Container Gardening

I posted a lengthy discussion on container gardening last year (see Popular Posts) and it has all the essentials on preparing the soil, planting, and successfully growing your veggies in any type of container; raised bed or otherwise, but I wanted to talk about it again BECAUSE I LOVE IT...and here's why.

For shear volume, there is nothing better than an in-ground garden, BUT...  labor is significant!  Tilling, weeds, pest control, etc.  Everything is bigger...including the problems.  We are so busy at the store in the Spring that it is difficult for me to have TIME for my own garden.  I need a garden that fits my schedule.  Talking with my customers,  TIME may be the biggest shortage we all have - more than money!  So here's some ideas on container gardening that don't take much time to set up and are a breeze once they are going.

Square Foot Garden.  The obvious is the small square-foot garden made famous by Mel Bartholomew in his book Square Foot Gardening.  One of the main points I got from his book was this.  We tend to garden like commercial farmers but our goals are not the same.  The farmer uses mechanical tools and usually farms a huge quantity of a few crops in huge fields.  We small gardeners are just the opposite relying on manual labor and growing a wide variety of crops in confined spaces.  Bartholomew showed me that I can grow a lot of different crops and produce enough for my family and friends in small spaces with less work than my traditional in-ground, row garden.  One of the main ideas I got from him is that more plants planted closer together grow more total produce PER SQUARE FOOT than my row garden.

The picture above shows two 4x4 foot square gardens; the left with 16 broccoli plants and the right with 8 cabbage, a 2x2 plot of carrots, and a 2x2 plot of onions.  Nearly invisible is a welded wire trellis arched between the two beds.  Once the cool season veggies are done, I will plant cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pole beans and train them on the trellis.  The remaining 3/4 of  the beds will be dedicated to tomatoes, squash, egg plant, or bush beans.  I am adding two more 4x4 beds this year and will be able to produce most of the veggies I want for my entire family.  The benefits including superior soil, less watering and weeding, and less bending over.

Recycle Old Containers.  There are many other kinds of containers that can be extremely easy to use for particular crops.  Here's an example of styrofoam boxes used to ship grapes to grocery store being used for lettuce.  Two or three of these can be seeded every 2-3 weeks giving you plenty of leaf lettuce for about 8 months out of the year.  The red teepees in the background are actually walls-of-water with early season heirloom tomatoes inside.  According to some university research, the red increases yields.  The walls-of-water protect the plants from frost (down into the low 20s) and wind.  They are one of the best early season tools for southern gardeners.  They tomatoes are planted in old 200 lb. cattle lick tubs with the same soil mix I used on the  raised beds.  I will secure the plants to the side of the trellis for support.

Earthboxes are another favorite of mine for people who are away from home and can't water every day during the summer.  The bottom of the container contains a reservoir which holds about 2 gallons of water.  With the top mulched, that will last up to five days in the summer heat.  This one is shown with a red/green leaf lettuce mix.

Make it Fun.  Here is my first strawberry of the year in a hanging basket.  I also plant container variety tomatoes such as Tumbling Tom in hanging baskets.  In our summers, a deep basket with a small reservoir for water is best.  Otherwise, you will be watering twice a day.

What to Avoid.  I have not had luck with the upside-down containers and neither have any of my customers.  I bet that a dozen people tried them last year with no success although last year was a terrible year for gardening - 102 degrees for a couple of months!  Here are some other things to watch out for when choosing a container.  Be sure that the container isn't contaminated with something you would want in your produce.  This may include pesticides, herbicides, and treated lumber.  Also, color can make a difference.  I local gardener was growing tomatoes in black lick tubs and was having to water twice a day and the plants were still suffering from the heat.  He painted the tubs a lighter color and problem solved.  Be sure to fit your container to your plant - bigger pots for bigger plants, etc.  Also, be sure to site your container keeping in mind your plants' light requirements.  Don't forget that the trees don't have leaves yet!

Container Gardening: Great Results for Busy People

For producing a bountiful harvest with the least effort and time, container gardening and raised bed gardening are the best answer.

