Organic Gardening Expert Discovers That Vegetables Thrive in Containers

[Kolesar]

Since this is PR material, I am going to post most of it. We had great results with Ed Smith's "raised beds organic methods" last year from his other book, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. This method with self watering containers looks like fun.

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Harvests Often Surpass Results From In-Ground Plants

Shiny green cucumbers, sweet, juicy tomatoes, tender lettuce and flavorful herbs. These are just a few of the tasty benefits of a backyard vegetable garden. More and more people are recognizing the benefits of fresh, home-grown organic produce, but at the same time, many of us are running short on space, time and the know-how to tend a successful vegetable garden.

Ed Smith, author of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, has been growing organic vegetables in his backyard for more than 40 years. Several years ago, after growing some tomatoes in one of our Self-Watering Planters, he began to think about the possibilities of growing other kinds of vegetables in self-watering containers. These musings evolved into a full-blown backyard research project, which involved planting more than 200 different self-watering containers over a three-year period.


The water absorbed through a plant's roots travels up to be "exhaled" through the leaves. Nutrients are carried up this "water elevator" as well. By providing consistent moisture, Self-Watering Planters also provide continuous nourishment, making plants healthier and more productive.
Ed is a longtime friend and neighbor of Gardener's Supply, and it wasn't hard to convince us to donate dozens of self-watering containers to his project. Over time, he experimented with vegetables of all kinds, nutrient mixes, soil blends, plant varieties and container locations.

No one was more surprised than Ed by his results. He found that all the vegetables he trialed grew better in self-watering containers than in traditional containers. But more surprisingly, plants in test after test, many of the vegetables grown in self-watering containers actually out-performed and out-yielded those that he grew in his traditional backyard garden.

Being a person of scientific leanings, Ed set out to discover why this happened. He learned that this phenomenon is the result of something called "transpirational pull".

Plants absorb moisture through their roots and exhaust it through their leaves. This upward flow of water and nutrients is, in effect, the plant's circulation system. When a plant has continuous access to water (like it does in a self-watering container), transpirational pull is never interrupted and the plant grows continuously at peak performance.


Ed uses our Self-Watering Windowboxes to grow colorful salad greens. By keeping several of the boxes in various stages of production, he always has a fresh crop coming on.
Ed's research also demonstrated another phenomenon that pleased this longtime organic gardener. He found that plants grown in self-watering containers require very little in the way of additional fertilizer. This is because the soil nutrients are not being leached out by frequent watering. By using a soil blend comprised of 50 percent compost and 50 percent peat/perlite, supplemented with a one-time application of all-purpose organic fertilizer, he grows picture-perfect plants that produce bumper crops.


Ed Smith's new book, Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers
Thanks to Ed's research, the hard work is done, and the rest of us can now harvest the benefits. He has put his three years of experimentation into a richly illustrated and easy-to-use book called Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers. In his book, he shares advice on everything from choosing appropriate containersto providing balanced nutrition (Including his secret soil formula). He recommends which vegetables thrive in containers and which are a bit more challenging, along with space-saving tips on pairing different plants in a single container.

Whether you already tend a backyard vegetable garden and are looking for a new adventure, are downscaling your gardening to a deck or patio, or have never grown vegetables in your life, this book will give you all the inspiration and step-by-step instructions you need to have a beautiful harvest.

http://www.gardeners.com/Vegetable-Gardening-in-Containers/default/StandardCatalog.OutdoorGardeningSale_Cat.35-793.cpd

[susanna]

1. I've read it, and tried some...

...but was not impressed.

Maybe I did it wrong (very possible) or I've just gotten used to other methods. Dunno. I didn't find his book about watering containers all that helpful.

That said, his Vegetable Gardener's Bible is absolutely wonderful. I refer to it ALL the time. So, like I said, maybe I read/acted on it wrong?

[Kolesar]

2. Good data

I was not planning on doing any containers this year. I thought the technical drawings of the self-watering container in Ed Smith's illustrations looked like fun. I have not tried it though.

If you read "the bible", did you find the companion planting section to be useful? I was able to discern which plants *not* to place together, but somehow could not "get" the concept of which plants thrive together.

[susanna]

4. Well, that's my problem too.

I can figure out what NOT to plant together, but it's harder to figure out the beneficial ones. Since I do Square Foot Gardening, space is limited, and a lot of things are on top of each other. I don't always have the luxury of putting the "right" things together, so I've pretty much blown by them in the past.

I did make a concerted effort this year to lay out my SF containers on graph paper in "phases" (early spring, late spring, summer, fall) and tried to rotate properly based on his recommendations. It gets pretty complicated, though, so I am not sure I'll have the wherewithal to do that every year!

If I can get a few spare minutes soon, I might try to throw together a companion planting spreadsheet with info gleaned from all my books. If I get the time to make that happen, I will shoot you a PM message and let you know. Or if I can simplify it enough I'll post it here, which would help others too. I'll see what I can do, but things are really busy right now. I need to do it for my garden journal, but have put it off for...well...forever. But if someone else is interested it might motivate me! :-)

[Kolesar]

5. Actually, we are working on a companion spreadsheet

My IT department/hiking/gardening buddy has one that is in a preliminary phase. Send me your email in a du/pm and I will send it to you this weekend. :)

[BOSSHOG]

3. I have tomato plants in 55 quart containers

and always have a good crop but they are not self watering pots. I do a lot of vegetable and flower container gardening. Its a very therapeutic endeavor.

[Zoigal]

6. Have been using polymers

such as Soil Moist granules when growing veggies in containers with reasonably good results. Expensive, but
a little goes a long way. Also great for hanging baskets, etc.