container gardening vegetables first time

does anyone grow veggies in containers,i just planted some rutgers tomatos and some banana peppers any advice would be appreciated or any other veggies that grow well in containers i planted 7 rutgers 2 in each container and 1 alone approx 2, 2gallon and 2, 3gallon containers and planted 4 banana peppers in 8" dia containers with moisture control soil and waterd them all plants are app. 3" tall will plant more next weekend and hopefully they do well,this is a leaning experiment.thanks

This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 2:42 PM

I'm exploring with you! I've done herbs before with little to no real problems. I didn't trim them as often as I should have so they got a little leggy, but were still tasty. Herbs grow just fine in pots and mint should stay in pots because it spreads like mad if you let it.

I'm trying tomatoes and some New Mexico green chili peppers in pots this year. My pepper pot needs me to punch some holes in the bottom, I seem to have forgotten that, but everything is growing well so far. The tomatoes are mostly in a grow bag and seem to be doing well.

The best advice I can give you from growing herbs and trees in pots is not to fertilize at all the first year. Fertilize lightly the second year of using the same soil if you reuse it like I do. Most potting soils have fertilizers of some sort already in them so they don't need any extra. Adding more makes the leaves grow instead of the fruit.

In hot areas like mine, a moisture control potting soil and mulch are a godsend. It's not hard to keep the moisture level right, but it isn't hard to screw up either and water either too much or too little. I killed a lot of cacti by drowning. I use a moisture meter to check on my potted trees to keep from drowning them now and occasionally use it to check the potted veggies too.

Citrus is possible to grow in a pot, but don't let it stay outside when the temps dip below 40F. You'll need a big pot, possibly some casters to help you move it in and out of the house or greenhouse if you have one. I just overwintered my citrus collection at a big sunny south side window in my living room. I really did get mandarins last winter and have more growing this spring.

Also, it is sometimes a lot easier to grow blueberries in pots than it is in beds on the ground. They have fairly shallow root systems and like somewhat acid soils which not all of us are lucky enough to have. I have two pots with two bushes each in them because my ground soil so doesn't meet their needs and even raised beds would have trouble doing so. Blueberries are a lot less expensive to grow than they are to buy at the store, plus they look rather nice in their pots.

Pretty much anything can be grown in a pot if you meet it's water and nutrient needs. Some things are easier than others, but that doesn't mean you can't grow vines like melons. Just a little know how and ingenuity is needed to give them something to grow upwards on and to support the melons so they don't fall off the vine from sheer weight.

Good luck!

does anyone know if i cant plant pole beans or zucchini in a container if i put some sort of structure for them to cling too?and how big of container is needed thank you?

I have had great success with peppers in containers. They seem to do fine with either 2 or 3 gallon containers. The tomatoes seem to need bigger pots, 5 gallons minimum. As telosphilos said, water and nutrient needs have to be met. Container plants need frequent watering, at least once every 2 days, and i think the frequent watering leaches out the nutrients faster.

I've never grown pole beans in containers but my zucchinis needed a big (wide) container, at least 20 inches diameter.

Oh, all of the above need lots of sun in order to do well. (I know, 'cause i've tried to grow things in not-so-sunny-spots before.) :-P

Hi, I am new here and totally new to gardening. I am also growing veg in containers this year. I've possibly been a bit overambitious for just starting, but I have carrots, turnips, beets, spinach, various lettuces, spring onions and peas growing in containers. I also have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and broccoli in seed-starters. I got my seeds from containerseeds.com and have found a lot of info online about growing in containers - although no idea if I'm actually going to produce anything!! Although I figured if I plant lots, maybe something will be successful!!

I find it helpful to put in, for example "zucchini in pots" to google and then click on images for a visual reference.

I'm finding lots of great info here though!

everything is looking ok so far

How's this. It's called eBucket gardening. Self watering buckets (meaning you fill the reservoir in the bottom of the bucket and the plant determines how much it wants to drink, and does so) with and overturned plastic colander at the bottom to create the reservoir.

I believe I'm the unofficial "eBucket Queen" on Dave's Garden, after being the "Winter Sowing Spokesperson of 2009"...

I sooooooooooooooo love promoting eBuckets! And so glad ya'll asked!

The only drawback to growing vegetables in pots is the constant watering. I'm not growing anything in pots this summer because I cannot get my hubby to water them several times a day. I've asked him to water early in the morning, but he doesn't get around to it until after lunch!

