don't know if i should put this on this forum or the vegetable garden forum but will try here first.
in the past i have grown both grape and sun gold tomatoes as well as basil in 5 gallon containers and my eb's.
next season i am going all containers. i have the eb's two gallon and five gallon containers.
i want to grow large beefstake tomatoes along with the two mentioned above. also want to grow stringbeans, sugar snap peas, summer and winter squash. i have always grown an italian squash with the name cuzzozi (or something like that) i usually have to place a fence around these plants cause the take over the garden with their vines.
i always start from seeds indoors
my question is --
1. what can i plant in the 2 gallon containers. when it comes to the peas and beans and squash would i be better off with bush types and will they grow in the two gallon tubs, or maybe even if i got the vine type i can just hang the vines from the top of my six foot deck.
2. how will 5 gallon containers affect my tomatoes. will the plants and tomato themselves grow as big as if they were in the ground and will the production be less.
i'll wait awhile for responses beforei try the vegetabl garden forum.
thanks
from regular vegetable garden to containers
Hello, my friend! Bet you weren't looking for me here! HA!
I grow my beans in even smaller pots than that in my office, and they do quite well. They are less about roots and more about vines. I have an old med cart that placed between 2 large knee to celing walls, The pots (maybe half gallon?) sit on the top tray of the cart, and the vines take over the cart, as well as traveling down the cart and across to the window sill. They grow quite well for me and are still producing. In fact, I brought some home for dinner on Tuesday evening and still have enough to add to my lunch salad.
I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's input on the squash.
Are you not doing peppers and eggplant this year?
yes i am doing both. forgot to add that in my post. then you would recommend vine instead of bush??
My bush beans didn't produce as well as the pole beans have, but I'm very new at beans - I'm sure you can get more experienced info. here.
Personally, I think the 2 gallon pots are good for peppers and eggplants, too, but not for the tomatoes. In my limited experience of experimenting with tomatoes, I find that the smaller the pot, the smaller to plant, and the smaller the plant, the smaller the fruit. I even noticed (or imagined) that the production is less. Again - I look forward to getting better info from the pros!
o.k. will see what others have to say on this forum. later i'll try the vegetable garden forum
Yeah - you might do better over there, tho' I'm really surprised you haven't gotten a bigger response here.
Maybe more people are around over the weekend?
all you need to grow at work is some lettuce and grape tomatoes and you can have your own salad right there at your desk. you are TOO MUCH.
LOL! Don't laugh...I just planted some Buttercrunch Lettuce, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, and Mini-Red Bell Peppers!
I'm also debating trying some cold weather/greenhouse tomatoes, maybe the Cobra. Ya just neva know!
somehow i picture you standing in the middle of a 15 acre garden wearing dungrees, a plaid shirt, straw hat and a piece of straw in the cornor of your mouth.
oh, lets not forget the pitchfork that you would undoubtly be leaning against. LOL
At the very least, I try to remember to take off my high-heels before I go tromping around out there! To my measely 3/4 acre...
i have 125 ft wide and 350 ft deep with most of the yardage in the back.
house is about 60 ft from road and the rest is my back yard with nothing there but my old garden and one tree.
Are you playing hookie today?
Yard sounds nice - I know you have a nice deck, too, I've seen some of it in photos. I can't believe you are giving up your garden! What will you do with it?
took a sick day today as me and wife had some doctors appts. i am going to put some grass down where i had the two gardens and see what happens. looking forward to my container garden.
OK you folks have opened a world I have been wanting to try. I will be retiring and moving to the coast after next year and plan on doing all container gardning. I love the at work idea wish I had some grape tomato seeds, I love them in my salads. I would try to get a plant to grow at my desk at work. Hum may go to garden center later today.
Deers destryed my garden this year regardless of everything I tried to do. ONE MORNING I HAD 15 STANDING ALL EATING. Even pulled over the wire cages to tomato plants . Never seen deer eat tomato plants bebofre guess the construction here had destroyed most of their food source.
One thing how do you keep the dirt mixed or soft at the tops of the pots?
Lavina
lavina - when planting into containers you do not use ordinary garden soil. what you need is potting soil make especially for containers. i use miracle grow with great success. i'm sure you will get other ideas from your post. deer are a terrible problem here in upstate new york. i have to put up a seven foot fence to keep them out. they love tomatoes.
enjoy
Hey Herbie - I'm a newer gardener here but I've been container growing for a few years, and last year was my big foray into Earthboxes. I grew some of what you're planning to, so I'll take a whack at that:
1. what can i plant in the 2 gallon containers. when it comes to the peas and beans and squash would i be better off with bush types and will they grow in the two gallon tubs, or maybe even if i got the vine type i can just hang the vines from the top of my six foot deck.
I dont know about the Peas and Beans, i would think if they are small they would do fine in the two gallon pots, but I've never grown them. I can tell you that the squash I grew were insane, and they might do better in larger pots.
2. how will 5 gallon containers affect my tomatoes. will the plants and tomato themselves grow as big as if they were in the ground and will the production be less.
I think five gallons will work for tomatoes, if you're talking about growing huge brandywine they may be less prolific than a plant with access to more soil & nutrients. But I've heard sucess of using five gallon containers converted into self watering pots to grow tomatos.
Good luck!
Chris
thanks chris. keep you eye out on the container forum as i am going to post a picture and ask for advice.
On my farm in manitoba we had ALL our peppers(over 100 and many varieties) in one gallon pots and even some in 2ltr pop bottles and of course the bleach jugs and larger juice jugs.The tomatoes were in 5gal pails and they grew great and lots of fruit as did the pepers.The smaller containers need more watering in the hotter spells.This was all in a greenhouse cause our season was so short.last yr we couldn,t plant the garden till july and then the frost came in sept.
Hope this info is of use..
Gord in BC
That's exciting to hear as I am planning on doing most of my peppers in 2 gallon pots.
Have you done eggplant in containers?
yes, i would also like to know about eggplants in containers. i was hoping to put them into 2 gallon containers.
i went on the internet and got different opions from 3 different sources.
both the n.c. state u and and the virginia cooperative extension say 5 gal for eggplants while iowa state u says 2 gal is ok. they also differ on squash one says 5 gal and one says 2 gal
Well, Frank - I have a feeling the only way we are really going to know is by trial and error!
i'm for it. i'm gonna put eggplants in both 2 and five gallon and see what happens and also put the hot peppers into the 2 gallon ones.
Why not play it safe and use only 5 gal pots? Clay of course as a breeze will knock over the plastic pots. I know, because I used to grow in pots and always had a problem with them falling over. I didn't know that pots were measured in gals.? I always saw them displayed in inches across the top? I used 20" clay pots and did fine.
I don't know about Frank's reasons, but mine are pure and simple -$$$!
A) I already have a couple dozen + 2 gallon pots, so I don't need to purchase any more,
and
B) The difference in filling 26-28 2 gallon pots with potting soil, and the same number of 5 gallon pots is huge...
In my case, it's a matter of grow them in the 2 gallon pots I have (thank you Frank!) or not growing them at all!
oh, i have more then enough 5 gallon containers (plastic). i just wanted to know if i could grow certain veggies in 2 gallon containers.
LOL! I'm just grateful to be able to get out of the 1 gallon pots!