I'm looking for ideas for simple containers for vegetables to put in our Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR)demonstration garden to show that even with a small or no backyard you can grow a veggie or two.
I'm also in need of ideas for trellising vining plants that people have used with success in small areas.(not sure where I should post this part of the question - hope it's OK here.
Jim
Simple containers for veggies?
stoppy - believe you can use any container as long as its about 5 gallon. i know i plant tomatoes in that gallon size every year and have good results. just remember that you should not use regular soil for the container but rather a soilless mixture like as if you were starting seeds. there are people here who can probably go into detail about your project and im sure you will hear from them. thats a good think your doing for less fortunate people. bless you.
Herbie,
I agree on the 5 gallon size.
Maybe I asked the wrong question -- Maybe the question should be -- What have you used as a container for planting?
I'd like to demonstrate with about 5 or 6 different containers that aren't complicated that you'd find in a suburban yard. So far I'd thought of:
1) the 5 gallon pail
2) 40 lb bag of potting soil
3) wooden 2"X 12" box of whatever dimension you want:
2'X 2',3' X 3', etc.
Then my brain stopped..........
Hello,stoppy,
How about these H
4)Large hanging pot for strawberry.
5)Kichen widowbox for herb.
Clean plastic drums cut in half 18 inches high.
Old wheel barrows are kind of neat and portable I have two for flowers. My mother in law grew delicata squash in hers.
Hmmm...
Trash cans of different sizes, tires, wire fencing formed into a cylinder, bathtubs, the tubs out of broken washing machines, bushel baskets filled with old sawdust (good for growing maters and fed a hydroponic drench). Rocks, bricks, or cinder blocks arranged to your liking.
Hmmm...will that get you started?
(ernie, I saw a high-side red wagon behind the dumpster at my DD's school yesterday, just knew it was good for making a planter out of!)
stoppy - one of the nicest ives seen are stovepipes. they are silver in color and they do come in several sizes.
Horseshoe perfect did you snag it?
Thanks everybody--you've kick started my brain back into gear. I use the 6" cement wire for tomato cages. I think I'll cut one in half for a potato demo...and give the other half to SWMBO for use on a peony.
Next question: any ideas thoughts for an extended period watering system for indidvidual containers?
One thought I had was to hang a 5 gal pail from a fence post and attach a drip hose with a thumbscrew valve to regulate the flow (ala a hospital drip IV) Does this make any sense?
stoppy
eweed, nope...I got distracted while loading up the kids, but if it is there when I go back I'll surely grab it!
stoppy, one of the best watermelon plant was watered with a five-gal bucket suspended over it. I just drilled a small hole in the bottom and it really dripped slowly....took two days to drain it all out. If you want to stop it tho you can use one of those flat floppy bath tub stoppers.
I'm sure your cut-off valve will do the trick also tho.
Also, don't forget you can dig a hole and stick in a coffee can or the like (with a couple holes in it) and water directly into it, letting the water seep out on its own, watering the roots.
Sounds like you are gonna have fun w/this project!
Stoppy Sounds like you are thinking multiple containers.
Have you considered using a timer and a drip system or changing the bucket for a 50 gallon drum? Ernie
Horseshoe,
Where the demonstration containers are going is several hundred feet away from a water tap. All of your ideas would work excellently in a small backyard. If I keep bugging you guys that have common sense I might just figure a way to water without buying several hundred feet of additional hose.
I'm a long time gardener but I'm truly amazed at the scope of the knowledge in this group of which I'm still very much a newbie.
What size drill did you use to create the driphole in the bucket?
Yes, I am going to have fun with this project. Jim
Eweed,
Me do just one container. Have you ever stopped at one potato chip?
No, I hadn't considered a 50 gallon drum -- I am now,
there's one sitting behind the work shop unused. Also, a long time ago I was given several hundred feet of 2" irrigation hose by a market gardener who was changing his irrigation system. Could that be used as the main conduit to construct a gravity drip system with the small drip hoses coming off it. (both for containers and row crops)
Jim
Stoppy daddy didn't say anything about chocolate he always said things like .
