BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Container Gardening Veggies in containers

So, I was just thinking about this today. A few years ago I moved to Louisiana (where the water table is so high it can be tricky to grow stuff) from New York (where the dirt stays still). I've grown some herbs in pots, but I think I'd like to try growing some veggies, too.

So my question is: what veggies grow well in pots? The climate here is ideal; it's already warm during the days and only down to about 45 at night (winter's over LOL), but it does get hot in the summer. I have a nice big shaded patio where I can put pots.

I guess I'm just wondering where a good place to start would be?

I'll eat just about anything, by the way, I don't think there's a veggie out there that I don't like.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, squash, all of these, and more will grow well in containers.
Cherry tomatoes grow well in hanging baskets and are very cute doing so. It's great fun to pluck a cherry tomato off a hanging planter and just pop it in your mouth. Since they are up off the ground, they're pretty clean.
I know one family that is in the U.S. Park Service and is relocated fairly frequently. Tired of losing their garden mid-season, they just started planting in 5-gallon spackle buckets, growing lots of veggies, and they just move them when their marching orders come.
They use gravel in the bottom of the buckets to help weight them, as the tomatoes can get a bit top-heavy. They use wire trellises for support. Also, they only fill the buckets about 2/3 full when planting the young tomatoes. As the seedlings gain height, they add soil to the pot to give extra support to the stem. This is a very good way to get strong stems on the tomatoes.

There isn't much you can't grow in a container.

Hi again!

Thanks for your article on growing veggies in pots, VERY helpful. You mentioned that containers frequently dry out in hot weather.... is that any different in extraordinarily humid climates? I know I mentioned that I am in Louisiana, in the summer, it is REALLY hot here, but also INCREDIBLY humid.... to the point where I can't even wear my glasses all the time... they sometimes just steam up. In any case, will this change my watering needs? I know you mentioned that popsicle sticks make good indicators, do they still work in severe humidity?

I'm looking forward to my container garden. I like the idea of a garden in the summer here that I can work on with a gin and tonic in my hand... the down-and-dirty stuff is a little bit too much for me.... I'm not as scared of the dirt as I am of the snakes and spiders that live in it. LOL.

I like your idea of gardening with a G&T in hand. Ditto on the snakes and spiders, though I have become a lot more tolerant of the critters as time goes by. My brothers used to chase me around with earthworms, so that I can blame on early childhood trauma. I had to learn to love them. (Both, the brothers and the worms.)

I can just imagine how humid LA would be in the summer. I have a friend living in Bunkie. He never even broke a sweat here in the NJ summer, and we think it's humid here!

Still, I think the popsicle stick would tell the tale about how dry the soil in your containers is at any given time. If the part of the stick that's an inch below soil level is moist, the plants have enough water.

I would be more concerned about rot and fungus. Though what I've read about LA describes lush and verdant plant life, if growing conditions are too wet, you can run into trouble with the excess moisture. I'd keep an eye on that. Air and sunlight are the antidotes. I would definitely keep the plants growing up, whether with a trellis or tomato cages, or just plain old stakes, if you make like Playtex and lift and separate the branches, there will be more air circulation and opportunity for sunlight to hit every part of the plant. My Dad used old nylons as ties for the tomatoes and swore by them. They don't damage the stems like some other materials. (I think it amused him as well to have all the girls saving their stockings for him.)

Container gardening is great for people who don't really like to get down and dirty, but who love to garden. It's just easier once you get a system going. Especially for those of us who can't easily get down to earth anymore, it's a real boon to be able to putter in a garden that's a bit more on our level.

If you like onions, I'd put some of them in as well. Fresh onions are incredible! It's onion squared. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Enjoy.

Thanks for all the great tips for container gardening. I'm going to plant green beans in tubs in June so I can put them in sunny spots in the garden. I'll post pics of the results.

