Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden

[Guest guest]

If you don't have room for a small garden you can plant in large containers and just have a few plants on your deck. It's so easy to till a small plot and get it ready, than order organic seeds, many of the seeds available in stores are GMO. One must be careful with the seed they use in their gardens. My first garden all I did was to spade a small patch of ground. I worked in a big bag of organic mulch than planted my seeds. It grew beautifully and I was so proud of it. That was over 30 years ago. I do not have room for a garden where I live now, but I have plenty of deck that receives sunlight and plants grow in containers very well. I always try to encourage those who do not have a patch of soil to plant this way. It works, and you know you are getting home grown organic food.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

My husband and I live on a small lot (50'x123') in the city. The back yard is out as it is too shady, there is a huge black walnut stump where the tree used to be (puts out tannins and most plants won't grow near them), and we have two huge dogs that have ruined my back yard this winter), so we garden in all available spaces on south side of house and garage, behind garage (though it doesn't get the sun it should), and in many, many containers since ground space is limited due to our wide cement drive. We grow herbs of all kinds in containers, leaf lettuces, green onions, radishes, cherry tomatoes, various pepper plants (Scotch Bonnets, Banana, Cayenne), and flowers in containers. We have a couple of raised beds my husband put in (though not as raised as some people use) and we grow pole beans up one fence area, red and yellow onions, red and white potatoes (Pontiac and Kennebec, respectively), pickling cukes up a tipi my husband makes from leftover wood from work (he's in construction), heirloom tomatoes (Marglobe) and hybrids (Early Girl or Celebrity~my husband likes these for sandwiches and we plant them separate from the Marglobes), cabbages, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, garlic, and this year I want to grow a couple of pumpkin vines. We also have space for strawberries. We started out with two store-bought plants and in three years we have well over 100 plants! I have gotten a bit more strawberries each year and look forward to having even more this year.

 

We are wanting to expand our gardening this year and are thinking about incorporating more containers as these can rest on the driveway (it can get blistering hot and I sometimes move them if it gets too intense), and we have a small area that can be dug up near the strawberries (less grass, but who eats grass?). We cannot grow anything except herbs in containers in front of house as it is too shady in most areas and just not feasible, though I do grow impatiens and other flowers in pots on porch. We also usually grow a small plot of sunflowers out back for the birds to eat (I have had the blessed fun of watching the goldfinches eat right off the flower heads).

 

I'd kind of like to find an area for a small bit of horseradish (perennial and can be invasive), and I'd like to be able to grow some other root veggies like carrots and turnips and may try a few in containers this year to see how they do. I can or freeze all the extra food we harvest that we cannot eat immediately. Last summer I canned over 70 quarts and 20 pints of stewed tomatoes (onions and green peppers came from our own garden, I just had to but celery), over 20 pints of bread and butter pickles, 9 half pints of pickled banana peppers (we only had 3 plants), over 20 quarts and around 10 pints of green beans, and I froze several large containers of chopped and sliced (depending on what recipe I want to use them for) bell peppers in various colors. I cut the peppers up and place them in cleaned and dry 16 and 24 ounce sour cream or cottage cheese containers and these run me through the next growing season so that I always have them on hand. I don't mark the green peppers, but on the top lids of containers I put a "Y" or an "O" or an "R" for either yellow, orange or red peppers so I know at a glance what kind is inside.

 

We obviously cannot grow corn as there is just not enough room~even if I was to plant in squares instead of rows.

 

Just about anyone can grow a few of their own fresh veggies to have on hand for the summer. My kids love being able to go outside and pick a fresh tomato and cut a few pieces of lettuce for bacon sandwiches or hamburgers. Nothing like fresh food to get the kids interested in helping out.

 

I do have a question: Has anyone on this board tried growing the small patio blueberry bushes I have seen advertised in seed/plant catalogs? I have been wanting to get a couple and try them. These grow in pots on the patio and after about three years they supposedly will yield about 5 pounds each of berries. I live in Ohio (zone 5) and would love to grow my own as I buy around 10 pounds every year (fresh) when on sale and freeze them to use all year round. I would love to be able to grow my own. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.

