Container gardening

[polgara]

We have really terrible soil and it's tricky to excavate and replace it where I am. My backyard borders a saltwater marsh and across the street in the front is the Atlantic Ocean. The soil is semi-sandy for the most part.

We wanted to dig up some beds in the back and add new soil, but turns out that there is fill just a few inches below the surface. Years ago, they weren't so particular about the environment and this fill is full of metal scraps and glass.

Anyway, all that is to explain that I want to do a larger scale container garden in the spring. I've grown tomatoes but that's it. I know other vegetables must be able to be grown in big pots or buckets, right?

 

[ChanellG]

I grow everything in containers. The last time I had a container garden my vegetables didn't do so well, but I was told it was because I didn't fertilize/feed them. Right now all I have are herbs and very small fruit plants, but there are a lot of books and articles on container gardening and there are special varieties of food plants that are recommended for containers, some can even be grown indoors. So yes, it can be done.

 

[jubbly]

I grow lots of stuff in containers and it seems much easier to get a good crop. Just put in a mixture of soil, shop bought compost and your own home made compost or fertilizer.

I grow parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, green beans. All good choices for container growing.

 

[ChanellG]

Are parsnips easy to grow? I've only recently started eating them and I really like the flavor. I read that it is better to grow potatoes in containers because then you don't have to worry that you've missed any that could rot in the soil. When you grow green beans in containers, what do you use for them to climb?

 

[kate23]

Right now I'm growing tomatoes and peppers in containers. I wanted to put the tomatoes in the ground since I think they generally grow better in the ground (though maybe not here...Florida soil is sandy with lots of nematodes) but then I figured I'd keep them in the containers so I could keep them through the winter by moving them indoors when there's a freeze. If they're in the ground I couldn't do that of course.

 

[vrobnson]

I only have a little patch of land on the back of my townhouse for a garden and the soil isn't the best anyway; it's Georgia red clay. (I had the hardest time digging it up to plant my bulbs in the front yard). I planted tomatoes in a huge container this past summer but I would like to try my hand at a few more veggies next summer. Maybe cucumbers, spinach, lettuce and bellpeppers. Has anyone every planted these veggies in containers?

 

[ChanellG]

I don't grow peppers because I don't eat them, especially bell peppers, but I know plenty of people who have had success with peppers and tomatoes in pots, buckets and large containers. Tomatoes are good companions for herbs like basil, and I've even seen cherry tomato plants self seed when some of the fruit is left to wither and drop off. Having plants in containers that can be moved helps protect them from heavy storms too, not just winter frost and freezes.

 

[polgara]

I didn't know you could do root vegetables like potatoes and onions. I probably won't bother with potatoes but I'll definitely try onions - we use a lot of those and they keep well when stored properly. I've got to do some research, plus try to collect enough containers over the winter so I can start up earlier this spring.

 

[ChanellG]

I can't remember where I read that article, but here is another one that tells you what size container you need, how much soil, and which varieties of a bunch of different vegetables work best in containers. It's very thorough: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html

 

[jubbly]

I didn't know you could do root vegetables like potatoes and onions. I probably won't bother with potatoes but I'll definitely try onions - we use a lot of those and they keep well when stored properly. I've got to do some research, plus try to collect enough containers over the winter so I can start up earlier this spring.

I use sacks that are sold in pound shops in the UK. They work quite effectively and if you want to put them away in winter then obviously they fold down very small.

 

[ChanellG]

I use sacks that are sold in pound shops in the UK. They work quite effectively and if you want to put them away in winter then obviously they fold down very small.

I saw something in a book where potatoes were grown in a large bag of soil. If I remember correctly, the person just poked holes in it and planted the potatoes, eliminating the need for a container.

 

[jubbly]

I saw something in a book where potatoes were grown in a large bag of soil. If I remember correctly, the person just poked holes in it and planted the potatoes, eliminating the need for a container.

Indeed. You can grow potatoes in anything. It just needs to be big enough and have some drainage.

For maximum yield you need to be able to keep adding soil to cover the leaves as it grows.

I take a sack, put gravel at the bottom to improve drainage then put about 2 inches of soil over. Put the potato seeds in (3 per sack) then just cover them with soil. As soon as they reach about 8 inches high of green growth I put more soil on so just the tops stick out. Then continue this until the sack is full.

 

[ChanellG]

Wow, I didn't know you had to keep covering it like that. I thought you just planted the seeds and that was it. It's too bad you can't grow new potatoes from old ones. Is it easy to save seeds from one crop to start a new one?

 

[jubbly]

I do grow new potatoes from old ones. Lot's of people advise against it but if you buy some organic potatoes from the supermarket and then just keep 3 of them, let them sprout a little, then plant them and they will grow fine.

The risk of disease is not significant because you are putting them in containers so you won't be contaminatng your soil.

 

[ChanellG]

Oh cool! I had some from Whole Foods that I didn't use before they sprouted and then I read that you had to start them from seed so I didn't bother to plant them. Next time I'll keep an extra one just to experiment with. Do you have to keep them whole after they sprout or can you cut them?