Need advice on growing FOOD without a yard!

Becky ~ when I embarked on this project, I had stashed lots of info in my journal. Including a duplicated entry I see ~ lol. If you have time and are interested, please feel free to read thru it. More cultivars suggestions here. http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/viewentry/224054/

I'm a victim of too many distractions and left off my photo of some container peppers. So far, they're all perfect container plants.

I grew the Spacemaster cuke and it was well behaved without a trellis. I also grew some normal ones on bamboo tripods and they all did well. I like the cukes trellised because they're so much easier to see. I got some decent delicata squash with the tripods in containers. Next year I want to try some cantaloupes. I think I can support them somehow.

Last fall and winter I absolutely agonized over choosing tomatoes. I wanted to try all the ones people rave about but they're usually monster plants. I didn't think I could handle that so I got seed for a lot of determinates and dwarfs. I tried a few indeterminates too, thinking if they tried to take over my world that I'd just chop their heads off. They all worked and now I don't worry about the size of the plant.

I just can't see myself doing an adequate job of watering container plants in the normal fashion. It absolutely works me to death and makes me feel like a rat on a wheel. So I have the pots sitting in shallow water. They love it and I have more time and energy for everything else.

twiggybuds - I really like your idea of having the pots sitting in shallow water. Here in Florida they would wilt with the intense heat and humidity we have unless I did something similiar. I am seriously thinking of investing in some shallow plastic kiddie pools to sit my 5 gallon pots in. Great idea! Now if I can just figure out how to keep the bugs, birds, and rodents away. Sitting in water would probably discourage rodents, but not birds or bugs. (Though ground pests such as nematodes couldn't thrive sitting in water! lol) I figure if commercial farmers can grow crops of veggies and fruit in Florida then I should be able to figure out how to grow a small edible garden, too. ;-) I am definitely motivated to do so! ;-) Your peppers look amazing! Great photo!

I know of at least 2 people that used the kiddie pools this year. They reported good results. I just bought a roll of 6 mil black plastic from Lowes because I'd never be able to get enough pools to grow all the things I want.

I don't have trouble with anything that can be associated with the water. I get all the normal insects just like growing in the garden, except nematodes. I have legions of frogs, toads and lizards that practically eliminate the mosquitos and help control the others. Birds don't bother anything except my plums and figs. I don't seem to have a variety of birds and I think it's because there are too many cats in the neighborhood.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1029953/

Here is some more discussion about growing in kiddie pools.

Ive used kiddie pools for planting spring bulbs in! SO much easier when it coms time to lift th ebulbs and how you can much easily find them! I have put holes in them though so...ergo growing them in standing water.

Never tried your water method. I water all my outdoor pots by hose with a showerhead on it.. depending on the heat, they may get watered up to 2 times a day or skip a few days depending on the rain.

I live on a flood plain so many times I have standing water.
I have many of my daffodils in nursery cans that are buried out in the garden. Again for ease of lifting when the time comes to divide... many times they are under standing water in the spring.

That would be the extend of my "water:" gardening except on those occassions I fill a rubber trough of with water plants.

Today I was visiting one of my haunts and they had a lot of seed packs out. There are coming to be more and more packets available on the market for veggies that are container grown geared for the appartment dweller!

Thanks for that link twiggy. It's great! I tagged it to read thoroughly later on!!

Blossom the only problem I've had with growing in the water beds is with dormant bulbs and rhisome type things like cannas. Cold, wet and dormant aren't a good combination. Onions, garlic and Oriental lilies actively grow over the winter in my zone and they do fine.

Standing water is an entirely different situation that drowns plants. The pots only wick up to a certain level and the roots always have both oxygen and water and are free to choose. Rain and overhead watering just drain down as it would in any container and as it drains it is replaced by oxygen.

Up here I cannot do tulips, but the dafs love the water in the spring. I have a little difficulty in doing giant and grapehyacinths and I while I have resorted to raised beds, many of my perennials have wained and need replanting. Some of my daylilies will not toloerate the water, but most do fine. I beleive on the daylilies its the evergreen varieties that suffer the most, but that also is not necessarily true. My ground is very fickle and very poor.

As for the food crops.. corn is out. Too wet.

