Serious Green: Planting a Container Garden
While plenty of us would love to be outdoor gardens in our hypothetical sprawling backyards, the reality is that many of us lack the space to do so. Especially in urban areas, many apartment-dwellers don't have a square inch of soil to call their own. But container-potted plants can flourish in all kinds of unlikely spaces. (And not just that geranium on your windowsill.) Here are a few tips for planning your own container garden:
Think Beyond the Herb Garden
While you'll never get a cornfield or an apple tree on your fire escape, some surprisingly sizeable vegetables do just fine: cauliflower, beans, carrots, eggplants, potatoes, and greens from kale to romaine lettuce. This handy guide from Sunset magazine helps you determine the best pot for each plant. [via The Kitchn]
Know Your Sunlight
Before you start planting, make sure you know how much direct light your outdoor space gets each day. Many lettuces are all right in partial shade, but heartier veggies drink up all the sun they can get.
Investigate and Invest
Seeds planted in low-quality soil might not take, and salvaged plastic pots will quickly wither and warp under the sun. And many kinds of wooden crates will rot within a season or two. While planting in a milk jug can be a fun project, more serious gardeners should invest in decent ceramic pots or a redwood window box that won't give out before your carrots sprout.
Have you tried planting a container garden? How has it worked out?
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17 Comments:
I plant a container garden on my patio every year. I mainly do herbs though as the squirrels always 'eat' anything with a flower on it. They don't bother the herbs though. I love making dinner with the herbs I grow. Delicious!
kimbit at 9:23PM on 05/23/09
We live in an urban environment but are lucky to have a 1500 square foot rooftop to ourselves. 1000 sq ft of that is dedicated to my bfs garden. He's quite ambitious! We do have to be careful to place planters so as to not put undue stress on the roof but it's been very successful. There has been more than one year where I've been canning produce at the end of the season.
Tomatoes, lettuce and peppers always do well. Bf also builds lines for peas, cucumbers, squash to grow on - with varying success. He's also been planting carrots, beets, onions, asparagus, and every herb there is. Flowers are mixed in - and for my amusement he plants some corn. They do shoot up and start to produce cobs, but never quite produce. But he plants them for me because I think they look nice. We are still learning.
Oh, and don't forget strawberries! Just make sure to protect them from squirrels.
The funny thing is that when you search our address on google maps and look at the houses on my street, you see black rooftops all down the block - and then there is ours - green!
potroast at 9:28PM on 05/23/09
This year I got rid of my grass in my tiny yard and planted a small garden. I put the peas and cucumbers in tomato cages so they don't take much room. I've got several tomato plants, including San Marzanos. We planted some squash, eggplant, and zucchini. The leeks are doing well, as are the garlic and herbs. The strawberries are doing especially well considering it's their first year. The city keeps telling us to conserve water, so to me this is my water banking program.
beth1 at 10:13PM on 05/23/09
Love this post...
I have been growing herbs and flowers on the lower patio of my condo.
On my upper balcony, away from the rabbits, I have successfully grown tomatoes, lettuce, kale, peppers, peas, carrots and beans.
I always havest more than our family can use and it is wonderful
to be able to either share or can what I have grown.
I have already have my wonderful plantings in place for this season
and look forward to watching my food-bank grow over the summer.
metrogirl at 11:38PM on 05/23/09
I've got a beginner's pot garden in the backyard. We have two types of tomatos, strawberry plants (the type we chose is slow to yield but promises flavorful berries in about two months...I'm hoping the chipmunks and squirrels don't get them first.), and parsley, basil and cilantro. Once I get the hang of this, maybe I'll spread out to more adventurous plants!
fuuchan at 12:33AM on 05/24/09
I've planted tomatoes and cucumbers in pots with success - herbs as well. This year, we are branching out to brussel sprouts, beans, peas, two kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I'm using my front porch and my back one (second story so the animals cannot feast - well, the squirrels might!). My daughter (10) and I are going to be working on this today, despite the rain.
Maureen at 8:13AM on 05/24/09
With the right equipment and technique you can easily grow veg and herbs in containers. While I have a good size yard and flower garden I also have deer. Instead I have planted peas, zuchini, mesclun, peppers, chard, spinach and others on my 200 square foot deck. I use homemade SIPS (Sub Irrigated Planters) and a fantastic system called an EarthBox with great success. Next up are potatoes, watermelon and onions.
msmoren at 8:32AM on 05/24/09
Growing your own herbs lets you produce fine dishes at far less cost, especially if you focus on the herbs that are easily grown. Plant rosemary in big pot and leave it alone until it can hold up to being pruned. Get the flat leaf variety if you can find it. Basil is easy to grow, but don't fertilize it too much. If you grow your basil fast it will come up short on taste. Sage, thyme, marjoram and oregano are easily grown and the "grow slow" caution applies to them as well. Parsley and cilantro are a little trickier and can usually be had at the grocers' for less than it costs to grow them. Sage, there are several varieties, can be grown in containers and it is cost effective to grow at home as well.