 

We also over-winter a double round up rose, a couple of other plants (I have no clue what they are as my husband trash-picked them from his boss' trash as they had been purchased in Florida for a horse show exhibit area) and some double impatiens in pots for the winter. These have over-wintered well as this is the second year we've done this. They are in our basement near a south facing window so they get sunlight every time the sun decides to come out. It is a bit cooler in our basement than the rest of the house so they don't need a lot of hardening off to get used to being back outside. We also have several plants in the dining room bay window area (south side) which include aloe vera, parsley, chives, and thyme, besides regular houseplants such as Christmas Cactus (in bloom, by the way!), a spider plant, a chrysanthemum, some greenery (I am not sure of the names), including a vine, and a huge African violet. I also have some impatiens in water in window sill of kitchen (north side) that I over-winter there every year to start my new plants in the spring when I repot them into hanging baskets.

 

My husband is our gardener and he mixes up his own batches of store-bought soil mix, peat, manure, and this year we have some of our own compost he will add as we began to compost in earnest last year and have some of that good dark, rich, live soil to add to our gardens this year. He made a composter out of an old trash can and we turn it daily.

(http://www.ehow.com/how_4750118_make-homemade-compost.html) and this works well for us and takes up minimal space.

Hope this helps to motivate all of you~even those of you who may live in an apartment.

 

Blessings,

 

LoriSchooling is not education, and education is not schooling~John Taylor Gatto

 

herbal remedies From: micki_Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:31:22 -0800{Herbal Remedies} Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden

 

 

 

If you don't have room for a small garden you can plant in large containers and just have a few plants on your deck. It's so easy to till a small plot and get it ready, than order organic seeds, many of the seeds available in stores are GMO. One must be careful with the seed they use in their gardens. My first garden all I did was to spade a small patch of ground. I worked in a big bag of organic mulch than planted my seeds. It grew beautifully and I was so proud of it. That was over 30 years ago. I do not have room for a garden where I live now, but I have plenty of deck that receives sunlight and plants grow in containers very well. I always try to encourage those who do not have a patch of soil to plant this way. It works, and you know you are getting home grown organic food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Find out more.

[Guest guest]

Wow, I'm new to this board, but thank you for sharing. I have been gardening for over 20years. My children are all grown up and I've just been lazy and steady complaining about the price of good organic produce. I have space and I will get off my bum and get busy again. Thank you. V--- On Sat, 2/28/09, Lori Smith <homeschoolmom42 wrote:

Lori Smith <homeschoolmom42RE: {Herbal Remedies} Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden"Bryan Schillington" <herbal_remedies >Saturday, February 28, 2009, 10:10 AM

 

 

My husband and I live on a small lot (50'x123') in the city. The back yard is out as it is too shady, there is a huge black walnut stump where the tree used to be (puts out tannins and most plants won't grow near them), and we have two huge dogs that have ruined my back yard this winter), so we garden in all available spaces on south side of house and garage, behind garage (though it doesn't get the sun it should), and in many, many containers since ground space is limited due to our wide cement drive. We grow herbs of all kinds in containers, leaf lettuces, green onions, radishes, cherry tomatoes, various pepper plants (Scotch Bonnets, Banana, Cayenne), and flowers in containers. We have a couple of raised beds my husband put in (though not as raised as some people use) and we grow pole beans up one fence area, red and yellow onions, red and white potatoes (Pontiac and Kennebec, respectively) , pickling cukes up a tipi my husband makes from

leftover wood from work (he's in construction) , heirloom tomatoes (Marglobe) and hybrids (Early Girl or Celebrity~my husband likes these for sandwiches and we plant them separate from the Marglobes), cabbages, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, garlic, and this year I want to grow a couple of pumpkin vines. We also have space for strawberries. We started out with two store-bought plants and in three years we have well over 100 plants! I have gotten a bit more strawberries each year and look forward to having even more this year. We are wanting to expand our gardening this year and are thinking about incorporating more containers as these can rest on the driveway (it can get blistering hot and I sometimes move them if it gets too intense), and we have a small area that can be dug up near the strawberries (less grass, but who eats grass?). We cannot grow anything except herbs in containers in front of house as it is too shady in most areas

and just not feasible, though I do grow impatiens and other flowers in pots on porch. We also usually grow a small plot of sunflowers out back for the birds to eat (I have had the blessed fun of watching the goldfinches eat right off the flower heads). I'd kind of like to find an area for a small bit of horseradish (perennial and can be invasive), and I'd like to be able to grow some other root veggies like carrots and turnips and may try a few in containers this year to see how they do. I can or freeze all the extra food we harvest that we cannot eat immediately. Last summer I canned over 70 quarts and 20 pints of stewed tomatoes (onions and green peppers came from our own garden, I just had to but celery), over 20 pints of bread and butter pickles, 9 half pints of pickled banana peppers (we only had 3 plants), over 20 quarts and around 10 pints of green beans, and I froze several large containers of chopped and sliced (depending on what

