I have a 6x6 critter-proofed area to work with on my deck.
I'm in zone 5.
I have NO money.
Who has suggestions to help me grow edibles?
Growing FOOD in the house, in small outdoor spaces
You might try over in the Self-Contained Box Garden forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/boxgardens/all/ for some ideas of how to grow without a traditional in-ground space. I know there are lots of DIY models out there that should be pretty inexpensive to put together.
Good luck!
nilly - I've been known to walk around the neighborhood in the early hours of the morning with my dog and pick up discarded plant pots on garbage day!
If you have "loamy" soil and few gallon or larger plant pots, all you need to grow your own food is some seeds!
I explained it all better over here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1035301
you will be amazed at what you can find in the garbge cans at your local cemetary. you will find containers of all sizes.
i am in zone 5b and i grow all my veggies in 5 gallon new paint containers that i get for under 3 dollars in home depot or walmarts. atthis time of year you may be able to get a much better price at walmarts as they go on sale for $1.80 each.
the only big expense would be the container potting soil. i buy MG for containers from sms club. i forget how much it costs but one big bag fills about two to three 5 gallon containers. the good thing is you cn reuse it over several seasons.
if this is your first time i suggest you buy your plants from a nursury becuse seed starting can get expensive as you have to buy lights and bulbs for the seeds and this can be expensive.
As every one said, when you look at things objectively, you will find lots of things you can use for containers. If they don't have drain holes, you can easily drill or poke holes in them.
Over on the winter sowing forum, there are some folks that never got their plants out of the wintersown jugs and are getting peppers. I will also suggest you read thru those threads. Amazing how cheaply and easily vegies can be started by wintersowing. I will never buy another vegetable plant! You might pick up vegetable seeds right now at a discounted price and keep them over winter in the refrigerator. Just shop carefully for vegetable seeds that will only be small plants when grown. They are more manageable in containers. Otherwise you will set yourself up for failure. Here is the link if you are interested. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/coldsow/all/
It's not so much about the containers (although you've given me some new scavenging ideas!) as it is about the yield. When I got my 6x6x6 critter proofing "cage", I also got some containers to fill it up. I'm just not getting enough FOOD out of the effort! Which brings me to my new questions:
Square foot gardening.
I've watched all 3 of Mel Bartholomew's video tapes about it, and perused some books. There's lots of time spent doing the math, and I totally get the concept. They never discuss DRAINAGE though. It looks like I can just slap together a shallow 4x4 (or 3x3 to fit better inside my cage) frame and plant it. Even when they show them on decks they are only supported by cinder blocks and things like that. So here are a coupla questions:
Won't I rot my deck?
How can I translate this yield process indoors?
Anybody know?
Quoting:
Won't I rot my deck?
I think it certainly would rot your deck if you place soil in contact with it. You will also invite termites!
There are ways to raise your beds up high enough so that you don't have to do any bending.
If you do an internet search on "Wheelchair gardening" you should get some ideas.
HERBIE43-I read your post and I can't stop laughing. "Dumpster diving" is one thing but I never thought of doing it at a cemetary! I went to the dump one time with my exhusband, he told me I was the only person to ever bring stuff home from the dump. The guy unloading next to us was throwing away black plastc nursery pots so I took a bunch. Hey, it was a good deal.
Lisa
Nilly ~ when you say you want to grow EDIBLES ~ what kind of foods and what volume are you searching for?
"I'm just not getting enough FOOD out of the effort!"
The site below has a vegetable yield table. It can help you figure out both what would contribute the most to the larder and what might reasonably be expected from the space you have available.
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/vegetable/guide.html
Frank
There's another yield chart at zipharvest.com:
http://www.zipharvest.com/InTheGarden/CropsLibrary/Default.aspx
This one looks at the yield in terms of dollars and sense -- getting the most bang for the buck, I guess. It also has a handy guide for which can be container grown, which are best grown from starts, how many days to yield, and relative amount of sunshine needed. Very helpful!
The entire website is interesting, although when I logged on before, I could never get their free garden design webtool to load properly. It worked for other people though. It's a commercial site that would love to sell you things, of course, but still, a very nice site, once you figure out where everything is.
LiseP
1lisac - one thing about roaming the cemetary, no one bothers you. LOL
I appreciate you both sharing those links. I always feel there is more to learn regardless of age or intelligence. Thanks... pod
podster - I never met a vegetable I didn't like! I just want to have to pay less for produce in the supermarkets here in the winter. ONE winter, tomatoes were $4 a pound! Thought I'd starve. I like it all and am most interested in whatever works best!
Yes, Frank and Lise - THANKS for sharing the links!
HERBIE - You HOPE nobody bothers you!
:)