A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum grwoing root vegetables from store-bought onions carrots, sh

Is there a good way to grow root vegetables from store-bought; i.e. onions carrots, shallots, etc..? I've had mixed opinions that "grocery produce" can actually produce offspring that comes to full term/produces edible fruit/etc.

Also, when growing "root veggies," are there any that could produce in ceramic planters (not so deep.) The main reason I'm asking is that, being on the backside of a golf course (and I'm talking about the "podunk" side, and I do appreciate--as a renter--the fact that we have privacy via the "Country Club's need to have an offset wooded area to hide their "fire-projection mandatory water pumps" beyond the spy scope of the members.

Nevertheless--there are two big problems stemming from this privacy (please don't take my words as denigrating towards the rights of the Country Club or holding them responsible {even though I do feel a bit of mitigation from them--sorry, can't help it): 1. We have inherited the mole population from the Country Club's extensive "rapid rodent extermination." I feel as though I am walking on top of a huge rodent mall these days. Every other step I take sinks about 6 inches into the lawn. I've read about "mole grubs," putting Juicy Fruit gum" in the holes to choke/kill them, placing small transited radios in the holes to drive them crazy, dirty baby diapers (sorry, do have any kids,) caster bean plants (supposedly toxic, didn't work,) etc . . .
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All I want to do is grow some onions, shallots, carrots. Etc. Food prices have risen so much lately that I feel I have to always fight for what I get which would be growing can produce that we use on a consistent basis. The "mole" problem just makes it all seem futile.

ANY suggestions are appreciated. And, anyone who might know a way to grow "underground" veggies in planters, please give all the tips you can!!

Thanks to anyone who read through this tirade and question assembly and still might feel like giving helpful tips for cultivating any of the "root Vegetables" possible in the environment we have available! Thanks to all for your consideration.

Hi and welcome bekicat.

Sorry about your 'mole' problem...I haven't gotten a way to get rid of them yet. Even our barn cats can't seem to catch up with them.

You can grow root vegetables in containers but they have to be deep enough. Use soil and compost mixed togather. I also recommend buying your seeds from a garden center. You won't get carrots and such from 'already grown' veggies. Even potatoes you buy in the grocery store are sprayed with a chemical to stop them from growing 'eyes'.

Shallots, lettuce and radish can be grown in those cheap plastic planters. I've seen lots of veggies grown in buckets(you can get the buckets for free from local restaurants) and I've seen potatoes grown right in bags of topsoil.

Someone else will be along shortly to guide you more.

nothing much to add to that, except I did hear once about putting cigar butts into the soil to deter moles. (if you have access to those)

Moles are a huge problem, and most claims aobut what works aren't effective. Traps are the best way to deal with them, but it's tricky to set them right. You can use sheetmetal barriers or 1/4 inch hardware cloth (wire mesh) as a barrier for small gardens.
Carrots and onions can't really be grown from storebought produce, they'll only bloom and go to seed.
Lots of people do use potatoes and garlic from the store, I've done it and it works fine. Almost every book says not to, but lots of people do. I think the argument is that potato starts are certified disease free, but most produce doesn't harbor disease anyway. You can get good quality starts for onions, garlic, potatoes, etc from any garden center, for cheap. Onions do great in fairly shallow containers, say 6 inches or deeper. Garlic, too. Most anything can be grown in containers, but most need deeper, large containers.

I was reading about companion planting just yesterday for my own garden. There was something in there about a 'mole plant'. it said it deters moles. I don't know anything about this plant or even where it growns. just thought I'd share that...for what it's worth.

It's also called gopher spurge, I think. It's a type of euphorbia.
Now that I think about it, there's a product that might help, called "Mole Rid" or something like that, Wal Mart and other stores usually have it. I used for a couple of years, and I was sure it was working great. Then the mole was back, and it didn't do anything to get rid of him. I think I'll see if it works this year...I have terrible mole problems. This product is made with castor bean oil that has been heated to kill the toxin in it.