My husband watches this show called Grow, Cook, Eat. It’s two people in Ireland who show you how to grow everything in beds or containers. It’s so informative about soil, considerations, etc. Each episode is dedicated to one food (tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, etc).
We have a billion herbs, strawberries and peas in containers.
This is my first year growing in containers, other than herbs. I read that tomato plants need a lot of space and so we followed a guidance that said one tomato plant per 24 inch pot and cage. In one of them, we have basil plant on the side, and the other one we have nasturtium seeds scattered around the tomato plant. We have one other 24 inch pot that has a mini bell pepper plant and jalapeño plant sharing a cage. And, we have a smaller pot with herbs. I’m interested to see how it goes this summer!
I attempted a container garden several years ago and it it was a miserable failure. This year I’m trying again but only with herbs. Im having my husband build me a tiered shelf so it looks fancier
This is my 2nd year container gardening. I mostly use smart pots (cloth pots,) or their generic Amazon version for my containers. I'm growing sugar snap peas, green beans, zucchini, brussel sprouts, herbs and peppers. I may still add a tomato plant. I'm also growing Zinnias from seeds in pots and they are off to a strong start. I want to do a lot more but don't want to get in over my head.
I do both raised bed and containers. In my experience, the biggest difference is that the containers dry out more quickly than the bed and need more frequent watering.
For soil, I use a variation of "Mel's Mix" from Square Foot Gardening in both containers and beds. But instead of 1/3 each compost, vermiculite, and peat, I do more like 50% compost, 30% vermiculite, and 20% peat.
I replace about a foot of soil in the containers each year. With my larger containers, that's about halfway down, and with the smaller pots, I replace it all. I use the old soil to patch any holes in the yard or add to a landscaping bed if needed. What I can't use goes into a yard waste bag and gets put out for pickup. In the raised bed, some soil mysteriously disappears during the winter, so I just add more each spring.
Also I can't tell from the photo, but if you have multiple tomato plants in one container, I would separate each one into its own container. They're going to grow a lot.
My other gardening tip is Espoma Garden Tone and Tomato Tone. They're organic fertilizers and I apply them a few times a season, once shortly after planting and then once or twice more throughout the growing season.
ETA: Basil and oregano are good to grow with or near tomatoes, as are flowers like nasturtium and marigolds. If you don't have room in the same container, you can place separate pots next to them.
Also I can't tell from the photo, but if you have multiple tomato plants in one container, I would separate each one into its own container. They're going to grow a lot.
Damn. Yes--multiple tomato plants. I should have asked this before I did it. LOL I guess I'll try to separate.
Also I can't tell from the photo, but if you have multiple tomato plants in one container, I would separate each one into its own container. They're going to grow a lot.
Damn. Yes--multiple tomato plants. I should have asked this before I did it. LOL I guess I'll try to separate.
It looks like a great start, but yes, you definitely want one tomato plant per pot. They will get a lot bigger! You may need to separate the other plants too. Eggplant and cucumber will likely need more space. I've never had great luck with bell pepper plants, so mine never grew that big
We have a bunch of containers. I did raised beds several times but they're just a beating, trying to battle the weeds. So this year I told H it was containers or nothing. Our biggest container is this old flat boat we've had but never use. I love it. The first photo is when we filled it on April 15th and the second two photos are just a month later. It's even more full now and we've already harvested about 15 cucumbers.
In addition to the boat, we have about 8 large flowerpots, 8 5-gallon buckets, 3 large recycle bins, and a few other smaller pots with herbs.
We have a bunch of containers. I did raised beds several times but they're just a beating, trying to battle the weeds. So this year I told H it was containers or nothing. Our biggest container is this old flat boat we've had but never use. I love it. The first photo is when we filled it on April 15th and the second two photos are just a month later. It's even more full now and we've already harvested about 15 cucumbers.
In addition to the boat, we have about 8 large flowerpots, 8 5-gallon buckets, 3 large recycle bins, and a few other smaller pots with herbs.
Dumb question, why do raised beds get more weeds than pots? Just bigger surface area? To me, it appears raised beds are basically giant pots, aren't they?
Dumb question, why do raised beds get more weeds than pots? Just bigger surface area? To me, it appears raised beds are basically giant pots, aren't they?
Because the raised beds are basically connected to the ground so they're much more prone to have grass and weeds grow up through them. We tried every weed barrier on the market but none of them worked.
wildrice, I put my pots on my deck so no weeds. Our raised beds were just one weed after another. It was absolutely horrendous. I could have spent an hour each day pulling weeds and they still came back. We hired some guys to come in and pull the beds out and I seriously never felt more relieved.
wildrice , I put my pots on my deck so no weeds. Our raised beds were just one weed after another. It was absolutely horrendous. I could have spent an hour each day pulling weeds and they still came back. We hired some guys to come in and pull the beds out and I seriously never felt more relieved.