The constant wet, dry, wet, dry cycles, especially for tomatoes, produces cracked fruit and blossom end rot.

This year, they are all going in the ground where the roots can reach down into the clay sub-soil which always stays moist.

I work during the morning hours, otherwise the vegetables would get all the water they need throughout the day as they did when I lived in South Florida. Back then, I was a "stay at home mom."

Here's the schematic with instructions for building eBuckets. If you have all your parts ready to assemble, you can put it together and plant in about 5-8 minutes, tops!

So, go ahead, ask away, and I'll help ya'll along as I can.

HoneybeeNC,
Can you say, "automatic drip system?"

Bocabob's instruction sheet is attached. I believe it can be put together in about 10 minutes. Solves the DH and the daytime scheduling issue...

I'll let you know how long it really takes. I'm putting mine together this week.

Here're the Instructions for Bocabob's Automatic Watering System.

Try this version instead.

Third time's gotta be it!
This one's a PDF file...

Themarmot, et al,
Most tomatoes need a MINIMUM of 5 gallons to grow properly. Exception to this is growing small cherry or patio type tomatoes.

Consider a 5-gallon eBucket to be one square foot of growing space. The Square Foot Gardener website has a chart of how many plants per square foot is recommended.

You can grow just about anything is a bucket, long as it's the right size bucket...

Here's an idea of the winter veggies you can grow.

And these...

so will my tomatoes fail because of not enough space in 2 and 3 gal planters

Themarmot,
You could have a bumper crop.

Honestly, though, based on what I've experienced, tomatoes need at least a 5-gallon container to produce well...

Even if you plant only one tomato per 3-gallon container, you'll have a better chance at some success...

Found a guideline for pot size and soil volume for container vegetables. Good info.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html

Good luck.

Gymgirl, I have several homemade self-watering containers, but I have never before heard of using a plastic colander as the reservoir. Good idea. Thanks!

Goldenberry,
We've used many design ideas, and the colander wick is the best one yet. EZ, and cheap!

I'm going home to retrofit a Sam's Club/Costco 24" planter with a colander wick to plant a tomato. I'm anticipating tremendous growth cause of the width of the planter. Observed the big indeterminates grow more wide than deep. After my colander's in, I should have about 12-14" depth, but a lateral spread of 14-16" from center.

Sweet!

i,m gonna try some econtainers this weekend

Themarmot,

a squirrel attacked my garden this morning up roottin 3 pepper plants and digging up two tomatoes.so its war on all squirrels today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, no!

I don't understand how some people have squirrels that do this. I have a yard FULL of squirrels and they have never touched anything in my yard.

I believe it's because my next-door-neighbor has a huge satellite dish filled with bird food. The squirrels and birds wage constant war with each other over the birdseed! They're so busy, they don't even touch my huge red tomatoes growing in plain site on the fenceline between the yards.

I read somewhere that if you put a feeder and a birdbath out, the animals will gravitate there. The only reason birds pick at fruit is cause they're thirsty and can't find water elsewheres...

Just a thought....

I will make some suggestions for container grown vegetables:
Select varieties that are suited to container growth.
Provide ample water supply.
Regular fertilization added.

Gymgirl, thanks for all the links regarding drip irrigation. My garden is on a slope, and I've tried to think of various ways that a drip system would work.

I can't see how the top part of the garden would get enough water, or how the bottom of the garden wouldn't get too much. I can't rely on my hubby to regulate things - he is very forgetful (he's 78 this year.)

I leave for work before daylight, and by the time I get home it's too hot to work in the garden during the summer.

I ask him to water early in the morning, but I know he leaves it until just before I get home, because the leaves are still wet.

Despite the drawbacks, we manage to get enough to eat and share :) :)

So, Gymgirl, do you think cheapo collanders would be up to the task? I'm too cheap to buy decent colanders, and was wondering about ones from the dollar store.

I've heard containers warm up faster, so I was thinking of trying some this year. I'm always trying to grow peppers & melons here in my short 5b growing season. I just can't bring myself to use plastic mulch, because tossing it after the season's over just seems wrong. I thought containers might do the trick. But I know how much I rely on our 7 day timer attached to the drip watering system (ungainly, horrid-looking, cobbled together, but works great) to bail me out on not having to remember to water the main veggie garden....

