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Post by dg on Jun 16, 2011 16:43:31 GMT -5
I once grew those giant sunflowers. They are fun and they do get very big. They also attract birds and squirrels once the seed heads begin to mature.
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Post by dg on Jul 9, 2011 11:45:18 GMT -5
I didn't quite get there by the fourth of july here in New Hampshire; but I did better than usual.     BTW, that's my sheep dog Jenny just behind the baby gate blocking my sun deck entrance. I'm quickly becoming a fan of large container gardening. In total, I have eight of those large 18 gallon containers, each containing 3 tomato plants, 1 brussels sprout plant, plus some misc stuff like lettuce and other greens. Also I have 12 of the smaller containers containing peppers of various varieties, many types of herb and some additional greens. Throw in 2 eggplants, 2 blueberry bushes and two up and coming fig trees and that's my deck garden. (Hardly any room to walk). |
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Post by bankedout on Jul 9, 2011 15:03:05 GMT -5
Looks good dg. I'll post some photos of my garden at some point. What are you doing about soil from year to year for container gardening? Do you start with new soil each year? Or maybe you could rotate crops in the same soil? Have you thought about planting a cover crop in Winter and tilling  it in during Spring for nutrients/organic matter? I think it is an idea worth exploring further. Plus if you wanted to create mini greenhouses to extend the season it would be pretty easy to do with some clear plastic sheeting. |
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Post by dg on Jul 9, 2011 21:21:05 GMT -5
With the 7 old containers I kept the same soil because they had the brussels sprouts plants in them. I stuck them in the greenhouse for the winter but never watered them. Surprised that they lived (6 inches tall and quite dry), I kept them in the containers. Glad I did, Now they are as tall as me and starting to form sprouts. They also are great steaks for supporting the tomatoes.
Next year I will change the soil with compost that I plan to make using scraps and chicken manure. The tired soil will be added to the compost pile after things die back.
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Post by bankedout on Jul 23, 2011 20:37:56 GMT -5
dg, The other night I saw on a tv show called The Wisconsin Gardener that people are using burlap sacks for container growing. I'm not sure how long they will last before they biodegrade. If you have any interest, one of the places where we buy supplies for our business sells them in bulk: www.uline.com/BL_227/Burlap-BagsI also heard that you can get free burlap sacks from coffee shops that buy their coffee in bulk. |
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Post by dg on Jul 24, 2011 18:58:57 GMT -5
I suspect that they would rot my deck unless I put down a tarp first. I like the containers. But I will have to get out my rodent trap. I think a chipmunk has been getting all my cherry tomatoes lately.
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it in during Spring for nutrients/organic matter?