A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 vegetable pots

I would really love to have a vegetable garden in my back yard, but i don't think it will happen (time,dog,kids). my question is this, are there vegetables that are easy to grow in pots and are some better then other for pots?
any help or advice would be welcome..
thanks everyone.
Penny

Tomatoes and peppers and eggplants for sure! Last fall I saw where a guy had set up 13 pots at the edge of his driveway. Each of them had a 5 foot okra plant in it.

Here is a link to a container growing system my mom has been threatening to buy. The website shows all kinds vegetables. One of her friends swears by it.

http://www.earthbox.com/

I grew Swiss Chard in a $5.00 plastic window box from Wally~World...*I had to drill holes in it*


and I grew peas in a big bucket that had a couple of cracks in the bottom of it...



I've grown Tomatoes in *CLEAN* 5 gallon pails..
and I even had some Jalapeno in one of the over the railing kinds of boxes too..

Alllllll sorts of good stuff. don't limit yourself either..

I even have regular bulbs (water loving Iris's and even an Easter lily) planted in a cracked kiddie pool, it's working out great for things that like to be a little bit wetter....

Don't forget about herbs...they do wonderfully in pots...in fact, I prefer them in pots to stop some from taking over my garden.

I have chives outdoors in a pot and move it
around...

thanks for the suggestions, i like the idea of them being in pots versus the ground, and i love the fact that you can move them around, and i never thought about some taking over the garden.

great tips everyone...
Penny

I've grown tomatos in a 4 gallon bucket and grew them out the bottom& sides.I'm going to one with peppers& maters& basil this year& another one thats peppers& eggplants.
1.The dog won't be able to:
dig um
pee um
lay in um or on um.
2.It can drain into the pot below on the ground(recyled water)
3.less diseases& virtually no soil issues

It does need a strong back and a GOOD ladder.you turn the pot every few weeks.I'm going to add foam peanuts to lighten the soil this year& I keep forgetting to look at them "wand' waterers for the hose.

You can also take a section of fenceing and roll it to form a tube (about 2 ft) and line it with landscape fabric and fill with growing mix and poke holes for some veggie/herbs to grow in& if really worried about watering...could add a PVC pipe with holes drilled in the center.

As to growing...it depends on what you'll use that you'll grow.If useing basil,you'd keep the flowers off till fall(which makes a bushier/fuller plant anyway then with the pinching)you can grow lettuce in pots& can even grow a combo pot of salad stuff.(like a plastic tub container) add some bamboo grow peas& cucumbers and can even grow greens or lettuce carrots radishes.you can grow pepper plants& tomato plants in containers or right in the flower bed.

Great tips,

thanks so much, it is a challenge to keep things away from the dog (st.bernard), he thinks that everything needs to be watered and he's the one to do it for me.
thanks again....
Penny

oh my gosh, that's funny..
We used to have a Doberman, I nicknamed him
"Mr. Pee~on" cause that's alllllll he did...
Sounds exactly like your dog..

I bought some very inexpensive "rabbit~fencing"
at my local Tractor Supply company, very bendable, actually I did several projects with it
cause it did bend well.. but kept a big round shape to it when used...
If you set up some pot's/containers' you could
very well unroll a good section of it, and kinda make like a big round ring around all of your plants, *might take 2 rolls* (and 4 stakes to keep it steady) but then you could keep your stuff all inside that, and he'd not be able to get in to "his dog waterin'" on your plants..

i will definetly check into the rabbit fencing, thats a great tip. i have started some peppers, peas, tomatos, and beets inside and once our snow goes would like to see how they grow outside, so the fence just might do the trick for me, and if its sturdy it just might keep the "big guy" out.
thanks again...
Penny

You might need to get four stakes,
pound them into the ground,
make a 4 sided box or rectangle area like..

How big is the "BIG GUY"???

You know I just went back and looked...
The picture of my peas has that fencing
that I used... *it was called rabbit fencing,
and had more wire acrossed the bottom than on the top... it was quite reasonable in price and used it on a couple of projects..
I grew cucumbers and birdhouse gourds and such up and over this on my raised beds, room was tight and needed a little extra space..

and heres' one where on the side of the raised beds I did acorns at the ends...


but you could end up doing the same concept inside a large bucket, like the ones' they sell to throw in lot's of ice and assorted drinks in the summer time..**The one holding up the fencing with the peas is that kind I'm talking about**

you have an amazing looking garden
i am open to all suggestions because i really want veggies in the back and he likes to water...

the "big guy" is a 177lb St.Bernard and when he stands at the gate in the drive way and jumps up, he is taller then me and i am 5"ft1, so he is indeed a big one, but the best dog and very gentle, its a shame i couldnt put that slobber to use though (lol).
Penny

Wowwwwwwww, that's like Barley's/Sarah's
Great Dane...
YIKIES...
ahhhh, maybe that type of fencing might be toooo
bendable for that kinda "BIG GUY"!!!

But I do know when I went to the Tractor Supply place there was several different kinds of that concept of fencing, so you might have to go up a grade or two in fencing..

That's a big puppy dawg!!!!

Thanks on the garden, I just love to be outdoors, experiment and eat fresh veggies..

he is not a lap dog by any means, but he would like to be.
i am probably one of the last people who dont have a digital camera, my kids have cell phones, ipods, sony psp's but nothing high tech for me, but i am working on it and once i have one then i would like to get some pics posted and you can see what you helped me with.
i do appreciate your advice very much...
Penny.
P.S.

do you have any seeds (veggies)???

PM'd you Penny!!!

thanks Weezie, i got it. i will pm you back...
Penny

thanks for the suggestions everyone, i do like the idea about the herbs in the pots and the growing system is really neat too.
thanks again....
Penny