Hmm. We have a concrete area in our yard (I think there may have at one point been a shed there that was removed) and I'm thinking of doing a raised bed on top of that. I am guessing that wouldn't be as much of a weed issue since it would be on concrete?
Weeds are the worst. Both our front and backyard are basically all weeds
Dumb question, why do raised beds get more weeds than pots? Just bigger surface area? To me, it appears raised beds are basically giant pots, aren't they?
Most of them don't have a bottom to them, just sides to hold in the soil, so the weeds grow right up through them. When we built our raised bed, we laid down weed barrier first and that kept it weed free for I think two years? But eventually they worked their way through. The only way to fix it would be to remove all of the soil, lay down new weed barrier, and refill it with soil, and that would be such a pain in the butt. I still use my raised bed, but I definitely have to weed it just as much as our in-ground landscaping beds, which is a lot.
I would love to get beds like this. Then they are just like giant pots, so there would be less weeding, and less bending over to maintain them. Filling them and replenishing the soil would be harder, but that's just once a year. ETA although maybe not for tomatoes. I would need a stepladder to reach the top! lol.
We have a concrete area in our yard (I think there may have at one point been a shed there that was removed) and I'm thinking of doing a raised bed on top of that. I am guessing that wouldn't be as much of a weed issue since it would be on concrete?
wildrice , I put my pots on my deck so no weeds. Our raised beds were just one weed after another. It was absolutely horrendous. I could have spent an hour each day pulling weeds and they still came back. We hired some guys to come in and pull the beds out and I seriously never felt more relieved.
Hmm. We have a concrete area in our yard (I think there may have at one point been a shed there that was removed) and I'm thinking of doing a raised bed on top of that. I am guessing that wouldn't be as much of a weed issue since it would be on concrete?
Weeds are the worst. Both our front and backyard are basically all weeds
I don't know. Someone else might have better advice, but I'm nervous because you say your yard is all weeds. Those effers spread like fire and all it took was a week where I got really busy that they got totally out of hand and I basically had to surrender. I look at pictures of people with these beautiful beds with no weeds and it does not compute to me. I really don't know how they do it. I tried several weed barriers too.
Post by lilafowler on May 29, 2020 13:00:29 GMT -5
Ooooh! I finished my planting yesterday-now I just need to assemble my mini greenhouse (I mostly use it to protect my peppers from the birds-those guys LOVE baby peppers) and arrange on a few stands my dad is making. I have tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, 3 kinds of mint, basil, rosemary and thyme (no parsley though 😉). Oh and Swiss chard.
I built a few planters and have strawberries in one and then a cherry tomato plant, three kinds of peppers and basil in the other. This is my first year so I have no clue what I'm doing.
I do plan to bring the strawberries inside over the winter because I want them live.
I have one more container and I may plant the pumpkin my neighbor gave us. He planted one or two and now has like 50 coming up. I don't want that kind of growth!
Can herbs live forever if you bring them inside in the winter?
Some of them will...rosemary, for example. But some varieties are basically annuals so they may not do so well. But it's worth a shot if you have a good spot for it in your house.
Dumb question, why do raised beds get more weeds than pots? Just bigger surface area? To me, it appears raised beds are basically giant pots, aren't they?
Most of them don't have a bottom to them, just sides to hold in the soil, so the weeds grow right up through them. When we built our raised bed, we laid down weed barrier first and that kept it weed free for I think two years? But eventually they worked their way through. The only way to fix it would be to remove all of the soil, lay down new weed barrier, and refill it with soil, and that would be such a pain in the butt. I still use my raised bed, but I definitely have to weed it just as much as our in-ground landscaping beds, which is a lot.
I would love to get beds like this. Then they are just like giant pots, so there would be less weeding, and less bending over to maintain them. Filling them and replenishing the soil would be harder, but that's just once a year. ETA although maybe not for tomatoes. I would need a stepladder to reach the top! lol.
My husband made me 2 of these, and they work beautifully for me, especially since I cannot squat down to the ground. I have one filled with herbs and they are going absolutely nuts.
Can herbs live forever if you bring them inside in the winter?
Some of them will...rosemary, for example. But some varieties are basically annuals so they may not do so well. But it's worth a shot if you have a good spot for it in your house.
I planted chives in my moms front garden over 20 years ago (against her wishes as she hates anything in the onion family). They don’t even use it as a vegetable garden anymore and those chives come up every year. My mom has tried weed whacking them, pulling them out...everything. 🤣
I do a lot of my herbs in old metal water troughs. They're pretty big so I can plant a lot in there and they don't hold water anymore so it was nice to repurpose them into something useful. One is dedicated solely to mints because that shit spreads everywhere.