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Seven years ago, I was inspired by a gardener who expanded my conceptions of container gardening. In his garden, he was growing everything under the sun, producing a beautiful display of hundreds of pounds of delicious produce for himself and his neighbors. What was unique about this fellow is that he did it all on a concrete patio from a wheelchair. In this urban oasis, he used his environment to his advantage. He filled every conceivable container and put them to work. Olive oil cans, 5-gallon buckets and lots and lots of discarded laundry baskets filled the patio. With limited mobility and resources he had created something beautiful and delicious!
The Container
As mentioned above, you can use almost anything. Some things to keep in mind are:
Drainage:
If there are no existing holes, drill 1/2 inch holes near the bottom on the bucket along the sides. Compacted soil may prevent drainage. Holes on the side also prevent soil loss.
In our cool Puget Sound summers, use dark colored containers for heat loving crops. And lighter colored containers for cool loving crops.
Size:
The size is determined by the root needs of the individual plants. Tomatoes and broccoli have deep roots and will do best in deep pots, where as lettuces or a gourmet mesclun mixes only require shallow containers. The size of the container helps determine the eventual size of the plant. If you want a big, healthy prolific squash plant, for instance, you need to plant it in a large container.
Containers tend to dry out quickly, especially terra-cotta clay pots. Consistent watering is very important. On hot days in shallow containers, watering every day is needed.
You can help minimize rapid evaporation of water by mulching around the plant in the container. Mulch material can be dried grass clippings, straw, coffee hauls, cocoa mulch, compost, newspaper, nut shells, wood chips and leaves are all good options.
Different food crops have different nutrient requirements. If you have a cut and come-again Mesclun salad garden in a container, regular fertilizing with a liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion will prolong and increase your harvests. Generally, small amounts of regular water-soluble fertilizers work best.
The Soil
Compost makes a great medium for most plants. Home made or purchased from your local nursery. Home made compost should be mixed with regular garden soil.
Soil mixes. You can buy potting mix or make your own. If compost is not available, purchase a good quality potting mixture or make your own from equal parts of sand, loamy garden soil and compost or peat moss (coconut husks are a more environmentally friendly alternative).
The Sun
Depending on what you are growing, most vegetables and herbs need at least 6 hours of sun a day.
Take advantage of micro-climates! Micro-climates are areas around your house or apartment that might be particularly warm, cool or protected from wind. The south facing wall of your house will likely be a toasty area in the summer. Those hot-spots are great for heat lovers like peppers and eggplant.
Now that you have picked out your containers and soil, located the warmest spot to put the thing...you have to decide what to plant. How do I narrow down the vast choices and endless varieties available?
In our family, we never seem to have enough green leafy vegetables. Paying
for $1.50 for 3 leaves of organic Swiss chard or $6.50 a pound for a fancy salad
or Mesclun mix can be avoided by growing your own. Tomatoes are a great choice.
There are lots of varieties that can be grown in containers that are not available
in markets and taste better than commercial varieties.
Tomatoes tend to be the first thing that pops into mind when we think of summer
gardens and you can grow those in containers as well. For a large container
(5 gallons or more) you can grow any of these tomatoes that have proven to be
reliable producers here in the Puget Sound.
For a cherry tomato:
For a smaller container or hanging basket try:
Swiss chard, collards, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens can all thrive
in pots. Chard and collards can both get quite large and look rather lonely
in a big pot by themselves early in the season. Don't worry, they will become
grand if given enough room on their own. Swiss chard is available in varieties
that are all ornamental. The stem color ranges from red, pink orange to white.
For more information on growing tomatoes, varieties and a source list, you can refer to the Urban Food Gardener's website.
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