Pics from the container "farm"

I love the way the Bok Choy looks when growing, it's such a pretty plant.

Can't wait to eat some!

Here's some lettuce. I've got to thin this soon. This is Devil's Ears Lettuce.

I think this is called Little Gem Lettuce.

Edited to say: This is Black seeded Simpson, not Little Gem.



This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 11:20 AM

I planted out Kale today, into a container it will live in on my deck, and rather than compost the handful of seedlings I could not find room for, I washed them and ate a little salad....... lol I am posting about this all over the place, but boy howdy was that tasty!

lol

Lovely photos there, Pugzley

Oh, that's very cool, Kylaluaz! I planted some Chinese Kale.

Do you know how big that gets? I know you can eat it in salad, then when it gets bigger, it's supposed to be good steamed and then later on when it's really mature you can stir fry it.

I've got mine in a container too, but I think I am going to have to give it a big haircut because from what I am reading Kale gets really big?

I have never grown it before, but I just looked on the seed packet which only says the outer leaves are best picked when 8 to ten inches long, so I guess the plant probably gets about a foot high.... I buy it and it is a wonderful cooked green but have never before eaten in salad. This variety I have is White Russian Kale, seeds from Territorial in Oregon.

All of my edibles are going to be container grown this year with the possible exception of a wild Mexican tomato vine I want to see if it survives the deer out back, lol!

Would love to see more photos of your container farm!!!! I don't h ave a camera so can't contribute any.

that devil's ear surely looks yummy!
Debbie
=)

Oh, yeah, the critters can really work a number on the garden in a hurry, can't they, Kylaluaz?
I've got a mole over here to contend with. He's forcing me to do everything in containers.

Thanks so much, Debbie. Can't wait to make a salad with the Devil's Ears. :)

Did you direct seed into your containers?

Hi Sequee,

Yes, they are all direct seeded.

Excellent! How wide are the containers? I know they don't have to be deep for lettuce, but I'm vacillating on the width. I'm thinking wider is better, but your certainly look happy, so "monkey see..."!

I believe they are about 15 inches wide. I figure 3 lettuces and 3 bok choy will do fine in each pot because recommended spacing is 6 inches between those plants, so I figure if they start to look too crowded and unhappy, I can always pick one before it's maxiumum size, but I don't think it's going to be a problem at all.

Rectangular or square pots would be a lot better, I think, but I'm doing with what I have for right now.

Yeah, those pots are about 4 gallons in size, way deeper than those plants need. I think I'm going to use some food grade rubber maid square jobber doers you can get cheap or some other brand to plant my lettuce in from now on and save the deeper pots for plants that need the depth for root systems.

Here's some pics from today. This is baby bok choy that gets about 5 inches tall.

This is not Bok Choy, this is Little Gem (very small Romaine type).

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 11:21 AM

Here's that same bok choy as in the pic above.

Here's the devil's ears lettuce that is screaming to be thinned out.

Here's some De Morges Braun Lettuce, I didn't picture this one before, but isn't it a pretty lettuce?

And last and probably least is the same little gem lettuce as above

Not little gem, it's black seeded Simpson.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 11:22 AM

Looking good Pugzley.........Did you see Bob's picture holding a chinese cabbage about the size of a basketball? He said he had 3 of those in a 5 gallon grow bag.

Thanks!

hahaha! I sure did see that Jackwhacker. Looked like a big fat green oversized baby he was holding. Bet it was sweet.

I don't foresee any trouble with what I've got growing in them at all.

pugzley - nice looking lettuce. i am going to plant some tom thumb lettuce with weekend. if you have a sams club near you that has a florist they will give you all the containers you need for nothing.

Thank you, Herbie. :)

Oh, now you've got me ready to go look up Tom Thumb lettuce and probably end up ordering some.
I didn't realize how beautiful all the leaf lettuces are until I started growing some different ones.

I do have a Sam's club not far away and they do have a florist, I'll see if they want to offload some containers. Thanks for that tip.

I have some nice window box planters that are about 6" x 18" x4" deep that I think will do nicely with the little gem and bak choi. I grew the bak choi and a 4-season leyyuce on my window sills all winter for a couple of years and it was very happy in an east-facing window. Surely it will be just as happy outside! You've got me fired up to try it. (I have 2 4'x18" raised beds direct seeded at the moment, but you can't have too much lettuce!)

Thanks for the info!

You're very welcome, Sequee.

I'm hoping to grow spinach, lettuce and bok choy under my grow light this winter. That'll be a first for me.

My spinach is not growing fast at all. I wonder why? The plants look good, but they just seem to stay the same size with the same number of leaves on it. Hmmm.. I thought it would be a really fast grower like the lettuce.

I've given it liquid fertilizer and even threw in some worm casings the other day, but it's stalled.