Which kind, pole beans or bush beans? They both like plenty of sun and soil on the kind of dry side, which is good for container growing. You're not a slave to the hose. That's pretty smart, cookie. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Me, I've been dreaming about radishes now. I see a sandwich recipe that Julia Child made on Oprah way back when she was a lunchtime junior broadcaster with Maury Povich in Baltimore in her early days. It involves chopped radishes, butter, salt, and rye bread. Unbelievable. Now, though, I'd be eating it on a Wasa crispbread to make it low-carb.

Radishes, mmmm, I wonder if they're as extra strength as home-grown onions are?

Well, actually, I'll be planting pole beans. In the photo you'll see ours from this past summer - on the left. The package said bush beans. hehehehe

Anyway, the pods grew so long and big with 7-9 seeds in them that I let them grow and die off, then harvested the seeds from those long pods, dried them out and last week made the best baked beans I've ever tasted.

Fortunately I held back 20 seeds from the cooking pot and those are what I'll be planting in the containers.

In front of the beans is swiss chard which survives yearround. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

On the right in the photo is our little greenhouse for tomatoes - in our climate you only get a crop against a south facing fence or enclosure because of our short warm growing season - May 15th to August 15th.

We got 80 tomatoes from that harvest.

Finally, I get to say it and mean it---cool beans!
ROLF! (Oh, I crack myself up.)

Swiss chard. This is an interesting vegetable. I've just started to use it because we've been making soup more often this winter. It's actually quite delicious. I don't know why I had passed it by before. I guess it looked a little too healthy. I bet it would grow in a container as well.

You have a short growing season? Clever greenhouse there for the tomatoes. Well, your farmers have figured something out. The tastiest tomatoes we get here in the US in the winter are grown in Holland.

Yup - tomatoes and peppers are grown in greenhouses in Holland.

I love a greenhouse. The ultimate container garden! Anyone lucky enough to have one can start all their seeds in there.

Even a terrarium is a greenhouse, though on a small scale.

Megan: I'm thinking of Louisiana as a big greenhouse right now. There'd be a few similarities there, right? Hot, humid, nice for [color:"green"]growing[/color] things... <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

This is excellent - thanks Mary Ellen and Megan! I'd just been wondering whether I could/should start growing fruit and veges in pots because I'm so fed up with the prices and lousy quality of the veges at the supermarket. We're renting, so I keep saying once we buy our own house we'll plant veges - but I want fresh veges *now*! I could easily become addicted to strawberries if I allowed myself to buy them more than a few times a year. Now if I grow them myself...

That's one of the very nice things about container gardening---you don't have to leave beloved plants behind if you do move. They wave good-bye to their friends and go right along with you.

Just tell them what's going on. Plants hate to be kept in the dark.

There are two kinds of strawberries, June ripening and everblooming. If you plant both kinds, you should have a pretty steady supply.

I have some growing, but I also have chipmunks. Chipmunks just love strawberries, so I have to share. I *could* net them, but I just love chipmunks (ALVIN!) and I'm willing to lose a few berries to have the chipmunk look in the kitchen window at me for a few minutes.

I adore Swiss Chard, but it took the family awhile to like it. It outlasts lettuce and even spinach and grows beautifully in containers!

My container gardens did so well in Delaware that I got fresh vegetables straight through the year! When I had to move, a neighbor begged me to sell my large to him for $50 each and the smaller ones for $30! These were those large green rectangular plastic containers. Had one for herbs, one for greens, one for beans, squash, etc., and one for tomatoes. Yummy!

We're starting to like Swiss Chard. I guess I always found it a little scary in the supermarket, but it's moving up on the list of preferred veggies. I'll have to look into finding some nice recipes. It sure does well in soup. It's a powerhouse of vitamins, so it's well worth some space in this year's garden. I like that it could go year 'round.

How did you do it in Delaware? Large, green rectangular containers are perfect for growing veggies, even better than my spackle buckets (though I do like them!). How is it that we like to use such humble containers for our "farming?"<G>

Do tell us more about these containers of yours, please, Oh Mighty Sage. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Oh, never thought of veggies in containers. Living in an apartment at the moment and the roomy is sorely feeling lack of a garden.