I differentiate between container gardening and raised bed gardening.  Container gardening is focused on growing in enclosed pots and containers such as flower pots, tubs, and even Earthboxes.  Raised bed gardens are built up from the ground but are open to the soil below.  I make this difference because container gardens are limited by the contents of the pot.  Once they are used up, the plant becomes stressed, stunted and quits growing and producing.  Because of this, constant watering and feeding (ie. constant care) are required of all container plants.  On the other hand, raised beds have more soil and the plants can even make use of the topsoil below the raised bed.  It's the best of both worlds, the benefits of less weeding and care of container gardening, and the increased production potential of ground-planted gardens.

Many people have been disappointed with their container gardens; both in the quantity and quality of the fruit, as well and the constant watering during summer months.  I can grow tomatoes in almost any size pot, but it takes constant watering and feeding.

There are over 40 tomatoes on this plant growing in a lick tub!

Hanging Basket with Two 3/4 Lb. Tomatoes

It is my opinion, raised beds are the best choice for those wanting the grow a good amount of vegetables but don't want or have time to plow, weed, and care for an in-ground garden.  From my experience, several 4x4 foot raise beds and add a good deal of food for the entire family.

Earthbox, 4x4 Raised Bed, Tub Tomato, Wire Trellis

The picture above shows several different type of container gardening options.  The Earthbox (shown in front) has a water reservoir in the bottom that eliminates much water and can be used to provide a constant liquid fertilizer charge.  The raised bed is built out of recycled lumber.  It contains 8 pepper plants, and a row of cantaloup and a cucumber plant.  The cantaloups and cucumbers are trained up the wire trellis maximizing space and minimizing care.  On the left of the raised bed, is a tub tomato.  At this point, I had already harvested a half dozen tomatoes, all of which were over 3/4 lb.  The tomato is tied to the trellis for support.

The raised bed in the background is planted with pole beans, bush beans, onions and a squash plant.

Raised Bed Gardening

Container gardening is fast becoming the standard method for gardening.  The time, energy and water requirements of planting in the ground are beyond the fast moving lives most of us live. The benefits of low maintenance, small space requirements, and great results fit lifestyles with little extra time and energy.  Container gardens can look many ways: pots, old wheelbarrows, old tractor tires,

 feed tubs, barrel halves, raised beds (permenant structures built up from the ground), and Earthboxes (the ultimate self-contained container system), just to name a few.  

Raised beds are especially popular for folks tired of managing a large garden but still want enough room to grow plenty of food.  Raised beds are also good for people who do not have adequate quality topsoil.  

Giant Cabbage in Raised at The Green House
(Red Walls-o-Water for Tub Tomatoes)

Raised beds were made popular by the book Square Foot Gardening which blasted many gardening myths on plant spacing and productivity.  In summary, the author demonstrated that plants grown close together yield more per square foot and provided the added benefits of reducing weeds and evaporation.  Using his 4x4 foot square, the author showed that a family of four could feed themselves with as little as 3 or 4 of these squares.

Are you ready to build your own raised bed?  If so, here are some easy steps to help you on your way to a successful raised bed garden.  And if you're more into container gardening, most of these steps are applicable to you as well.

1. Choosing the Location.  First, you need to know what you are going to grow.  Vegetables require full su

n.  Some plants do well in partial sun.  In Texas, "full sun" means that you can have some shade during the day and still have "full sun" (8-10 hours a day).  In early spring, be sure to take into account tree shade once the leaves have come out!  Drainage can also be important.  Do not build your garden in a drainage area and consider if how heavy rain runoff might affect your location.

2. Choosing the Size.  There is no best size or shape.  A popular size is 4 ft. by 4 ft. because you can reach all your plants without stepping into your bed causing compaction.  4 ft. by 8 ft. is also popular because so many bought materials come in 8 ft. lengths.  Heights of raised beds vary from 6 to 24 inches.  A minimum of 6 in. is needed to grow most plants.  Keep in mind that plants will make use of the soil below the raise bed as well.  Assuming that you are providing superior soil, the deeper the soil, the better your outcome.  Also, the taller the raised bed, the less stooping you will have to do.  Many beds will include a led

ge in which the gardener can sit upon. 

3. Choosing Materials.  If you are purchasing treated lumber and plan to eat what you grow, consider the possibility of chemical residue getting into your food. Avoid any materials that might contain contaminants that could enter your food.  

