One of my biggest missions when starting this site was to encourage everyone to get out and grow something, even the folks with very limited space. I think there is this common misconception that food must be grown in the ground, in the middle of the countryside or a traditional garden of sorts to in order to be a reliable source of nourishment. As a person who has successfully used Okra plants as landscaping for the last 4 years, I’m here to clear up those misconceptions and show you how to grow just about anything, even when there seemingly isn’t any space.
P.S- If you’ve never seen an okra plant in bloom, you should really check that out. They are gorgeous and delicious!
Enter container gardening. My first few years of urban farming was limited to containers. After purchasing our home, we found out that the yard had been consistently sprayed with tons of pesticides and herbicides, (yet was somehow still full of crabgrass) and my house was surrounded with overgrown ornamental landscaping. Additionally, there were tons of overgrown trees, limiting my growing capabilities. I spent the first season preparing space for the following season’s garden. Removing traditional landscaping, adding soil amendments, trimming trees back and adding beneficial, native plants around the property to attract those ever important pollinators. I also began sun mapping the property in order to see what areas would work best for my future garden plots. After paying attention to where the sun hit my yard and at what time of day, I quickly realized that I could have a decent kitchen garden, grown in containers on my front porch and sidewalk until my property was ready for full cultivation. This area gets 6+ hours of full sun, without the directness of the blistering hot afternoon summer sun. Making it perfect for lettuce (something I eat a TON of!). I didn’t have to buy lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, chives, green onion, radishes or cucumbers once all summer long. All it took was some planning, recycled- food-grade plastic buckets, old flower pots and some seeds.
Planning a container garden is easy and fun. Most anything can be grown in a container, but as a rule of thumb, the bigger the plant, the bigger the container needs to be. You also need to be mindful of watering. During the hottest months, you will probably need to water your plants twice a day. Now (well, at the time this was originally written) is the perfect time to start ordering seed if you intend to start your plants indoors before transplanting into pots after the danger of frost has passed. For most zones, this is early-mid May. If you are new to starting plants from seeds, here is a link to my piece about successful seed starting.
First, decide what you want to grow. What vegetables and fruits do you eat the most of? What could consistently shave money off of your weekly food bill by growing yourself? Once you decide on those items, start finding suitable containers. Old icing buckets (5 gallon) from bakeries are an amazing and cheap container to grow in, especially since they are made of food-grade plastic. Many bakeries sell these for next to nothing, or even give them away for free. You can also use window boxes, large flowerpots, industrial 5 gallon buckets that have NEVER had anything hazardous stored in them or old nursery containers (the containers plants come in when you buy them). Whatever you do decide to use, make sure there are plenty of drain holes in the bottom. Otherwise, your plants will drown. If you are still unsure of what size container you need for your plants, here is quick list (courtesy of The Farmer’s Almanac) of commonly found vegetable varieties and what size container works best for them. Additionally, make sure you to check with your homeowner’s/condo association or whatever governing authority you may have concerning your living space before you start putting containers everywhere, specifically if they are on a patio or balcony. I hate that this even has to be mentioned, but sometimes these agencies can be ruthless when it comes to things like this.
Beans
Container: 5-gallon bucket, long window box
Varieties: Bush ‘Blue Lake’, Bush ‘Romano’, ‘Tender Crop’
Broccoli
Container: 1 plant/5 gallon pot, 3 plants/15-gallon tub
Varieties: ‘DeCicco’, ‘Green Comet’
Carrots
Container: 5-gallon window box at least 12 inches deep
Varieties: ‘Danvers Half Long’, ‘Short ‘n Sweet’, ‘Tiny Sweet’
Cucumbers
Container: 1 plant/1-gallon pot (will also need a trellis to climb)
Varieties: ‘Patio Pik’, ‘Pot Luck’, ‘Spacemaster’
Eggplant
Container: 5-gallon pot
Varieties: ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Ichiban’, ‘Slim Jim’
Lettuce
Container: 5-gallon window box
Varieties: ‘Ruby’, ‘Salad Bowl’, ‘Black Seeded Simpson’
Onions
Container: 5-gallon window box, 5 gallon bucket
Varieties: ‘White Sweet Spanish’, ‘Yellow Sweet Spanish’
Peppers
Container: 1 plant/2-gallon pot, 5 plants/15-gallon tub
Varieties: ‘Cayenne’, ‘Long Red’, ‘Sweet Banana’, ‘Wonder’, ‘Yolo’
Radishes
Container: 5-gallon window box
Varieties: ‘Cherry Belle’, ‘Icicle’
Tomatoes
Container: Bushel basket
Varieties: ‘Early Girl’, ‘Patio’, ‘Small Fry’, ‘Sweet 100’, ‘Tiny Tim’, ‘Red Robin’, ‘Elfin’
If you decide on growing lettuce and beans, plant containers every two weeks to provide a season long supply. Move lettuce containers out of the hot afternoon sun as well because lettuce does not like the direct, hot afternoon sun. Additionally, if you plan on growing squash, cucumber or a pole bean variety in pots, you will need a trellis for the plant to climb. You could easily use a tomato cage to trellis these plants as long as they are planted in a container large enough for it to fit in. Tomato cages are versatile, I use them for a variety of climbing/vine plants!