We are going to grow herbs in a window box- can't make up our mind about which.

Any suggestions on what grows well in summer- we live near Washington DC?
Thanks

Virtually all of the herbs---basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint, etc.---will do well in containers in the D.C. area. Some are annuals and will only last one season, but others can be wintered over indoors and live to serve another year.

Good luck whichever you choose.

All right! I'm getting ready and set to go; I bought all of my supplies and seeds today. I've got several long low plastic storage containers for herbs (and I get to play with the SCREWGUN tomorrow! LOL), a few large clay pots, several smaller plastic pots and a couple of deep plastic storage containers.

I also got a new vacuum... which would be a digression, except for it's going to be very important now that I'll be tracking all sorts of dirt into the house.

So, I'm in Zone 1 (but I'm a born and bred Zone 4 girl), so this will all be a total experiment for me. I'm not getting my hopes up for a single thing. If bugs eat everything, or all the roots rot out, I'm ready to take it like a grown-up.

Here are my planned veggies:

Zucchini
Summer Squash (Yellow Crookneck)
Cucumber
Peas
Radishes (Early Scarlet Globe and Sparkler White Tip)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne, Banana, Jalapeno)
Scallions (White Lisbon Bunching)
Spinach (Bloomsdale Long-Standing)
Cabbage (Copenhagen Market Early)
Tomatoes (Large Red Cherry, Roma, Beefsteak)
Herbs: Curly Parsley, Cilantro, Lavender, Sweet Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Chives, Sweet Basil, Spearmint

There are lots more things that I WANT, I'm just not quite ready to go for: green beans being one of the major ones. I'd also like to do some lettuces, but I've heard that they really don't fare well in the summer down here. Maybe I'll run back to the store and get one or two anyway.... we'll see.

The weather here is already warm and sunny, we're well past any risk of frost (although Hurricane season is coming fast). I'm excited about the fact that theoretically, there are the equivalent of 3 full growing seasons for most summer veggies down here (versus back home in upstate NY) and several things can grow in the winter, too. So when the first round of stuff is gone, it'll still be early summer.

Mary Ellen, have you ever grown horseradish in a container? I'm curious as to what the conditions would need to be, how deep the container would need to be, etc.

My sister and her boyfriend are the superior gardeners in our household. They put a cloche on one of the raised beds, to guard against these frosts we seem to keep having and got the February seedlings in on time. With the occasional sunny day we're getting now the cloche is very tropical feeling inside and the seeds are shooting up like crazy. Parsnips, green onions, beets, squash. We've got seed trays inside with two kinds of tomatoes, peppers, chamomile, and several varieties of flowers.

Horseradish is generally grown in the North! Illinois is the major horseradish production state. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Still, it's worth a try if you have room in a deep pot. Maybe you'll have a relatively cool summer. Whiskey barrels are about right depthwise.

I used to wonder why people went to such lengths to put old storm windows over flats and such, but now I see where it gives the seedlings just that little bit of protection they need to be able to handle the chill. It's not just about temperature, either, wind will damage the little darlin's.

There's great satisfaction in growing a plant all the way from seed, even more if you can do it from the seed of a plant you grew last year!

Thanks Mary Ellen! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I love basil so that is definitely top of my list.

Today I prepared 20 5-gal plastic fake terra cotta looking pots with the lower half last year's garden soil and the top half potting soil. Oh, I laid one layer of coffee filters over the drainage holes.

I plan on planting tomatoes in the little greenhouse at left and the swiss chard from last year is still growing in the bed at left, but in the pots I'm going to try lettuce, carrots, spaghetti squash, lima beans, bush beans, herbs, peas.

Also in the bed with the swiss chard I'm going to plant last year's dry beans.

Sorry, I'm househunting and finally found one with plenty of gardening space! Yea!.

Anyway, Swiss Chard can also be cooked like asparagus! Tear off the leaves for salads and steam the stalks!