Did you see the olla thread that popped to the top? That sounds great, too. My 14 year old daughter is an accomplished potter - has been taking lessons for 5+ years. I'm going to print her some things on ollas & see if she & her mentor can make some of those. I'll have to ask them about the clay they usually use, though. Depending on the water-seeping properties, I might have to special order some terra cotta for the task.

- Tricia

Tricia
Cheapo plasic colanders are the ONLY way to go! Just lean on them to determine the sturdiest one that won't collapse under too much weight, and go for it. I use ones with a square grid. They don't sag. $1.09 each here for any size, even for huge ones. Just Bought all 17 they had yesterday to have on hand. LMK how it turns out for you.

I grow tons of veggies in black plastic nursery pots every year, and have done so for many years. Last year, for example, I harvested over 1,400 tomatoes despite the ravages of late blight.

Your tomato pots are too small. You need a 3 gallon (10 inch) pot for each cherry tomato plant. Larger tomatoes like Rutgers Select need a 5 gallon pot per plant. I grew them successfully last year averaging about 20 fruit per plant. Normally I do a little better, but it was a blight year. Humongous tomatoes like brandywine, beefsteak and big boy need bigger pots still. I use 16 inch pots that once housed trees. Peppers will do fine in 3-5 gallon pots.

Overcrowded and in small pots, your plants will not thrive. They are prone to pests and disease. You will get a lot less fruit and the fruit you do get will take forever to ripen. Also, with less soil it is even harder to keep them evenly watered. In summer months they will dry out, the fruit will crack and/or burst, and you will lose many fruit to blossom end rot.

Not that it matters. You are way too early to plant tomatoes and peppers outside in Il. My seedlings will remain on the bathroom windowsill until around May 15 here in NJ, and our climate is way milder than yours. Watch the nighttime temperature. If it is going to drop below freezing, take your plants indoors. Even an unheated garage may be enough to keep them alive.

When you do get your tomatoes going, cover the soil surface in plastic. You can buy special red plastic or simply cut up black garbage bags. Make a 3 inch X-cross cut for the plant. Put the plastic carefully over the seedling, tuck in the edges and weigh it down with stones or whatever. This will reduce water loss. You will still need to water every day that it does not rain in the hot months, and every 2 days the rest of the time. If water starts pooling on a low spot in the plastic, a pin hole or two will allow it to drain into the soil.

The plastic also discourages the squirrels, who are just hungry and looking for places they buried food. They are really not much of a problem once things get going and food is plentiful. Groundhogs on the other hand, will ravage your plants. They love tomatoes and will devastate the plant to get them. You need some pretty serious fencing to stop them.

I grew zucchini in pots, but did not work well. They are not a climbing vine so cannot easily be trained upward. I only got about 2 per pot. Now I grow them in a raised bed. Three plants occupy most of an 8*4 bed. Cucumber, on the other hand, are a similar sized fruit to zucchini, but they can easily be trained to climb up a tomato cage. Last year I grew an English garden variety and got about 7 14-inch fruit per plant/pot.

Hope this helps...

Ed

Addendum....

I am unfamiliar with banana peppers but I grow bell peppers every year. They HATE temperatures under 40F. When the cool nights come along in the fall, the peppers start slowly dying. The tomatoes will survive if it stays above freezing, but the baby peppers might not.

I have never grown pole beans in pots, mostly because of the height. Once they get to full height and have full foliage they catch a lot of wind. It is hard to stop the pot blowing over. I have however grown two different varieties of bush beans in pots, and they worked VERY well. I used 5 gallon pots for mine.

GMUN... I have grown everything in containers that you have except turnips and beets. The larger root veggies just need too much room for my taste. A pot big enough for 1 turnip can produce 100+ cherry tomatoes. Zucchini are problematic, as noted in prior reply.

GymGirl... I love your colander econtainer design. It is the easiest to make that I have seen. You will make a convert of me yet. :))

Ed

Thanks, Gymgirl. It's ages before much of anything can go outside up here in the frozen north, except for in the cold frame. But I'll be stopping by the discount store for colanders - you've converted me before I even started.

- Tricia

Ed, the colander eBucket design was a collaborative labor of love. Molamola and Gessieviolet deserve the most credit. I just sharpened the pencils!

Ok. So please educate me on growing bush beans in my eBuckets. I have 6-8 varieties of southern cowpeas to plant still: crowders, purple hulls, pinkeye puple hulls, blackeyed peas, zipper peas, Cream peas. What medium do you use in your containers? I'm using MG potting mix, compost and coco coir.