It can be fun (and less expensive) to think outside the box.  Recycle old lumber, garage doors, tractor tires, water troughs, etc.

4. Construction Considerations.  Be sure your container is strong enough to withstand the pressure of wet soil 

pressing against the sides.  Typically 2 inch thick lumber can span 4 ft. while 1 inch lumber should be supported every 2 feet.  Be sure to level the box.  Soil will shift and seeds will float away in unlevel beds make the bed somewhat unsightly.

Some experts say that all grass should be dug out before placing your container garden but we have used a double layer of cardboard along with a foot of soil to kill out the grass.  If gofers are a problem, tack some chicken wire on the bottom.  I prefer something looser than landscape fabric so the earthworms can travel back and forth!

5. Preparing the Soil.  Choosing the soil can be the most difficult decision of the project and it is the most important!  The quality of the soil defines your results.  Scraping up dirt from around the property may the be cheapest but it probably won't get you the results you are looking for.It will lack fertility and will most likely add weed seeds and possibly disease to your raised bed. Here are some easy steps to help you get started.

First, calculate the amount of soil you need.  Do this by multiplying the length by width by height.  Do this all in one measurement, e.g., feet.  A 4 by 4 ft. raised bed built to a height of 12 inches requires 16 cubit feet of soil (4 times 4 times 1 equals 16 cu. ft.).  

Main Ingredients: Compost, Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and Horse Manure

Next, choose your material.  You can use pre-mixed potting soil but this is usually the most expensive method.  You may also be able to purchase bulk "garden mix" or "container mix" from local composting or landscaping professionals.  Alternatively, you can make your own using inexpensive purchased ingredients, and optionally, materials around your property.

Here is an easy formula you can start with to create a "soil-less" soil which is lightweight, tilthy, and fertile. Mix 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 compost.  From there, you can add many different soil amendments to enhance your soil.  I have a custom "soil builder" which contains worm castings (9% nitrogen and earthworm eggs), corn meal (feeds beneficial fungi), dry molasses (sugars for beneficial microbes), humates (72 trace minerals), biozome (beneficial biologicals), and greensand (a mined mineral high in potassium and iron).  I also add several buckets of horse manure.  A 5 gallon bucket is approxim

ately .8 cu. ft.  Experiment and find what works for you. 

Remember, the SOIL is THE KEY to a successful garden, both in terms of yield, taste, and disease, pest, and drought resistance.

Once your soil is in place, mix and water thoroughly.  If you used a lot of peat, you may want to put a sprinkler on your bed because it takes time to get the stuff wet!  Stay tuned as we begin planting in 

our new raised bed....

Too Little Room? Water? Time? Try Container Gardening

There seem to be many more people interested in vegetable gardening this year.  I hear that more are wanting to be able to grow their own food either because of high costs, fear of future availability or the recent evidence that the food available is of low quality.  Whatever your reasons, you may want to consider container gardening.  Container gardening takes less space and water, produces more per square foot, requires less maintenance and no large equipment.  It is ideal for town folk with limited room and/or high water bills.  It also suits those will less time and energy to work a big garden.  Container gardens can come in many packages.  Pots, old feed tubs, split barrels, are perrienal favorites but can get difficult to keep watered in the heat of the summer.  Raised beds are excellent for larger gardens and, if built up 18 to 24 in. can reduce stress on the back.  They also hold water longer than smaller containers.  Another good choice is the Earthbox.  It is an all-in-one package with water storage in the bottom that takes advantage of the soils natural wicking characteristics.  While pricey, they offer the most freedom and self-sufficiency.  You can see an Earthbox above with broccoli.

Seed Starting Update - Week 1

Here's a picture of my seed starting rack. It is located in my office where I can admire the progress of my seedlings every day. I planted my first round of seeds on February 1st using my 55 cell propagation units (top shelf). I planted celebrity tomatoes and Sweet Genovese basil. These will be ready for transplant in around 3 weeks. I will pot them up to 4 in. pots and then again to 1 gal. pots depending upon the weather.

By February 7th, I had newly sprouted plants in 53 of 55 cells. Once they sprout, I take the clear plastic domes off and le

t the plants grow to the lights. Notice that the lights are nearly touching the plants. They

produce so little heat that that they can't harm the plants. The tomatoes will literally grow around the light tubes!