Where there is a will there is a way.
Can't never could do nothing.
You can if you want to.
Any way what is the 2" hose made of? It would be a pc of cake if it's poly because there are many cheap fittings that are available to use for both t tape and fixed rate dripper systems.
I like them both the drip is better for containers and widely spaced plants. Drip systems can use fixed rate emitters as low as 1/4 gallon per hour to a couple of gallons. They can also be used with tiny spray nozzels and miniture sprinklers.
The T tape system uses a pressure regulator to control the pressure in the tape to maintain 2lbs. The tape has microscopic holes and works like a weeping soaker hose. It can be buried in the row or laid on top. I try to put most of mine under visqueen because I"m lazy I don't like to weed. I water tomatoes that way by using the visqueen on top I water for over night each week to ten days.
I found all this neat stuff at a farm supply place that only sells these items. Their main customers are berry farmers and their rates are way cheaper than the nurserys and box hardware stores who most carry a little bit. Of coarse it's hard to buy from a box store if you don't know exactly what you need.
Hope this sparks you up gotta go have exceeded the ten line rule but it is your answer. Wish I had your problen of several hundred feet of 2" hose. Regards Ernie
PS try wwwgroworganic.com
Ernie,
I wish Everson wasn't as far as it is from Saginaw--cause I'd surely be happy to share some of it with you. It's black poly.
I'll try the organic site. I'm not certified organic but try to be as much as possible.
Jim
Jim poly is perfect it will make a wonderful main line for you to branch off from. I have poly from my well to the house it's 30 years old and still going.
Here are a couple of dot coms that you may want to try. They avertise in Garden Gate as being suppliers of drip irrigation.Cant comment as to wheather or not the are good suppliers or not.
www.dripworksusa.com
www.mrdrip.com
Regards Ernie
Actually this is Kris's mom, leaflady. We're here for the day and I'm nosing around while she is out on business for a bit.
We have been using old washer and dryer tubs for a couple years now and have found them to be quite good for even larger plants like peppers and eggplant. We raised some squash in a couple of them last year but didn't have a trellis of any type so they just rambled over all adjoining tubs, the ground, up poke weed plants, etc. Bad mistake. If you use the washer tubs try to leave the plastic outer tub on it or the water will flow right out thru those holes just like it did as a washer. You can do some really long term watering in if the plastic outer tub only has one small hole left for drainage. Water the soil filled inner tub and keep watering until you see the outer plastic one about 1/2 or so filled with water. That will usually last nearly a week. We've also cut 55 gallon metal barrels in half lengthwise and raised iris, daylilies, some herbs, etc. in them. Peppers didn't do well. The soil got too hot for them. But these were above ground and in the middle of the yard where the sun hit them all day. A few .22 bullets will put in the needed drainage holes. Forget trying to drill thru those heavy metal barrels. You'll wear out both drill bits and the drills. Buried in the ground they last for years but you do need to put a layer of stone under them and have them where water can drain away from them or they just fill and stay soggy.
Those plastic childrens play pools make nice water gardens-if they don't leak- or filled with dirt and planted they are nice too. We picked up some that had cracks so they drain enough for excess water to run out for non aqua plants. You could even bury them in the ground. They should last for several years. You can use them to put several pots of plants in to keep them together and water all at once.
Do you have old colanders(great drainage here), large mixing bowls with cracks, etc. that you no longer want in the house? Use them. If the item is metal and very heavy get out the shootin' iron if it needs more drainage holes because a drill likely won't be up to the job.
Do you have just a few concrete blocks laying around? Make a frame for a small raised bed with them. Fill in at least half of the holes and plant is some of them too. This is a raised bed that is easy to change the size and shape of as well as just dismantle at the end of the season if you wish.
Old tires can be filled with dirt, painted or otherwise decorated and used to raise flowers. I'd be concerned about chemicals leaching into the soil so would not want to do this for veggies.
Hope I haven't overwhelmed anyone with suggestions. These are just a few of our more successful methods.