Thanks 4 de zucchini tip. I was gonna try the bucket trellis. Glad 2 know it won't work! Need 2 grow lots of zukes for a baker friend. Zuchini Bread!

Also, where best place 2 get larger 16" buckets cheap?

Thanks in advance!

Linda

Tricia!
Use your remaining inside time to prep your eBuckets!

Cut the holes in the colanders for the fill tube and the drainage straw. Collect the BIG malt straws from McDonald's -they're the most sturdy. Or use ones you have already. Split one and double-wall it over another one! Get your 10' length of 1" PVC pipe. There's usually a cutting station @ HD/Lowes with a hand saw. I stood there and cut mine after work last Friday, into five 24" lengths. Cool, comfey, and very convenient!

Collect your bucket lids and cut your center plant hole (I use a 3-3.5" hole drill for my plant hole) and the hole for your fill tube. Drill your overflow holes in the bucket and drill four holes in one end of each fill tube. Drill one hole completely thru, then go opposite that one and drill another completely thru so you end up with 4 holes in a cross pattern. This'll allow the water to fill the reservoir even if the tube lodges flush against the bottom of the bucket.

You've got a lot you can do while you're inside!

Linda


This message was edited Apr 19, 2010 9:48 PM

Linda,

All my veggie growing is entirely organic. My potting... er... mix is unusual. Many years ago it was 2 parts potting soil, 2 parts organic compost and 1 part sand or something similar. By now, it looks a lot like high quality topsoil... a very rich dark loam.

At the end of each growing season it gets "refreshed". I mix 4 parts of it with 1 part of grass clippings/chopped leaves/coffee grounds. Each layer also gets about a tablespoon of pelletized dolomitic limestone. I dump it into plastic dustbins (with air and drainage holes drilled in) or into a big pile. It composts from late November to early March.

When I refill my pots in the spring, I mix in organic fertilizer (Plant Tone for veggies, Tomato Tone for fruits), more coffee grounds and a couple of handfuls of fresh peat moss per pot for water retention. I always use the binned soil first, since it 'cooks" more quickly than the pile. Occasionally I need an extra handful of sand to keep it draining right. I check the PH with my meter but have never had to amend it.

The empty-refill cycle is loads of work every year but we get harsh winters. I don't have a garage and the shed is already filled to bursting point. If I left the soil in the pots, they would be ruined by the freeze-thaw cycle. Surprisingly (at least to me), I am actually making soil. At the end of this planting season I will have about 2 32 gallon bins of soil going into a 1 year compost cycle despite planting more pots than ever before. If this keeps up, I may have to start a new raised bed.

I have planted bush round beans and bush lima beans both in the raised beds and in 5 gallon pots. They seem to grow about the same with plenty of beans and multiple harvests. The only real difference was that the groundhogs didn’t wipe out the ones in pots. I got all my large 14"+ pots by scrounging from garden centers and from landscapers. Free is good, right?

Ed

Ed,
I'm interested in your "making soil" process! I'm a little confused on your cycle though. I'll ask questions later.

Thanks!

Linda

Wulfsden, thank you! It is good to know it has been done... of course this doesn't mean I can do it! My turnips are a container variety and the beets a small variety but it is all an experiment for me at the moment!

So far most things seem to be doing quite well although my turnip seedlings got very leggy and I think they might be a disaster. They are still growing new leaves though, so I'm just going to see what happens... My peas are my favourite - they seem to grow measurably overnight and this is very encouraging!!

Also my broccoli seeds have not sprouted at all, I have done them the exact same way as the others (seed starter box with clear plastic lid, miracle grow organic potting mix, very sunny south facing windowsill in sunroom). It's been about 2 weeks. Should I just try more seeds or is this normal?

An afterthought... I've got most of my containers from the "Christmas Tree shops" selling $1 buckets, cheap window boxes etc. I've also planted a "salad box" in a plastic party size patio ice-bucket thing (I hope someone knows what I mean!) they were selling for $4. Would zucchini work better in something like this? It's probably about - very roughly - 16" by about 24".

And a dumb newbie question - you just plant ONE plant in this? In the middle of the container? Thanks & sorry!!

This doesn't show the full container so doesn't really give a fair indication of size, but this is what I'm talking about.

Gmun,
Read this article. It contains some VERY good info regarding containers size and which plants go in which containers!

Thanks, Quyen!

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html