Container Gardening advice

[Pakhet]

Hi everyone :)

I'm a complete black thumbed novice when it comes to plants. In fact, I've killed everything I've ever tried to grow. However, with the price of groceries, and especially produce, I've decided to try and grow a few things to save money. Money's the key issue...we have none, but I figure I can invest a little in 5-10 gallon pots on the patio and grow a few things (or give it a try). I live in Arizona and it's damn hot here in the summer (obviously) and I don't know what to try first and get a different answer from everyone I talk to. I want to use pots because I can move them around from sun to shade if necessary. Can anyone give me any advice? I'm completely overwhelmed by the web sites I've been to.

Lisa

[Kolesar]

1. Try "self watering containers"

I have not used them yet, since they are a "new" concept.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=246&topic_id=5067

[NMDemDist2]

2. in PHX it's hard to grow in the summer, you can grow EVERYTHING in the winter though

some tomatoes will grow in summer if they are well shaded in the mid to late afternoon but even they'll be dead by July it's so hot.

start your plants in September and you'll have produce all winter until June if you're lucky

you can start some lettuce and herbs right now and get a few crops in before July, also tomatoes may give you a harvest before then too

my best suggestion for Phoenix is if you can't afford clay pots (and they are HEAVY to move), be sure to insulate your plastic pots. you can insulate them with almost anything, old tee shirts even, just wrap something around the outside of the pots you can keep wet in the heat of the day. pots heat up the soil so much the plants die

don't overwater them, mist them often and give it a try. you'll learn by doing :hi:

edit to add, watch out for putting the plants near walls too, they will radiate a lot of heat (good in winter, bad in summer)

[plantwomyn]

3. You can plant more than one vegie in each pot too.

Think of the combination pots you see with different flowers in them. You can put a bush or patio type of tomato in the center of a 10 gal. pot and plant herbs, lettuce or even edible flowers around the bottom. Hanging baskets are great too. You can plant trailing varieties around the edge and a pepper or eggplant in the center and they do double duty too. Hanging baskets made of peat or sphagnum moss are great because you can plant the top and poke plants into the sides of the basket too. Those tiered baskets that most use for the kitchen work great, you get 3 baskets in one area. Place large pots with plants under your hanging baskets if they do not have saucers so water drains into a pot and not onto your floor. Don't forget you can harvest lettuce leaves once a week, taking the larger leaves and the rest of the plant will keep growing, herbs too. Also make sure you have some circulation around you plants. A small fan works and helps with bugs and mold.

[TygrBright]

4. If you can afford it...

...trot along to www.gardenerssupply.com and check out their selection of self-watering containers and container gardening kits.

Even if you can't afford it (and they are kinda spendy) it's worth a look because you can crib tips on what to improvise and cobble together. A couple of tips I've learned the hard way:

Placing containers directly in south windows is bad. Bad in summer because it's way, way, way too hot. Winter, because the sunlight is likely to be far too intense (in winter, the lower angle of the sun will have the direct light streaming in south windows for several hours a day.) Put them a couple of feet back from the south windows, or in east windows or north windows that get plenty of unobstructed light. Supplement with grow lights if needed.

Very sturdy, very generous saucers and/or plastic sheeting to go under containers sitting on wood floors, decks, carpeting, or other surface that can be damaged by pot overflows, spills, or just moisture condensing and collecting under the pot.

Herbs: Very freely-draining soil mixture, don't over water no matter what, keep away from natural gas sources like stoves, grills, water heaters, etc.

Veggies/fruit: Be prepared to provide much nutrition, do not generally allow to dry out completely, and use a richer soil mix but with plenty of vermiculite for drainage. Be sure that you have plenty of root room.

If you're in the hot part of AZ (most of it, I guess, except the mountains) plan on bringing your containers indoors over the summer unless you enjoy watching things shrivel and turn brown. The rest of the time, be prepared to water a lot. Regularly. With containers generally it's better to water small amounts frequently and be sure they never dry out completely (or get too wet) but that's especially important for kitchen gardening in containers.

helpfully,
Bright