Potatoes will do super as long as I can get them in when the ground is workable cold and wet. I try to plant around 3/15 on those..

There are quite a few veggies I am going to try in containers this year. I am experimenting with low space and higher yeild potted crops. Things like strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, maters. I am tempted to try a few corn in containers just for grins. Maybe if I baby them I might get my seed back!! LOL! Want to do beans, beets, carrots, raddish, cukes, cabbage and a few others. What I dont raise for myself I take to the food pantries. Do plant arow. I figure if I have to play in the garden may as well do something nice for someone. Makes the gardening then worthwhile.

Blossom it sounds like we just like to grow things. I come from long lines of peasant farmers and fishermen so maybe it's in my genes.

I will try corn this year. I think I can do 2 plants in a 5 gallon bucket and 3 in my 14" pots. Most of my beds hold double rows so pollination won't be a problem. I already have my seeds so I'm committed. It will look so crazy that the neighbors will think I need to be committed.

I'd like to try some watermelon, pumpkin and winter squash. The trouble is that they like to run all over the place. I'll have to see if I can get them going in one direction on plastic because keeping out weeds and getting close enough to fertilize is a problem. This powerchair is my best friend but it would murder the plants.

Does anybody know:

Say I wanted to try to sprout the core of some lettuce I bought at the store after I ate all the big old leaves. Could you use rooting hormone? Is that safe on a food item?

I think it would likely sprout easily. I know cabbage does. But would it make a nice new plant or would it bolt. I have no idea because it seems like I remember something about mature plants being controlled by hormones. On the other hand, lettuce is one of those cut and come again things that might be ruled only by light and temps. Might be an interesting experiment and I'd like to know how it turns out.

But would the rooting hormone be safe to use on something you are going to eat?

Hastur - thanks for that last post of yours. The couple in question are really infirmed, both of them. The man was literally LITERALLY dragging himself out there to work with his tomatoes until he just couldn't anymore.

I DO plan to share with them and will try harder to see what kind of more social ways to include them I can find. It was so nice of you to think of that and suggest it!

I was a front porch pea shucker until I was 7 and we moved away from the farm.

:)

Nilly it sounds to me like if you can grow a few things to share and spend a little time chit chatting that you definitely will have made new friends. I would love to see more of this happening because the world would be a much better place.

Amen Twiggy!

Well, I just got a list of shut-ins from our church. While I cannot grow veggies this time of year, I have been plotting my garden for 2010. Been working also on some annual flowers to grow. I want to make cut flower bouquets to give with the meals on wheels. I still need to find out who to contact to do that. But I am betting that too would brighten someones day.

NIlly, I wish you the best of luck with your plans. Surely something good will come of it. Look what you did already, you started a fantastic thread with lots of visitors and great ideas!

You and yours and everyone here have a very wonderful Christmas and here is to the New Year!

Merry Christmas to all!

And best wishes that 2010 is a very successful year for all of you mini-farmers out there who grow veggies/fruit in your garden beds and containers! :-)

This message was edited Dec 24, 2009 6:28 PM

I found this really good article on how to make self-watering containers that are ideal for growing veggies/fruit/flowers in. Similiar to the Earthbox concept, only much cheaper to make!

http://www.green-trust.org/freebooks/Earthbox.pdf

I was particularly thrilled that they had the instructions on how to turn my 5 gallon buckets into self-watering containers! :-) I think it was the simplest container of all to make. I am definitely going to attempt to make one and see how it works! :-) Many of my seeds have germinated and will be ready for transplant in another week! :-)

Note added: No longer recommended to use PVC in any of the homemade boxes. PVCs have been demonstrated to leach plasticizers and harmful chemicals, including endocrine disruptors. There are plenty of alternatives, so there's no good reason to use PVC and risk putting these chemicals in your homegrown fruits and vegetables. It was suggested to use vinyl tubing or even better and sturdier - Large Bamboo stakes. You can cut the bottom of the Bamboo at an angle for quicker watering, too!

This message was edited Dec 27, 2009 5:06 PM

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out ASAP.

Ditto- becky thanks for that link, I never fully understood how earthboxes were designed, this makes it clear.

Even I was able to understand with all the pics and instructions. Thanks again for the link.