On February 7th, I planted 4 units of 40 cells each; full of heirloom and specialty tomatoes. Some of my favorite large heirlooms include Black Krim, Watermelon Beefsteak, Giant Belgium, Caspian Pink, and German Head. My largest tomato was a 1 lb. 10 oz. Watermelon Beefsteak. I am trying Big Zac this year which holds the world record at over 7 lbs.

I also plant a lot of hard-to-find specialty tomatoes such as container varieties, early producers, and interesting colors and shapes.

As I mentioned previously, I grow my own plants to ensure availability of the varieties I want when I want them, and to ensure the quality of my plants.

Stay tuned to watch my progress. Next week, I will begin starting peppers. I like to have them started by March 1st so that they are ready for planting by April 1st.

Picking the First Tomato! Planting Early...

TIME TO PLANT?  Well, is it time yet?  According to the "ol' timers", anytime after Easter is safe.  However, the farmer's almanac says that we can expect a windy, cold period through April 24th with a possible light freeze.  Still, when the weather gets pretty, it's hard not to get started, especially in our country where it gets sooo hot sooo fast!  I feel a lot of pressure to produce not only the biggest tomatoes in the county but the earliest one as well.  Here are some ideas for a safe, effective approach to jump-start your garden.

PROTECTING EARLY PLANTINGS.  For tomatoes, peppers and other transplants, you can plant early with a little care.  Plants know what time of year it is so if the temperature and length of daylight hours isn't enough, you won't get much benefit, especially peppers who like it hot.  

For tomatoes, start with an early season variety.  People tell me Early Girl is an excellent early-season hybrid.  I plant several heirlooms that produce early including Black Krim, Santiam, and Orange Queen.

Once planted, a bucket or tarp over a plant can protect up to 5 degrees in my experience.  It's important that the cover not touch the plant and there are no air leaks around the bottom.  I have had plant tips burn when touching the side of a bucket or covering.  

START INSIDE.  I start inside.  I pot up my tomatoes several times building up to gallon containers and never allowing rootbound to occur.  I keep them in my greenhouse but you can easily leave them outside to harden off and bring them in whenever there is a freeze chance.  This seems to be the best way to get a head start even beating the Walls-o-Water.  For squash, watermelon, and cucumber, you can start the seeds indoors a few weeks before you last freeze date and get a little head start on the season.  Just drop a few seeds in a pot and keep near a lighted window.

WALLS-O-WATER are great ways to start tomatoes early.  These are plastic slips which, when filled with water provide protection from wind and cold in addition for providing a greenhouse effect of warmth giving the plants a head start.

PROTECT FROM THE WIND.  Regardless of when you plan to plant, give your tender transplants protection from the wind.  It is always windy this time of year and the wind literally sucks the growth potential right out of your plant.  You will receive huge benefits from giving your plant protection.  Any kind of recycled container can work including paper milk cartons and plastic milk cartons with bottoms and tops cut out.  Press them into the soil about an inch for cutworm protection as well.  People have used old black nursery containers with the bottoms cut out but be sure to remove them before it gets hot.  I wrap row cover material around my cages to protect them from the wind.  It only lasts a season but is relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

GETTING THE FIRST TOMATO (FOR ADVANCED (or crazy) GROWERS).  I like the bragging rights for the earliest tomato.  Last year, my first tomato was ripe April 20th.  It was a Glacier, an artic tomato that sets in 45 degrees.  It's not very tasty or a heavy producer, but I had the first tomato!  I used all of the ideas above including potting up and growing it in the greenhouse much of the time.  Another, more useful idea is to grow Gold Nuggets.  It is a golden cherry that produces in 45 days and provides tasty fruit throughout the summer.  You can usually get a Gold Nugget by May 1st!

Recycle Your Potting Soil

Every spring, people start showing up to buy new potting soil to replace the old stuff from last year.  I can understand the desire once you look at the gray, dried block of peat moss sitting in the pot.  But this can be an expensive proposition, especially if you are talking about large containers.

Make Old Potting Soil Like New.  While it's not good for business, I always tell people to reuse their existing potting soil by simply mixing in fresh compost or compost-based potting soils.  A mixture of 1/3 to 1/2 new material to existing material is enough to refresh your potting soil and make it look like new.  That's it...problem solved, money saved!  Just add a good fertilizer when you plant, and you won't notice any difference between your recycled potting soil and new potting soil...it may be better!

