Post by SusanBAnthony on May 30, 2020 7:04:39 GMT -5
I am a long time vegetable gardener and have worked at a greenhouse and an organic vegetable farm.
Container gardens are easier for weeds but generally take more work for less veggies IMO.
The first reason is that you have to water them a lot (like daily). The second is the soil will be depleted after one year. The third is that yields will often be low because the container is not large enough and/or temp of the soil is not regulated well.
Raised beds (or planting directly on the ground) do get more weeds but you need to think about what takes more work- daily watering, or weeding. If you spend 15 minutes a day weeding you will keep the weeds under control.
Alternatively for any garden type, the best thing you can do is mulch the crap out of it. Every spring use straw or shredded leaves or bagged grass (if you lawn doesn't have many weeds- we have tons of dandelions in our lawn so I only mulch with the first mowing before they flower). Put a thick layer down in your garden. Weeding will be minimal for the entire summer.
If you are starting a new garden on grass, the best thing to do is plan ahead. Cover the grass with cardboard, then mulch heavily with straw, leaves, or grass. By fall or next spring you are ready to go.
In general don't till. It brings up the weed seeds. Instead add compost and mulch.
Post by InBetweenDays on May 30, 2020 10:25:45 GMT -5
We have some pots on our deck with herbs: Oregano, chives, and thyme in one, basil, cilantro, dill, and lemon verbena in another. Then we have individual pots for rosemary (it will get huge here and I'm going to replant it when our lower yard is finished), mint (to keep it from spreading), and a poblano pepper plant (we never have good luck with peppers but I'm trying again).
It will depend on your climate, but here rosemary and thyme survive year round outside. I just pulled up a big old rosemary plant that had gotten too woody for my liking. The chives come back on there own as do the lemon verbena and oregano. The chives in the green pot in the photo below returned from last year.
Then we have three raised beds where we've planted tomatoes, bush beans, snap peas, kale, squash, and zucchini. And we have strawberries planted on top of the rain barrel in the back of the photo. The beds are built on top of pavers but we still get weeds. Most don't come up from underneath - they come from seeds dropped on top. Our beds aren't huge but weeding isn't that time consuming. I clear the beds before we plant which takes a bit, then weed as needed after that which is usually less than 15 minutes a week.
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. 🤣
Lol I was at my mom’s today and couldn’t help myself... Ft
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. 🤣
Chives are definitely perennial. We had one in a pot my MIL gave us 12 or 15 years ago. We’ve devided it a few times. Just this morning I went to divide one of the smaller ones in a whiskey barrel planters, and I discovered roots through the whole planter! It was amazing. But, my point is we don’t even bring in the pots in the winter. They’ve come back after cold snaps, polar vortexes, etc. Actually, those chives predate the Snowpocolypse blizzard where we got 6 feet of snow in Baltimore.
Post by Chrysanthemum on May 30, 2020 15:51:14 GMT -5
I planted cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and a blueberry bush in containers. I’m pretty new to all this! I actually have a question—two of my containers (one with a cherry tomato and basil and the one with the blueberry bush) have bugs. I think they’re fungus gnats, based on my googling. I’ve been spraying them with soapy water but they’re not gone. What else should I try?
Post by litebright on May 30, 2020 16:58:03 GMT -5
I don't have a good track record with plants, but I am giving container stuff a go this year. I grew herbs from seeds except for a basil plant from the store, and I got a few plants (lettuce, mint) from local garden stores. These are all indoors because the house is getting painted.
I also have a few things in my big flower pots out front -- some cucumber plants and a couple of jalapeno plants that are more "let's see if these actually produce anything." As far as herbs, I have several kinds of basil, sage, mint, chives, cilantro and parsley.