recipe I want to use them for) bell peppers in various colors. I cut the peppers up and place them in cleaned and dry 16 and 24 ounce sour cream or cottage cheese containers and these run me through the next growing season so that I always have them on hand. I don't mark the green peppers, but on the top lids of containers I put a "Y" or an "O" or an "R" for either yellow, orange or red peppers so I know at a glance what kind is inside. We obviously cannot grow corn as there is just not enough room~even if I was to plant in squares instead of rows. Just about anyone can grow a few of their own fresh veggies to have on hand for the summer. My kids love being able to go outside and pick a fresh tomato and cut a few pieces of lettuce for bacon sandwiches or hamburgers. Nothing like fresh food to get the kids interested in helping out. I do have a question: Has anyone on this board tried growing the small patio

blueberry bushes I have seen advertised in seed/plant catalogs? I have been wanting to get a couple and try them. These grow in pots on the patio and after about three years they supposedly will yield about 5 pounds each of berries. I live in Ohio (zone 5) and would love to grow my own as I buy around 10 pounds every year (fresh) when on sale and freeze them to use all year round. I would love to be able to grow my own. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated. We also over-winter a double round up rose, a couple of other plants (I have no clue what they are as my husband trash-picked them from his boss' trash as they had been purchased in Florida for a horse show exhibit area) and some double impatiens in pots for the winter. These have over-wintered well as this is the second year we've done this. They are in our basement near a south facing window so they get sunlight every time the sun decides to come out. It is a bit

cooler in our basement than the rest of the house so they don't need a lot of hardening off to get used to being back outside. We also have several plants in the dining room bay window area (south side) which include aloe vera, parsley, chives, and thyme, besides regular houseplants such as Christmas Cactus (in bloom, by the way!), a spider plant, a chrysanthemum, some greenery (I am not sure of the names), including a vine, and a huge African violet. I also have some impatiens in water in window sill of kitchen (north side) that I over-winter there every year to start my new plants in the spring when I repot them into hanging baskets. My husband is our gardener and he mixes up his own batches of store-bought soil mix, peat, manure, and this year we have some of our own compost he will add as we began to compost in earnest last year and have some of that good dark, rich, live soil to add to our gardens this year. He made a composter out of

an old trash can and we turn it daily. (http://www.ehow. com/how_4750118_ make-homemade- compost.html) and this works well for us and takes up minimal space.Hope this helps to motivate all of you~even those of you who may live in an apartment. Blessings, LoriSchooling is not education, and education is not schooling~John Taylor Gatto

 

herbal remediesmicki_ (AT) charter (DOT) netSat, 28 Feb 2009 00:31:22 -0800{Herbal Remedies} Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden

 

 

 

If you don't have room for a small garden you can plant in large containers and just have a few plants on your deck. It's so easy to till a small plot and get it ready, than order organic seeds, many of the seeds available in stores are GMO. One must be careful with the seed they use in their gardens. My first garden all I did was to spade a small patch of ground. I worked in a big bag of organic mulch than planted my seeds. It grew beautifully and I was so proud of it. That was over 30 years ago. I do not have room for a garden where I live now, but I have plenty of deck that receives sunlight and plants grow in containers very well. I always try to encourage those who do not have a patch of soil to plant this way. It works, and you know you are getting home grown organic food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Find out more.

[Guest guest]

herbal remedies , " Micki " <micki_ wrote:

>

> If you don't have room for a small garden you can plant in large

containers and just have a few plants on your deck. It's so easy to

till a small plot and get it ready, than order organic seeds, many of

the seeds available in stores are GMO. One must be careful with the

seed they use in their gardens. My first garden all I did was to spade

a small patch of ground. I worked in a big bag of organic mulch than

planted my seeds. It grew beautifully and I was so proud of it. That

was over 30 years ago. I do not have room for a garden where I live

now, but I have plenty of deck that receives sunlight and plants grow

in containers very well. I always try to encourage those who do not

have a patch of soil to plant this way. It works, and you know you are

getting home grown organic food.

>

 

An article from mother earth news written in June 1976. Containers are

a fantastic way to grow if you dont have the space in a garden. I have

found it to be more expensive than " traditional " methods, at least for

me, but your mileage may vary.