The containers were the 40-gallon size. Then I lined the sides with at least 1-1/2inches of newspaper wrapped in green garbage bags! Gravel for drainage and layered the soil -- my own variation on French intensive gardening. It's a little tricky to do, but well worth it. They're perfect for small yards, and sunny apartment porches!

1. 40-gal rectangular tub.
2. Fold enough newspapers in half to reach 1-1/2 thickness.
3. Cover each bundle with plastic bags, or open bags, wrap around bundle, and tape closed on side that will be against wall of basket. (this was the year-round insulation)
4. Put at least 4"-6" of aggregate (large driveway rocks) on bottom for drainage. You won't need to drill holes in the bottom of the containers, so there's no mess on balconies!
5. Layers, repeat twice. 2" soil, 1/8" bone meal, 1/8" blood meal, 1/8" green sand (crushed concrete), 1/4" Vermiculite (sp?). Repeat layers and end with soil. Should have about 2" border above last layer of soil.
6. Now check out a local nursery and ask if you can collect some worms from under their potted plants! Most will let you take them. Or, if not, find some fishing worm places and buy a few bags. Or....way down the ladder, dig your own!
7. Before you add the worms to the planters, make sure the top soil is damp and inviting. Divide the worms among your planters and they'll take care of your soil irrigation needs!
8. Broadcast all seeds, except Swiss Chard and Kohlrabi, thin when ready, as plants are nearing final harvest, put down new seed/seedlings near plant to replace it. Remember to rotate plants, either by container or position in container.

You'll be harvesting year round, so invite me to dinner!

Those sound like some very professional containers there, with the newspaper insulation and all. You really did keep the crops going year 'round, didn't you?

There was a time when I was moving around so often and so busy that all I could do was buy a bag of potting soil, poke holes in it top and bottom, and pop in some posies to keep me going until things settled down. I mulched over the bag and put it in the sunshine and it did just fine for the few months until I got settled again. Actually, as I remember, that was a good year for flowers. There's really no limit to what you can do if you apply a few good gardening principles and let your plants grow.

Dinner? Any time!

Oh, I keep worms on hand to feed my fishes! If you do have an aquarium, use the water from your water changes to water your plants. It's rich in nitrogen and the plants love it!

What a classic quote. <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

I've done veggie containers many years, and the only thing was the tomatoes were thirsty all the time. But it's doable.

This year we'll have

Eggplant (3 vars.)
Pumpkins
Tomatoes (cherry and brandywine)
Onions (walla walla)
Bell peppers

Later on I'll plant some zucchini, but I don't want to be overwhelmed. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Yep, tomatoes do need their water. They are very juicy fruits. (Hmmm, where have I heard that before?)

It would be the pumpkins that would scare me, not the zucchini, though I know what you mean. By fall, you could be looking at a real embarrassment of riches with zucchini. You can reduce productivity with zucchini by picking early and often. If you remove some of the flowers (How can I bear it?), you shouldn't have too many zuchs.

I bet those onions are going to be real tasty!

These are the giant var. of pumpkins and I presume he'll want to remove most of the flowers to focus on a few biggies.

I've never tried onions, so this will be a first. Hubby likes to grill them so I am picturing lots of summer evenings with grilled steak and onions. Mm.

Okay. Lots of time has passed. I've moved into the new house and actually got a major "container" garden going, but not until the middle of June. Layered the soil and added about 600 worms.
You can see an October picture if you go to my new site: http://www.creativehandz.com/creativehandz/ne2.1myblog.htm

Grew:
Roma tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes
Grape tomatoes
Swiss Chard
Onions
Radishes
Carrots
Okra
Eggplant
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Basil
Chives
Thyme
Fennel
Bush Green Beans
Leaf Lettuces

Used the same layering technique as for the smaller containers, except lined it with the plastic bags from the aggregate. Poor little plants really had some tough sun to compete against, but, as you can see, they made it.

Made sure they had a constant source of water by putting needle holes in the bottom (opposing sides)of plastic water bottles and refilled them every couple of days. Bottles were spaced to feed two plants each. (Don't you just love progress?)

