Is anyone here vegetable gardening in "Containers" ?

I am intending to do the majority on mine in containers next spring for a variety of reasons.

Does anyone here garden in containers? I am interested in your knowledge in growing vegetables and herbs in containers.

Please share your experiences....

That's all I do. Check out my threads in the self contained Box Gardens forum

Boca Bob leetomkatebob

Bob, how large are those grow bags and where do you buy them? Thanks

Thanks for the invite, off to check out your threads...

ardesia- They are 5 gallon grow bags with drainage holes and come with coconut coir growing mix, and I sell them in the Marketplace on this Web site in the Supplies secton.

BocaBob

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Found a good site to help you out:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html

Snug

Very good info ~ they even suggest vegetable cultivars suited for container growth. From Tamu, these should be more heat tolerant also. Thanks much for that link, Snug_As_Bug_Rug! pod

For best results try www.earthbox.com with Bobs Coco coir. It works!

AHa! Have you had yours up and running long enough to declare success? Very good...

Only a few years! Go over to"Self Contained Box Garden". It has its own forum and you could say that I have had some experience!!!

Sorry, new to this forum and have only read Boca Bobs thread in the SCBG forum. So much to learn ~ so little time. Good thing winter is here so I can plant my attack. I'll try to get over there and do some reading. Thanks.

I plan to plant potatoes in garden bags , as well as eggplant.
I grew eggplants sucessfully once. Had to buy new big plastic tubs so didn't return to vedgs until next spring.

Should be easy to harvest the potatoes in garden bags.

One question BocaBob ~ can the coco coir be reused over and over without supplementing?

I have taters growing right now in oak leaves.

It seems you can reuse the coir for quite a few years. They say if you get badly diseased plants though, maybe best to dump the coir. Don't want to spread any diseases to new plants. After I finish let say beans, I just toss the coir alittle, pull out any big roots and plant again.

BocaBob

I have lettuce and eggplants growing in Bob's coir bags and they are doing great. Just may replace all my old cedar containers with the 5 gal gro bags as it is a good buy as it includes the coir and it is really fun to watch them grow. Just fertilize them as you would any mix but you don't need lime at least for the first year as my PH tested between 6.5 - 7 which is perfect.

Plan to have potatoes next year.

Potatoes can be grown in my EBs with great success but I don't think they would produce enough to make it worth my time. But this I know they would definetly do better in an EB than in-ground. However, if I were to grow potatos it would be the most rare and delicious potato that can only be eaten in luxury french restaurants and recommended by top chefs if you know what I mean as an EB is just to good for a standard potato that can be bought in a supermarket! Just like I grow heirloom tomatos unavailable in supermarkets.

I am growing 15 different heirloom tomato plants in containers, 2 egg plant and 2 pepper plants in containers. Lately I have been taking them in and out of the house because of the early freezes we have had in this area. They are all blooming and setting. They almost seem to be doing better in containers but I'm getting tired of moving them so much. I guess it is good exercise.

If you have them on a concrete patio you can use those plant rollers, you know the ones with wheels?

No, it's actually a wooden porch and I have to go over thresholds. Thanks for the thought though.

I also have a hand truck to move my containers. Heck of a lot easier than carrying them especially if they are heavy.

Surprisingly the containers are relatively small and not very heavy its just the shear number of them. It got cold here sooner then usual and it can't seem to make up it's mind. I have a pet rabbit that has free run of the kitchen and he loves to get in the pots and dig in the dirt. Have to go make seed balls so they have time to dry!

I had really good luck growing corn in an EB this year. And I saw on another thread where someone had mixed corn and flowers in containers; looked really nice, too. Zucchini worked well in boxes, too. And I do mean boxes. Ran out of containers and resorted to putting cardboard boxes in plastic trash bags.

Interesting Woofie~ that is improvised gardening at its' best!

I will check out these threads mentioned here. I have decided to plant more veggies in pots next year and am gathering information. Thanks.

DH made this for me...4' x 10'. So far full of asian type mustards/cabbages/spinach. There are only two of us. Beans are in the ground but i think next planting I will go for the growbags.

I tried corn, radishes, snap peas, and beans in containers this year.

Radishes - I really need to check for drainage before putting soil in a windowbox. The radishes got a great start and then drowned themselves. Oh well. Lesson learned and I think they'll be wonderful next time.

Snap Peas - I grew them in hanging containers, so that the vines could trail downwards. Used a bit of Dynamite for my fertilizer. I am happy to report many edible peas were grown. The general harvest was non-existent though because I would go out and snack on the peas instead of harvesting them like I was supposed to.

Beans - The beans were like the peas: grown in hanging containers so that they would vine down and not up. The only thing that was kind of weird was that somehow some ants found the containers, but a heavy watering would knock the bugs off, and that was that. I am happy to report that there were a couple meals with beans from four 10" planters full of beans.

Corn - This one was kind of interesting. The corn in the containers was stunted in height, but still produced 2-3 good ears of corn per plant. We had a nice corn feast from the ones in the containers. One corn plant per 14" pot.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to fill a container so that I can pretty much ignore it, other than watering it, and did have to save the beans and peas by installing wicks. However, the overall consensus is that the plants looked great and tasted better.

Try www.earthbox.com

I've planted in various containers over the years. One year I had 2 tomatoes in each 5 gallon bucket. I didn't have a watering system, so it was nearly impossible to keep them watered. They were Early Girl. Went right up to the roof of the greenhouse. Produced like crazy.
I've had cucumbers in 5 gallon buckets for a number of years. I use the ones that don't need pollination.
I plan on raising Strawberries in a through built about 3 feet off the ground & in a hoop house this coming summer. They will be Seascape variety. They are day neutral, so bear all summer. I like the thought of picking berries without bending over!
You can get them from www.inberry.com or Johnny's Seeds.

Bernie

I have started growing strawberries in big bulb pots hanging in my shade house. That way the darn slugs and snails will have a harder time!!!

Carol

Bernie - I'm curious about your using 5 gallon buckets. Last year I
planted one Beefsteak Tomato plant in each of my 12 gallon tubs.
Could I have put two plants into each container with good results?

The cost of soil mix is getting to be an issue. Plus I have to hand
water and it would be easier to have fewer containers but the
same number of plants. I'd been told that tomato plants needed
10 gallon pots minimum.

June

Two to a 5 gallon pot worked good for me. I fertilized with Miracle Grow 15-30-15.
I don't remember how often.

Have you gone to the thread by LAPalms (I think) who is growing in bags of COIR? I am processing all my kitchen waste with EM and mix it with mulch to grow....needs less water. But with 150" a year, it is not a big issue here!!!! The EarthBoxes seem to be a good idea tho'.

AlohaHoya- Where is the thread in which forum?

Here in this desert city we are subject to very high winds
and I really needed the stability of those big heavy tubs
for my plants. Plus the extremely low humidity and
high temps evaporate moisture quickly. I doubt the
COIR or earthboxes would be useful here and not
worth the expense.

Not many people here try to grow tomatoes but I
did pretty well with my $5.99 green tubs!

June those a great looking tomatoes.

I have a question - Plastic containers - I have a bunch of large ones with no drain holes. What is the best way to make the drain holes?

My husband used his step drill to make about
six 1-inch diameter holes in the bottom. Worked
perfectly.

Thanks, June.

If we don't start to get some precipitation here pretty soon we will be in such severe drought conditions that any plants in pots will be too much to water! (Hi, June and Gloria.)