 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1976-05-01/A-Tisket-A-

Tasket-A-Garden-in-a-Basket.aspx

 

Glenn in Long Island NY

Zone 7

[Guest guest]

I rent and put in a small garden plot in the backyard anyway.

Also I have 6 self watering pots (they have space for water in the

bottom- its very hot and dry where I live and I don't have green

fingers. This keeps them alive when I forget to water. ) They are full

of culinary herbs. I just picked up 10 different medicinal herbs in pots

from someone moving interstate, and repotted them into big pots, so they

are now sitting on my verandah too. And, I have 4 polystyrene boxes

filled with the best organic mix with dandilion, rocket, snow peas,

lettuce and dill sprouting in them, on my verandah.

You can do a lot with minimal time, space and money, if you are keen.

Peela in Australia

[Guest guest]

Hi Linda,

 

Some produce items do need to be blanched to stop the ripemning process. Example: green beans need blanched.

You can google the info on how to do this. Here are a couple of links I found of many:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5333.html

http://www.vegetableexpert.co.uk/how-freeze-keep-vegetables-you-ve-grown.html

 

The green peppers (and red, yellow, orange, etc) do not need to be blanched. I just either dice or cut them into strips and freeze them.

 

Pickling peppers is so easy that a 10 year old could do it. Ditto for bread and butter pickles.

 

My African Violet is absolutely humongous! All I did was to keep it in a southern window all the time and water it once a week. As it grew I had to transplant it two other times. Afrcican violets like ot be in a small pot (don't plant them in a very large pot that is much bigger around than the plant it). My violet is over 10 years old and it stayed in same the same pot for about 5-6 years before I had to transplant it. I also feed it a couple of times a year with basic plant food sticks.

 

I really don't know what I have done because I have never seen one this big before. It has purple flowers and was given to me by a friend bought straight from the store. If yours is just a year old then wait and it will grow as long as you keep it in a sunny window (but not direct sun, I have lace sheers) and give it a drink every week, making sure you do not get the leaves wet. I also just give my plant tapwater. Violets grow "sucker" plants and this is probably why mine is huge as I've never pinched it back. My plant is about 10" or so across and just huge.

 

Lori

"The government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.,And if it stops moving, subsidize it." --President Ronald Reagan, 1986

 

herbal remedies From: kentarrDate: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 04:58:07 +0000{Herbal Remedies} Re: Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden

 

 

 