Anyway, the move lasted most of the summer and gardening was low on the list. Even so, we had great dinners of fresh veggies and I'm glad I went ahead and set this one up.

I'll be doing lasagna gardens this spring.

Totally awesome! This is some container garden! I love a raised bed myself, hence my great enthusiasm for container gardening. Your tip about bottle watering is well taken and I've spied used soda bottles in some very high-brow containers over the years to cut down on the daily watering required at the height of summer. It's a beautiful thing.

Here in NJ, the daffodils are peeking their leaves out of the soil and the primroses are greening up. And we haven't even had our first lick of winter yet!

Thanks for posting.

I think anything can be grown in pots and containers. In fact they are probably better off in containers if you start with a perfect soil rather than mucking around with the existing soil.

[imageBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Very clever indeed. I love styro for container gardening. I feel that the evaporation seems less. I have no proof of this, just a sense that there is less temperature fluctuation in the styro.

Using "grey water" from the washer is very environmentally friendly, a brilliant way to keep the water bills down and help reduce consumerism down at the water company.

Enjoy your summer crops!

Just came back for Lowe's (our home supply guru) and mentally planned the spring gardens. After the move, I had MANY leftover vinyl shelving units and, believe it or not, no place to put them. Boing!!!! Mind alteration to gardening plans.

1. Set up basic shelving, using four legs and one shelf, approx. 18" high.
2. Purchased four (4) [at $.76 - or, $3.04 per unit) each here in USA) concrete metal rods (36" each) per unit to run down through core of each corner with at least 20" pounded into the ground to stabilize shelf.
3. Place containers similar to those I used in Delaware on top of shelving to protect back and easy access.
4. Run support stakes through "holes" in shelving top, or run rows along backside of shelving for runners.

What's great about this type of container is that you can rotate crops so easily. Just note what was planted in which container and don't use it for the same ones for the next couple of years.

I can't wait for February and planting time.

Well, I couldn't wait. Still haven't set up the container over shelving, yet, because those will be the warmer, summer, crops. A little too much exposure to cold, wind, and rain, to be worth taking the time to watch them die.

BUT, did get started on the Lasagna gardening and will NEVER go back to the old way of digging, roto-tilling, and singing rhythmic hymns. . .

So, I will have two new beds by the end of the week, some planted with cold-weather crops and others just waiting for spring warm-up.

Took less than two hours to set up the first garden.

1. Put down two sheets of newspaper in a 4' x 12' rectangle over the section of grass (no digging up) where I wanted the garden.
2. Wet it thoroughly.
3. Covered length with approx. 3-4" each of old leaves, dried plant cuttings, light sprinkling of bone and blood meals, lime, peat moss for airiness*, very old almost decomposed straw, layer of OLD horse manure, some dirt (not much) and any old mulchy stuff in my wooded area; then, repeated layers until the bed was approx. 24" high.

* If you don't have peat moss and want to keep the soil light with air pockets, you can use soft-stem plant cuttings (pampas (sp?) grass, reeds) or old broken soft-wood pieces. That will prevent things from compacting too much while they deoompose.

Right now, the bed has no controlled sides (so isn't, officially, a container garden, yet), while I build the other one. But, plan on putting stakes around the edges and attach black plastic wrapping (bags) to keep everything inside (a half-way container?) the edges while it's doing its thing. Will also cover the whole shebang with clear plastic dropcloths to hurry the process and have little mini hothouses.

Wanted to take pictures and discovered my digital camera died. I lost all my holiday pix, too. Put in brand-new batteries and somehow they corroded and did their damage. Maybe I can use a different camera, then scan the photos, until I replace the digital! (what did we do without them??) Will try that.

Oh Sharlene, so sorry about your camera! I know we're all very dependent on our electronics. I know what we did without them...not so much!

I love the lasagne method. It is so intuitively right. I can't wait to introduce it into the game this spring.

Right now I'm working on an article on planting seeds for the fainthearted. I hope I finish it before it's time to plant indoors.

