Saturday, April 02, 2011

It's Garden Time!

It's April, so that means all my quilting friends are going to have to put up with garden updates again. :) I enjoy my little foray into container gardening, and it's really no trouble to do, once it's set up. And setting it up is NOT that difficult, nor does it take much space, money or time.

First, here's the wading pool. I started using it three years ago, as a cheap alternative to a raised bed. This spring, I'm using it to plant onions, (little green onions, around the edge) and I'm going to try cantaloupe in the middle. I need to add some fertilizer and give it a good stir before I plant the seeds tomorrow.


I think this will be the last year for the wading pool. These pools are really cheap, but not meant to last several summers. The plastic around the edge that's been exposed to the sun is disintegrating. Since I've enjoyed the fruits and veggies of my labors, I think next year, the pool will come out, and I'll upgrade to a raised wooden bed. Maybe even put in some strawberries and asparagus, which take more than a year to grow, and keep coming back.

Walmart had four varities of tomatoes this year that looked good. I prefer indeterminate plants that yeild all summer instead of the determinate ones that grow tomatoes that ripen all at once. Here's the four I have so far:

*drumroll* In the beige container, the Better Boy. I've grown these before, and they did well.


This next one's a new variety (cultivar, is that the right word?) for me, it's called 'Bonnie Original' and I'll have to see how it tastes.


Red Beefsteak is also a new one for me, and I'll admit I bought it just because of the name. Doesn't 'beefsteak' sound like it'll be a huge, ripe juicy tomato? The name made me salivate, so I bought the plant, lol.


And finally, a Husky Red Cherry tomato bush. This was the first variety of tomato I tried to plant in containers, and they're great. I can eat these all by themselves or in a salad, and the plant's pretty prolific too.


Then I'm trying one more new thing this year, yellow bell peppers. Last year I had two banana pepper plants and there were just too many banana peppers for one person to eat. I shared handfuls with the neighbors, and pickled some, too. I didn't see any banana pepper plants out at the store yet, but I did see these, and thought, hmm. Stuffed bell peppers, yum!



I still plan on getting a banana pepper plant when they're available. cuz I love those things. And possibly another tomato plant, maybe a grape tomato again? I have plenty of time to decide. Any suggestions for other crops I could attempt in containers?

6 comments:

Carol said...

How about vining spinach? It is a beautiful plant with deep purple stems and dark green leaves. You will need to put a tomato cage in your container for the plant to grow on. A neighbor gave me seeds a few years ago and now I collect my own seed year to year. I think it might be called malabar spinach. I'm in Texas but imagine it would do well in Tennessee. And by the way, I just ordered a book to read to my 2nd grade granddaughter's class at library time in a couple of weeks. I love to do that!p

Icchic said...

I can't wait to see how these turn out this year. I also am excited about the prospect that next year I may have a backyard (or ANY yard) to be able to do my own container garden. Thanks for posting! =)

Gail said...

Looks great but I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind. Why the CDs in the buckets and pool? Do you put anything in the bottom of the buckets/pool to aid drainage? Are the tomatoes in buckets for more root space? Would love to give this a try and would appreciate some pointers.Thanks

Lourdes said...

I have the same question as Gail... why the CD's, I notice some are whole and some are broken.
Do share what the purpose of this is.
Thanks

Unknown said...

LOL I guess I have similar thoughts as Gail and Lou Fay... CD's?

Looks good though, hope your garden does well!

BigWheels said...

I know Im late to the discussion - but CDs are shiny and can help deter birds.

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