Tomatoes are tempting, especially if you like them in your salads, but I have found it more cost effective to devote the space I would use for tomatoes to bell peppers and the like.
Grumpy Old Man at 9:18AM on 05/24/09
I just started my first potted garden less than a week ago. My apartment get a lot of sun and I love love fresh herbs so I thought I would give it a go. I currently have two types of tomatoes, two types of basil, parsley and thyme... Only thing that isn't looking great at the moment is the parsley. I just thought it would be a fun experiment.
jlweber at 9:42AM on 05/24/09
I have a good-sized in-ground garden, but I still grow things in pots. A few weeks ago one of my housemates came home with fabric pots, and I think I'm in love. They're lightweight, supposedly good for the plants, and you can empty, clean and fold them up at the end of the season. I think they'd be perfect for apartment gardeners.
They're called Smart Pots. There's a website (smartpots.com), but we found them even cheaper on Amazon.
kurteye at 10:55AM on 05/24/09
Urban container gardening is a wonderfully rewarding hobby. We don't have much space here in South Philly, but we have tomatoes, chard, cucumbers, melon, beans, eggplant, herbs, and more sprouting quite happily. For an account of our efforts, check out plantsondeck.wordpress.com. Happy Gardening!
plantsondeck at 12:20PM on 05/25/09
I had a small in-ground garden in my last place. Now I'm in an apartment so I'm trying real container gardening for the first time. (Last year I had one tomato in a pot that did okay until my neighbors and critters stole my first harvest and I gave up on it.) This week, I'll be repotting peppers, tomatoes, and a stray sunflower that ended up in the basket of plants that my mom brought from her own fabulous garden. Here's hoping they will be good additions to the herbs and the tomato plant I already have. I would also like to try my hand at pickling cucumbers and some green beans.
CooksForOne at 7:33PM on 05/26/09
The tricky bit with pots is that they tend to dry out fast. However, don't use pots with reservoir bottoms. Those are bad news because they will cause the roots to die from a lack of oxygen. Use pots that drain and check them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening upon returning home. Some herbs prefer less water than others. Tailor your watering program for each type of plant.
Grumpy Old Man at 4:00PM on 05/27/09
We live on an island where deer are protected and therefore we have to resort to container gardening. We use strawberry pots for herbs and put a tomato plant in the top. It is a great way take advantage of small spaces. Before you plant in a clay strawberry pot, soak the pot in water so as not have the pot draw the moisture out of your new plants. The biggest ongoing problem is keeping clay pots from drying out. It makes travel a problem unless you have a friend to water them while you are gone. Check out my strawberry pot at my blog: http://frippliving.blogspot.com/
IslandFoodie at 9:32AM on 06/01/09
I am in Michigan so we have a short growing season with possibilities of frost right up unti June, so I love my container garden that sits on a large table in my back yard, 'cause it is easy to cover when there is a frost forecast. I have half dozen planter boxes for my sweet basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, chives and Thai Basil(awesome). Then I graduate to deeper, wider containers for eggplant, okra, and yes, even some corn. I have half dozen five gallon paint buckets for different tomatoes. I plant zucchini, summer squash and greens along the fence to climb. I have lived in this house for 65 years and it has huge lawns and lots of space for a garden, but also have a back problem so it's wonderful to have a garden that one doesn't have to bend over to keep cultivated. It is at least 8-9 hours in bright sunshine and it is perfect just for myself. Container gardening is a zen thing and no one hears you talking or singing to your plants. They really respond to you, (and a little Miracle-gro helps too.)
susitee at 11:38AM on 06/01/09
I built Square Foot Gardens this year. just 1/3 vermiculite 1/3 compost 1/3 peet moss, no fertilizer, no nothing. its working great!
seikel at 12:40PM on 06/02/09
I started my first vegatable garden this year in pots outside my townhome as well. I live in South Florida (soon to be Hartford CT), I have a tomato plant, a jalepeno plant, and a banana pepper plant. I also have tyme, basil, sage, and parsely as well, all doing vey well. The jalepenos are just now starting to blossom like crazy, so I am looking forward to being in pepper paridise! I made corn bread last night with cheddar cheese and fresh jalepeno from the plant!
southeasterneater at 5:16PM on 06/04/09