Best,

Well, I finally got my camera! It does so many things that I'm seriously challenged, for now, but did figure out how to use just the digital part so here are my pix!

gardens2007

Still have to paint the trellis, just wanted to get it positioned. Will put in edging for a mower guide and then enjoy. Putting all my seeds on tissue with flour paint to make planting easy and reduce thinning to naught!

Will add all my water bottles as soon as the rain stops and the sun makes life a little warmer here. (That's about 50 degrees for me!)

Okay. The container garden is full of spring sproutings and have created three more lasagna beds for the grapes and potatoes. Check them out here: http://www.creativehandz.com/creativehandz/gardens2007.htm

Hey everyone! I have this old run down wheel barrow that I am planning on growing our watermelon in this year. It will have room to run over and I'm hoping it will look really pretty. I'm even thinking about putting a support in the middle of the wheel barrow so it has something to climb.

What do you think?

Jackie Lee

Have you ever done Lasagna gardening in your containers? I just reviewed the book Lasagna Gardening last week and noticed she has written a lasagna gardening for small spaces/containers.

I'm thinking of doing potatoes in a bag using lasagna method. I have all the "stuffing" for lasagna gardening and think it would be so much easier than using soil for my containers.

Jackie Lee

Yes. Lasagna Gardening works for everything. I'm even doing it for the new fruit trees. They'll be raised a bit off the ground and will get surrounded with pretty florals as ground cover.

Everything is growing so fast, now. My sister (she lives with me) can't wait to get home from work, at night, to see the changes.

You're going to hate me but I've created self-watering containers for my tomatoes, this year. They hold about 1 gallon of water in the bottom and insure that the soil stays moist not wet.

Will try to get some sequential pictures taken and put them up, soon.

I started a slightly raised garden last year. Very small yard space/poor soil so rather than dig down into rock we put in new soil. Anyway, newbie that I am, I have heard that there are flowers I can mix with my veggies that critters don't like. Do any of you know what they would be? I have a garden space 6'X19' most of which I want to plant w/veggies. Ideas?

Hi, I'm new here and also new to container gardening. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but suddenly, about a week ago I got the idea to grow vegetables on our apartment balcony.

I know nothing about gardening but I can't wait. I requested the book "The Bountiful Container" from the library and plan to start next week.

I would appreciate any guidance from those here with experience. I live in Northern California. Right now the temperature highs are in the 70s and low 80s. The lows are in the high 40s and low 50s. My balcony doesn't get a lot of direct sun, maybe only an hour or two.

What would be ideal to grow in terms of organic vegetables? I love carrots, peppers, sugar snap peas, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, soybeans, and probably some other veggies I can't think of now....

Thanks for your help!

Tianna

Hi Tianna--it's been a while since you've posted so I'm wondering what you decided to plant and how it's going?

One thing I've learned is that you really need a good potting soil with fertilizer included in the mix--Miracle Grow is good one. I also find that starting from seed really yields stronger and healthier plants than the ones purchased at the nursery.

A website I've found is www.yougrowgirl.com that has great hints for container gardening and seed starting!

I am getting a very late start but decided to plant a tomato in a container and get some radish and letter seed for another container. We have a lot of deer and rabbits in our neighborhood and I hope this might be a way to grow some vegetables. I'll take a whack at it.

I purchased Miracle Gro moisture control soil for the containers. It holds the moister and it has fertilizer. Miracle Gro is excellent so I figured I couldn't go too wrong.

I have a terrible rabbit problem, last year as well as this year, I have tomatoes, and peppers in containers. They actually grew very well in them (they are pretty large)and it did somewhat deter the rabbits. I have tried every trick in the book and if they are hungry they will munch on them too. I got up bright and early one morning to find a bunny sitting in the planter having breakfast! I put wind chimes in the pots now it looks like that is working. Good Luck with yours.

Mary Caliendo
Tea Editor

That's an idea - windchimes. I purchased a marglobe plant. It grows about 36 inches tall. Last night after I planted it, we had rain. It is very perky today. I also purchased a planter for radishes and lettuce. I thought I had seed but will have to go out and buy a package of each. I've decided to give up feeding the hummingbirds this year. So, I'll try to find a hanging planter wutg something good to eat.