The magic is in the soil. So, now that you’ve decided on what to grow and what containers you will use, we need to focus on the soil, which quite honestly is the single most important component of container gardening. If you get your soil mixture right you will have healthy plants that produce all summer long. Soil that is used for container gardening is a special, nutrient dense mixture that remains consistently moist without being sopping wet. Cheap bags of top soil will not get the job done, nor will simply digging dirt from the yard and throwing it in a pot.
For my containers I use a mixture of peat moss, compost, earth worm castings and high quality, organic top soil without fillers (large amounts of sand, gravel, etc.). Your plant is going to live the entirety of its life in this container, so the soil needs to provide it a healthy and nutrient dense environment to thrive in. There are a variety of pre-made potting soils on the market, but they are usually expensive. Especially if you want true, organic soil. I have made my own mixture for the last 5 or so years and it has worked extremely well while being more cost effective for my family. Additionally, as I’ve probably mentioned before, I really like the Black Kow products. They have one of the best organic top soils out there and their mushroom compost is fantastic to use in potting mixtures. You may have to do some searching to find their products in your ares, but they are working hard to expand their market.
‘Magic Mix‘ Potting Soil Mixture
1 part compost
1 part Sphagnum peat moss
1 part planting soil, raised garden bed soil or high quality, organic top soil
optional, vermiculite or a very small amount of coarse sand for drainage
optional, Garden Tone Organic Fertilizer
I generally buy 3 bags of compost, 3 bags of Sphagnum peat moss and 3 bags of the quality soil. Throw it all in a wheelbarrow, add a couple scoops of sand and a couple scoops of Garden-Tone organic fertilizer and mix, mix, mix! This filled several 5 gallon buckets, 2 large garden tubs and a couple of window boxes. If you have garden gloves, it is probably a good idea to wear them for this. My hands are perpetually stained from years of not wearing gloves and my fingernails are always dirty. I bought brown nail polish to wear from late February-October. It helps me look slightly more presentable. Doesn’t match my overalls so well, though.
Little by little. Now that we’ve covered what you want to grow, containers and soil, we can now talk about the process of moving your tiny little plant friends into their new Summer homes. Your seedlings will need to go through the process of ‘hardening off’ before planting outdoors, but it will ensure your seedlings grow up to be as healthy and strong as possible. Over a short period of time, once the weather is above freezing, you’ll sit your seedlings outside to longer periods of time each day. I usually start with an hour, then work my way up to a few hours a day. I’m sure you are thinking “how will I even have time to do this?” Don’t stress, this can be done in the afternoons after work, the idea is to just simply expose the plants to the outside world without overwhelming them. By the time you are going through this process, the days are longer, providing enough opportunity for this process. Hardening off exposes them to a variety of weather conditions, including direct sun, wind, rain, and lessens the likelihood of transplant shock. It is an extra step, but one you cannot skip if you want your plants to thrive. Seriously. Trust me on this.
Moving Day! Transplant your hardened off seedlings in containers after the danger of frost has passed. Check the soil frequently in the first few days, especially after watering to ensure that your pots are draining properly and not holding too much moisture. You may choose to start using fertilizer for your plants after they have been planted for a few weeks. I really like Monty’s Plant Vantage. You can fertilize once a week. Here’s a fun fact, Monty is a real person and I met him when I was 15 years old and his outgoing personality and sense of humor left an impression on me. I was star struck. We sold his products at the farm, and to see that the little cartoon man on the label of his products was a real, breathing person was super cool. Just so we are clear, I’ve always been a total nerd. Anyway, I digress. I’ve used this company’s products for years with awesome results. They are also local to Louisville, and their manufacturing facility is only a couple of miles from my house. A little goes a long way with this fertilizer, so make sure you are diluting it properly before applying it to your plants.
Care and maintenance. As far as maintaining your plants, typical deadheading (removing dead blossoms) and pruning looks identical to plants grown in a traditional garden. You may choose to prune tomatoes or other vine plants to encourage new growth and a fuller appearance. Other than keeping them watered and keeping a watchful eye for garden pests, the rest of the work is up to Mother Nature. Unfortunately, I don’t have any tips to keep her temper under wraps. Let’s just hope she’s had a peaceful Winter and is willing to give us some grace (no hail storms) this growing season.
Growing your own food is a process, but it is also a labor of love. Keep a journal if this is your first attempt at container gardening. Keep notes on what worked well, what didn’t and what you want to do differently in future seasons. So much of gardening can be trial and error, but there’s no better way to learn in my opinion. It may end up that your first attempt is a total dumpster fire. And you know what, that’s OK! The important part is not giving up and launching your garden across the patio. Most plant problems can be fixed with early intervention. Just pay attention to your new plant friends, if they are growing, not losing leaves, not full of bugs and aren’t some weird color, you’re probably doing all the right things. Don’t give up. You’ve got this!
Happy Digging!
Diane
frontyardfarmacy.com 