Lori, I have a few questions for you. First, thank you for the informative post! You've got me excited to grow a lot of things this year.How do you freeze produce? Do you have to cook them in any way first, or just wash and freeze?How do you grow a giant African violet? Mine are the same size as when I bought them a year ago. Thanks!Lindaherbal remedies , V Smith <mysecretgarden wrote:>> Wow, I'm new to this board, but thank you for sharing. I have been gardening for over 20years. My children are all grown up and I've just been lazy and steady complaining about the price of good organic produce. I have space and I will get off my bum and get busy again. Thank you. V> > --- On Sat, 2/28/09, Lori Smith <homeschoolmom42 wrote:> > Lori Smith <homeschoolmom42> RE: {Herbal Remedies} Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden> "Bryan Schillington" <herbal_remedies >> Saturday, February 28, 2009, 10:10 AM> > > > > > > My husband and I live on a small lot (50'x123') in the city. The back yard is out as it is too shady, there is a huge black walnut stump where the tree used to be (puts out tannins and most plants won't grow near them), and we have two huge dogs that have ruined my back yard this winter), so we garden in all available spaces on south side of house and garage, behind garage (though it doesn't get the sun it should), and in many, many containers since ground space is limited due to our wide cement drive. We grow herbs of all kinds in containers, leaf lettuces, green onions, radishes, cherry tomatoes, various pepper plants (Scotch Bonnets, Banana, Cayenne), and flowers in containers. We have a couple of raised beds my husband put in (though not as raised as some people use) and we grow pole beans up one fence area, red and yellow onions, red and white potatoes (Pontiac and Kennebec, respectively) , pickling cukes up a tipi my husband makes from leftover> wood from work (he's in construction) , heirloom tomatoes (Marglobe) and hybrids (Early Girl or Celebrity~my husband likes these for sandwiches and we plant them separate from the Marglobes), cabbages, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, garlic, and this year I want to grow a couple of pumpkin vines. We also have space for strawberries. We started out with two store-bought plants and in three years we have well over 100 plants! I have gotten a bit more strawberries each year and look forward to having even more this year.> > We are wanting to expand our gardening this year and are thinking about incorporating more containers as these can rest on the driveway (it can get blistering hot and I sometimes move them if it gets too intense), and we have a small area that can be dug up near the strawberries (less grass, but who eats grass?). We cannot grow anything except herbs in containers in front of house as it is too shady in most areas and just not feasible, though I do grow impatiens and other flowers in pots on porch. We also usually grow a small plot of sunflowers out back for the birds to eat (I have had the blessed fun of watching the goldfinches eat right off the flower heads).> > I'd kind of like to find an area for a small bit of horseradish (perennial and can be invasive), and I'd like to be able to grow some other root veggies like carrots and turnips and may try a few in containers this year to see how they do. I can or freeze all the extra food we harvest that we cannot eat immediately. Last summer I canned over 70 quarts and 20 pints of stewed tomatoes (onions and green peppers came from our own garden, I just had to but celery), over 20 pints of bread and butter pickles, 9 half pints of pickled banana peppers (we only had 3 plants), over 20 quarts and around 10 pints of green beans, and I froze several large containers of chopped and sliced (depending on what recipe I want to use them for) bell peppers in various colors. I cut the peppers up and place them in cleaned and dry 16 and 24 ounce sour cream or cottage cheese containers and these run me through the next growing season so that I always have them on hand. I don't> mark the green peppers, but on the top lids of containers I put a "Y" or an "O" or an "R" for either yellow, orange or red peppers so I know at a glance what kind is inside.> > We obviously cannot grow corn as there is just not enough room~even if I was to plant in squares instead of rows.> > Just about anyone can grow a few of their own fresh veggies to have on hand for the summer. My kids love being able to go outside and pick a fresh tomato and cut a few pieces of lettuce for bacon sandwiches or hamburgers. Nothing like fresh food to get the kids interested in helping out.> > I do have a question: Has anyone on this board tried growing the small patio blueberry bushes I have seen advertised in seed/plant catalogs? I have been wanting to get a couple and try them. These grow in pots on the patio and after about three years they supposedly will yield about 5 pounds each of berries. I live in Ohio (zone 5) and would love to grow my own as I buy around 10 pounds every year (fresh) when on sale and freeze them to use all year round. I would love to be able to grow my own. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.> > We also over-winter a double round up rose, a couple of other plants (I have no clue what they are as my husband trash-picked them from his boss' trash as they had been purchased in Florida for a horse show exhibit area) and some double impatiens in pots for the winter. These have over-wintered well as this is the second year we've done this. They are in our basement near a south facing window so they get sunlight every time the sun decides to come out. It is a bit cooler in our basement than the rest of the house so they don't need a lot of hardening off to get used to being back outside. We also have several plants in the dining room bay window area (south side) which include aloe vera, parsley, chives, and thyme, besides regular houseplants such as Christmas Cactus (in bloom, by the way!), a spider plant, a chrysanthemum, some greenery (I am not sure of the names), including a vine, and a huge African violet. I also have some impatiens in water in> window sill of kitchen (north side) that I over-winter there every year to start my new plants in the spring when I repot them into hanging baskets.> > My husband is our gardener and he mixes up his own batches of store-bought soil mix, peat, manure, and this year we have some of our own compost he will add as we began to compost in earnest last year and have some of that good dark, rich, live soil to add to our gardens this year. He made a composter out of an old trash can and we turn it daily. > (http://www.ehow. com/how_4750118_ make-homemade- compost.html) and this works well for us and takes up minimal space.> Hope this helps to motivate all of you~even those of you who may live in an apartment.> > Blessings,> > Lori> > Schooling is not education, and education is not schooling~John Taylor Gatto> > > > > > herbal remedies> micki_ (AT) charter (DOT) net> Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:31:22 -0800> {Herbal Remedies} Container Gardens when you can't have a regular Garden> > > > > > If you don't have room for a small garden you can plant in large containers and just have a few plants on your deck. It's so easy to till a small plot and get it ready, than order organic seeds, many of the seeds available in stores are GMO. One must be careful with the seed they use in their gardens. My first garden all I did was to spade a small patch of ground. I worked in a big bag of organic mulch than planted my seeds. It grew beautifully and I was so proud of it. That was over 30 years ago. I do not have room for a garden where I live now, but I have plenty of deck that receives sunlight and plants grow in containers very well. I always try to encourage those who do not have a patch of soil to plant this way. It works, and you know you are getting home grown organic food. > > > > > > > > > > Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Find out more.>

 

Windows Live™: Life without walls. Check it out.