Not All Potting Soils Are The Same.  Here's some other info that may help you with your potting/container garden soil.  Almost all potting soils are made from Canadian peat moss.  It is useful as a potting mix ingredient because it is light and inexpensive (even though it is brought from Canada - another government subsidy).  This is also the material in the pot that remains after a growing season, dries out, and turns into a brick.  Some believe that we are destroying the peat bogs but my research shows that these bogs are nearly infinite in supply.  I don't like it because it unfairly competes with out local compost potting soil producers such as Lady Bug and Garden-Ville AND because it has no growth enhancement properties - ie., no fertilizer.  If you want a high quality, long lasting potting soil, naturally pre-fertilized, try Garden-Ville's or Lady Bugs products.  Made from compost, rock dusts (for trace mineral content), and natural fertilizers, you will see consistently excellent results.

Making Cheap Potting Soil Better.  For some, the lure of $2 bags of potting soil are inescapable.  You can make cheap potting soil much better simply by following the instructions above. Mix compost and/or a premium potting soil in with the cheaper stuff and you have a much better medium in which to grow your veggies and flowers.

Secrets of Seed Starting

I love January as it kicks off Garden Season with seed starting...the first green to be seen in some time.  I start my plants indoors and it is so comforting to see the fresh young plants growing every day.  I keep the starter shelf a few feet from my desk so they are a constant reminder of things to come.  But seed starting can be difficult for the beginner.  Through trial and error, I have developed a system, borrowed and stolen from others really, that is very reliable and fairly inexpensive to build and lasts for many seasons.

Nothing I'm about to say is actually a secret or original but it's what I have found to enable consistently successful seed starting for most vegetables and other annuals.  If you follow these basics, you will be successful.  If I can do it, anyone can!

Foundation Keys to Successful Seed Starting
You must do ALL of these things well to start seeds.  Any variation in the execution of any of these items will successfully diminish your success.  So here they are:

1. Good, Well-Drained Seed Starter Soil.  I've been told by A&M and other "authorities" that your seed starting mix must be sterile.  However, I've been using horse manure in my mix with excellent results.  Actually, I believe that it is the SECRET INGREDIENT that prevents a lot of problems such as damping off disease that other people experience.  Other than that, the recipe is pretty typical to produce and nice, tilthy, well-drained mix:
1. Peat Moss - 3 parts
2. Vermiculite - 2 parts
3. Fine Sand - 2 parts
4. Horse Manure - 2 parts
2. Water from Below.  Once you have your soil prepared, you are ready to start planting.  When choosing planting containers, the main thing to think about is that it should be set up to water from below.  Above watering is one of the key causes of damping off disease.  You can use almost any kind of container but I like the self-watering kits.  My favorite is the Propamatic which comes in 24 cell and 40 cell kits.  I like the 40 cell version because I like to maximize my shelf space.  I grow between 1 and 2 thousand plants each spring so space is a premium.  They also come with a plastic dome which helps with initial germination.  I STRONGLY RECOMMEND these kits.  They pay for themselves in a season and last for years.  Planting is easy:  Wet the felt wick pad and set up the seed starting kit.  Add soil and plant your seeds.  I suggest planting the same species of seeds so that germination is uniform.  Once planted, water from below and rewater as often as you need to keep the soil consistently moist.
3. Light from Above.  Good lighting is also important.  Many people try to start seeds in south facing windows and other indirect lighting situations but this will produce long, scraggly plants.  Of course you can go with the expensive plant-specific lights, but I'm too cheap for that.  I use the cheapest fluorescent shop lights I can find.  My shelf is rigged with two sets of two 4-ft. lights on adjustable chains.  I adjust the lights so that they are always nearly touching the plants.  The plants can actually grow around the lights and gain some additional warmth.  One set of 4-ft lights will support 4 propamatic boxes or 160 plants!  I run the lights on a timer from 12 to 18 hours per day...the more light, the faster the growth.
4. Keeping the Plants Comfy.  Seeds and comfy plants enjoy consisted, moderate temperatures.  I start all my seeds indoors where the temperature varies little from 68 to 78 degrees.  I've had good luck with both cool season seeds such as broccoli and spinach as well as all warm season vegetables and annual flowers.  Some folks will start their seeds in a garage or other unheated space that is protected from frost but I can say with certainty that the starts are much slower when the temperature is colder.
5. Roof Over Their Heads.  My propamatics come with a 2 inch plastic dome that I leave on the units until the seeds have sprouted.  Once sprouted (for tomatoes, they will be touching the top within 5 days of seeding!), remove the top.  Once the top is remove and the plants begin the grow, watering will be necessary more frequently.  At this point, I start watering with a mild liquid fertilizer.