My mother nurtured a small "wax rose" - a ground cover/cacti of some sort. It was a cutting from something her mother had and she died in 1954 so it is now my turn to nurture the plant. It was on the deck last year and did beautifully but one morning I noticed something had been nibbling. Do you think it would have been a rabbit on the deck?

The miracle grow soil is excellent stuff, Angie. You can't go wrong.
I'm doing upside down tomatoes this year and they're doing terrific. No pest problems or staking and the bunnies can't shimmy up the poles!

What are upside down tomatoes?

I've found that bunnies continue to eat almost anything! (even the things that are supposed to repel them), Also mentioned were the upsidedown tomatoes, I've always seen them adbertised and never did purchase. I'm glad to hear that they are growing well, keep us posted on the progress of them.

Mary Caliendo
Tea Editor

My radishes are doing well in the flower pots on the deck. The lettuce didn't germinate though.

Woowie! I've got a tomato! It's probably be ready to eat while I'm on vacation :-(

You can go here and check it out: Upside Down Tomatoes

http://seedsofknowledge.com/tomato2.html

I'll have to try that next year. I have a planter on my deck (it's a good size one). I put a shepherd's hook in the pot and then I decided to put a second, taller one in the pot. I have one plant and a wind chime on the hooks but it would lend itself to an upside tomato plant.

I've had pretty good success. One plant did get ravaged by horn worms but that's to be expected. That's why I have 9 of them going--I'm bound to get a good crop one way or another!

I didn't have horn worms this year but I have only one tomato on a beautiful marglobe tomato plan. My MIL will get to eat it as we will probably be away on vacation when it is ready to be picked.

I love this site. I have enjoyed reading all your posts. I think I am going to try container gardening too.

I am so excited about doing some gardening this year. Thanks to all for inspiring me!
Sheryl

I am looking forward to starting also. I put some more broccoli seeds out - I hope these sprout. Broccoli is a cool weather crop so the spring window is not that long here. We have winter/spring one day and summer the next.

I found a great article about container gardening - It was suggested growing bush beans, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, and herbs. Then in August, English peas, lettuce, beets, broccoli, and cabbage. Tomatoes were not on the list but I will again try them.

I'm not the least interested in vegetable gardening, as I am to busy with the rest of my tropical paradise....but I think you ladies are giving me some incentive to do some container veggie gardening. Anyone got a few major tips to get me started?

Hubbie's been wanting me to for a few years now.

Oh boy, what a great time of year to begin!

Herbs do well in pots. I grow parsely and basil year round on the window sill or garden.

Lettuce grows quickly in pots. If you can get a pony pack break out the seedlings into a couple per 4" diameter pot - also window sill or garden.

Cherry tomato plants do well in large 12" diameter pots in warm weather in the sun protected from the wind and watered well.

Infact, in summer water potted vegies every day.

Most of all, have fun - pinch off leaves of lettuce and herbs as a treat when watering. Roll the herbs in a lettuce leaf to eat.

My friend gave me a Brandywine Heritage Tomato plant today. The tomato is said to have been developed by the Amish. It is low yielding and a late variety. Oh well. I put it in a pot on the deck and we'll see what happens. I'll get something else for another pot and perhaps I'll have some late tomatoes too.

I'm taking notes Susan. Thanks.

I went to a meeting today and on my way home stopped at the garden shop - I picked up Better Boy tomatoes, chocolate mint, parsley, and strawberries. I need to pick up some more potting soil so I can finish the strawberries and a couple of planters for the tomatoes. I will try two of them in the yard and try to protect them and two on the deck.

Today on my lunch hour I picked up some Miracle Gro garden soil and came home and planted two of the tomato plants I purchased yesterday. I noticed that my hibiscus scorched in the heat yesterday. I was trying to figure out what to do with the strawberry plants. I was going to put them in the jar but I'm not sure now.

There are some buds on my tomatoes three of the four plans. Yippee.