Growing In Containers

It’s Spring and we’ve got the planting bug. Flowers, trees, vegetables and herbs are flying off the shelves of the local big box stores and nurseries. Loads of people who want to get involved, don’t do so because of space constraints. I totally get it, because my wife and I are living in a second floor apartment with no garden space. I’m going to devote the next few paragraphs with some ideas on how to get around space problems. I’m also going to suggest how this will help you deal with a tyrannical Home Owners Association that refuses to allow gardens, even in the back yard of your property.

The short answer to all the issues mentioned above is, container growing. Even if you’ve only got a tiny space, or if you’ve got HOA Nazi’s watching your every move, containers can save you.

First, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. You can arrange them all sorts of creative ways, mixing flowers, trees, and bushes with edibles, in eye appealing arrangements that will satisfy nearly everyone in your neighborhood.

You can have anything from bags, to the fanciest ornamental pots. And anything you can grow in the ground, will grow in a container. It’s just that the care is a bit different. You may have to fertilize and water more, and you may have to spend a little time in pruning and shaping some things.

I’ve even grown apple and citrus trees in containers. I chose the varieties carefully, from a catalogue, rather than a big box garden center, but they were gorgeous. I just remembered, I’ve grown pear trees and pineapple plants in containers, too.

This year, everything is going in containers, Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, lettuce, the whole garden. And to be fair, I’m having to use three properties; a friend’s greenhouse, the space around the outside of our apartment building, and the back path at our Church. But the thing is, I really want a garden, so I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to make it happen.

Many edible plants, like herbs and greens look very nice growing in pots. But so do squash plants. They have big beautiful flowers that attract bees and butterflies. If you stake them well, they are gorgeous. And so are beans, especially lima beans and scarlet runners. Take your time and look through seed and plant catalogues for attractive flowers and fruit. If tomatoes, peppers and even eggplant are displayed properly, and the correct varieties are chosen, they can be real eye poppers.

I don’t think there are any herbs that are not spectacular when grown in a container. All you need to do, is search the catalogues, and maybe the internet for ideas on placement and how to display them.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas, drop me a note either in the contact us section of the website, or via email. Don’t let space limitations, or closed minded people, get you down.  It’s Spring. Let your creativity fly.

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Oops Wicking Bed ( And Self Watering Container) Mistakes and Fixes

Earthbox Self Watering Containers

I need to ask your forgiveness. I followed some very bad advice in my container garden this year, and worse, I passed on the information before I tested it. I trusted the source and just ran with the idea. What a mess I made. For once, I hope you ignored my advice. If you listened, I hope the things I’ve learned will help you fix any problems you might be having.

Regular readers know I love wicking beds and self-watering containers. I use them almost exclusively now. They are easy to build and are extremely water efficient. Last year, I even learned that if you have good wicking action, you can top water and don’t need to worry about the fill tube.

Over the winter, the same source who found that top watering was ok, also posted that you don’t need to have rocks or other ‘reservoir’ in the bottom as long as you have good drainage. I got very excited about that and built all my 2014 self-watering containers that way. And…I taught the method in a Gardening 101 workshop this past spring. Who does that? Who passes on a gardening tip that he hasn’t tested? Well, I did.

The results have been disastrous. All the containers I built this way have had poor results: stunted and dying plants. I am getting terrible anaerobic activity in the bottoms of the buckets and containers. It’s a mess. I’m in the process of fixing it now. Fortunately, I only have about 20 containers built this way, mostly buckets, to deal with, so it isn’t too labor intensive.

First, I want to apologize to everyone who listened to me and implemented this. I was WRONG. I should not have recommended something I had not proven out. Please forgive me.

Now for the good news: It’s an easy fix unless you built a huge wicking bed this way. If you stuck to containers like I did, there are two ways to correct it mid growing season. One is to simply pick up the bucket and drill holes in the bottom, or if the plant is too big, drill a hole as close to the bottom as possible. The excess water will drain out and the anaerobic activity will slowly cease.

Alternatively, you can do what I did. I started over. I emptied the buckets into a wheelbarrow (what a stink. Anaerobic soil is foul.). I added fresh soil conditioner and planting mix to it to freshen it. While it rested and drained for a few minutes, I filled the buckets up to the drain hole with lava rock that I got from a Big Box Store. I put a layer of landscape fabric over the rocks and refilled the bucket with planting mix. Simple.

As a control, I emptied two buckets that had been built the right way (as described in the paragraph above). They needed to be replanted because the pigs had eaten the tomatoes out of them. When I emptied them, there was no bad smell, drainage was good and

landscape fabric as wicking material

the plants had strong root growth.

Lesson learned.

I love to hear from you and so do other readers. Please feel free to respond with your own garden mistakes and how you dealt with them.

 

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