That's it!  You should have strong plants ready to transplant between 2 and 4 weeks depending on how big the plants are.  Be careful about leaving them too long in the propamatic as the roots will make themselves at home in the felt wick and will be ripped off when you transplant.

Timing is pretty easy to calculate.  Work backwards from when you want to plant your garden by subtracting 6 weeks from your plant date.  This is your seed starting date and should provide plenty of time to grow some great transplants.

Making Your Own Compost Tea

Compost Tea.  One of the hottest topics in natural gardening is actively aeriated compost tea (AACT).   This is different from the more passive leaching compost tea because you are applying air (oxygen source) and food (molasses) to the water and compost to quickly grow beneficial microbial life.  By taking good compost, full of beneficial microbial life, and putting it in a bucket of water aeriated with plent of oxygen and a food source, you can produce a living, liquid soil and plant additive that can enhance your soil health, increase plant health, yields, and beauty, and limit/prevent disease, pest, and drought damage.  And you can make it yourself for very little money.  I'll get into the science behind it in later blogs, but for now, here's the quick skinny for getting started.  Also, look in the Natural Gardening Links section for links to videos from Bob Webster and Bruce Dueley, both Texans, on compost tea making.

Building A Compost Tea Brewer.  A brewer is very easy and cheap to build.  You need a container, preferably plastic (metals can harm the microbes), an air pump, plastic tubing, air stone(s), and a tea bag large enough to hold 5 lbs. of compost.  The system you see in the picture is 25 gallons and cost less than $30.  The tub was purchased at the Dollar Store and the rest came from Walmart.  The "tea bag" is a pillowcase but I've heard that paint sprayer bags are also quite good and inexpensive.  

Set Up.  Set up your brewer on level ground in the shade with electricity nearby.  You will need electricity for the air pump so site it near an outlet.  The brewer works best in the shade as UV rays can destroy the microbes.  Finally, place it close to where you will be using it most.  It's no fun carrying it a long distance!  Hook up the air pump to the air stones using the plastic tubing.  Place the air stones on the bottom - use duct tape if they will not stay.  The pump does not go into the water!

Fill tub with clean, non-chlorinated water - rain water is best.  If you only have city water, run the air pump for several hours to remove the chorine.  When your water is ready, put your compost tea recipe into your tea bag and place in the brewer.  The bag should be secured above the bottom.  You can tie the bag to the handles or place something like a small basket in the bottom to suspend the bag.

Recipes.  Compost tea requires two ingredients:  a biological source and food for the biology.  If this is your first time brewing compost tea, I recommend starting with this simple recipe: 5 lbs. of good compost and 1 oz. of molasses.  Once you've got some success, begin adding ingredients.

Brewing Instructions.  Once your brewer is set and the tea in place, turn on your air pump and you are brewing!  It typically takes 24 hours to build a good colony of microbes.  I know people who run theirs up to 72 hours.  You can probably run it longer but you would have to mange the food/oxygen supply which could get tricky.  I will write later on some of the more complex recipes and additives that you might want to try.

How Do You Know It's Working?  Smell it!  We are designed to differentiate between beneficial and pathological microbes.  Good soil smells good.  Rotton food smells bad.  Use your nose.

Good compost tea will smell slightly sweet.  As you start running out of sugar (molasses) in the tea, the smell will become yeasty.  If it smells bad, pour it out (not on your valuable plants) and start over.

Clean-Up.  Bacteria produce slime (biofilm).  This must be cleaned up after each use.  Usually just rinsing with water will suffice but you may want to use some vinegar or mild clorox dilution.  Let it dry in the sun and it will be ready for use.