Gardening In Containers

Whether you have a full garden or space limitations, container gardening gives you additional options. Containers like themes. Space limitations allow you to plant containers for need or aesthetics. Veggies can successfully be grown by picking containers that are large enough and plants that are compatable. Good drainage, proper sun requirements, rich soil, water, and fertilizing are all that's needed.

You don't need to buy expensive planters, get creative! A bushel basket will do just as well as a half whiskey barrel. A 5-gal bucket will do instead of a topsy turvy tomato hanger and you can decorate it yourself with paint, stickers, or cover it with fabric or a vinyl tablecloth to match your decor. You can add basil, strawberries or nasturtium plants to the top. You can also use an upside down tomato cage with a contractor's trash bag liner! Fasten together the small-end prongs of the cage. Make holes in the plastic for drainage and planting.

Make a simple macrame hanger from rope or twine to transform any container into a hanger. Hang from porch, house eaves, trees, shepherd's hook, clothes line...

Use a trellis to create a living wall of pots. Pieces of metal coathangers or heavy duty wire can be shaped into loops to hold individual pots of herbs or flowers for a unique presentation.

Even in a large garden, containers are used to add height or drama. Invasive plants like mints, lily-of-the-valley do well being contained by either sinking a large pot in the ground or raising above so roots never contact the soil. Creating an herb container is not only beautiful, it allows you to have kitchen door access at cooking time. A window box works very well too. You can just line the box with individual pots of herbs rather than planting them so you can bring them in for the winter.

Dead tree stumps make excellent containers! Hollow out a large hole or several smaller ones and plant some trailers like morning glories or ivy. Eventually this will aid the decomposition of the stump. If you like, just plop a pot on top. Add a shallow bowl for a birdbath or butterfly drinker.
A teacup of sugar water will bring hummingbirds or orioles. (1 part sugar to 4 parts water, bring to boil and cool, store excess in fridge)

I hope this inspires you to ty something new. I've used kids toys like wheelbarrow, dumptruck, small chair with seat removed successfully as containers and conversation pieces. An a-frame ladder works as a pot holder. The possibilities are endless and thrifty.

Saving Money And Eating Fresh

Gardening can be easy. Gardening can be hard. Gardening above all should be fun.

Preference for me is to make it easy, cheap, and fun.

I am an Army brat. Having moved every year or two while growing up, I really appreciate having a home and garden. It's amazing what you can fit into a 120'x 60' oceanfront lot.

Let's grow some vegetables. Pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of bright sun. The popular startup plants for veggie gardening are tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and maybe a pepper or two-salad fixings.

You want to plan on one tomato plant per person with an exta for giving to mother-in-law or local food bank. Buy plants by the 6-pack (around $2) as apposed to the $25 plant with the tomatoes ready to eat. Or grow from seed. Growing conditions will dictate when you will be able to harvest tomatoes. Putting them in too early kills the plants or stresses them. They will sit dormant until conditions are right. Because of our prevailing southwest tradewinds on the water, I never get to harvest tomatoes until September. Inland they get theirs in August.

Lettuce is a cool weather crop. Plant in early spring and late summer. Leaf lettuce is easy to grow and harvest the leaves as you need them. Head lettuce gets too many internal bugs and we just don't manage to eat a whole head before it goes to mush.

Cucumbers can be extra fun. You can let them sprawl across an area, grow them up a chainlink fence, or trellis them. I've even seen them grown over a wall. Sprawling cukes will shape themselves into crescents and strange forms. Upright or dangling tend to grow straight and not have the yellow ground contact spot. You do have to make sure they don't form halfway through the fence or trellis. Cukes don't like wet feet so plant 2 or 3 into a one foot hill of soil. Seed is easy and cheap. Again, one plant per person is good. Pick a size that you will eat.

Peppers can be tempermental. Any of the smaller hot varieties grow well. Bell peppers on the otherhand have their good season or bad. I only get 4 or 5 peppers per plant. Half will be big enough to stuff which is good for the two of us. Hot peppers can be very prolific. Choose your taste. You don't need too many plants.

Broccoli is another good choice and is grown early. After the initial big floret, side florets will sustain you.

Now for the garden.
If you have the space, plan 4'x8' raised areas for veggies. Three would be a good start. Get 3 6"x8' planks of cedar per raised bed. No pressure treated, you don't want to kill anyone with chemicals. Cut one plank in half for end pieces to make frames. Although frames are not necessary, they really look good and keep everything neat. Lay down weed cloth or a thick layer of newspaper (soak to hold in place) in 4'x8' areas. Arrange your frames on top. I glue and nail mine together. A wooden stake in each corner pounded into the ground and then nailed to frame makes it pretty permanent.

Fill each with a mixture of topsoil, compost, and veggie fertilizer. If you don't use frames, pile the soil. All ready to plant.

If you just want to get your feet wet, lettuce makes a nice border plant in a sunny flower garden. Tomatoes planted between the shrubs in front of your house adds interest. A tub of radishes or carrots by the door is fun for the kids. Peppers in the window boxes add a new layer.

The flavor of fresh picked veggies is unsurpassed. Even Farmer's Markets aren't as good as what you yourself grow. Watch out, you will be expanding your cooking expertise with unique new ways to use your harvest.

Enjoy!

Combatting The Winter Blues...

Snow on the garden acts as a blanket protecting and watering perennials. It also aids the decomposition of mulch and debris. Insects, their eggs, fungus, and disease are also harbored.

Now is the time to do serious tree pruning before the sap starts flowing. Make sure to trim off broken branches. Check that evergreens are protected from drying winds and heavy snows. Don't trim spring flowering trees and shrubs or you'll take off the flower buds. Trim these after flowering.

Although it is winter, growing still takes place. The tulips, crocuses, and snowdrops are starting to show above ground. The garlic and curly kale are doing nicely. The rhubarb balls of leaves are just itching to unfurl. The clematis is showing signs of leaf buds ready to pop open.

You can begin searching for pussy willows to bring in. Take cuttings of forsythia to force indoors for a touch of fresh spring color.

Now is the time to plan this year's garden. Browse the catalogs for seeds, plants, trees, and shrubs. Get your supplies together for seeds you will grow indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date.