their grandmother or had been carried from one home to the other. And if it tastes great, well, that’s just a bonus!

dig it!

bobbi c.

heirloom vegetables, seeds, seedsaving, antique seeds, heirloom plants, grandmother’s garden

This morning it’s 27-degrees and all thoughts about early planting of spring tomatoes have been replaced by worries that I might lose my little lime tree that’s been living in a pot on the porch since last year at this time. Actually, I’m surprised it has lived this long. This winter has been harsh here for us in many ways–more icy storms and colder temperatures. Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise, and will kill off some of the grasshopper eggs I know are lurking underneath the cedar mulch that covers my garden paths…nature’s way of dealing with bugs!

My new grow light stand (a late Christmas gift) I ordered finally got here, and even though it’s a bit late for us, I’ll be starting tomato, pepper and herb seedlings myself this year. It will be nice not to be tied to the small inventory of hybrid varieties that the local garden center sells, and I can space the timing out instead of buying them all at once. I’ll be starting some Brandywine tomatoes, a popular, tasty heirloom. I always grow cherry tomatoes, too, for salads, and those do well in pots as long as they are fed some fish emulsion or liquid seaweed.

I’ve been going through all my garden photos, and will be posting more of those as I find them.

Happy Valentine’s Day, all!

Dig it!

bobbi c.
All photos and text Copyright©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran

insects in garden, grow light stand, antique rose, white heirloom rose, lime tree in container