Container gardening

[JTA Mom]

nak

This is going to be  my first year doing only container gardening. Honestly, outside of a few herbs and flowers, I don't have much experience with containers. All I know is that double digging, putting compost in the beds, etc, etc.

How do you feed your plants in the containers? Any special additives (compost, but how much/# of applications, etc)?

Am i making this more complicated than need be? I want to have my veggies, herbs, some flowers and even some fruit trees in containers. I'm so used to having dirt to work with, but I see this as an exciting challenge in urban gardening. :)

Ami

[mindymom]

I'm really curious what others are going to say about this.  I've tried solid organic (homemade COF and briefly coffee grounds) fertilizers with little success, liquid organic (from the big-box store) with limited success, and pelletized synthetic (Osmocote) with great success.  (The coffee grounds attracted bugs and some digging animal - I don't recommend.)  The liquid organic fertilizer has to be added too often for my taste, and I don't like the idea that some of it probably ends up in the Chesapeake Bay.  So now I use the Osmocote.  But I'm curious what others have tried

[Beppie]

I don't have much experience growing summer vegetables in containers, but I do have tons of plants that I keep indoors all year round that are in containers.  (I probably have 70+ houseplants, tropicals and others with flowers)  I use Dyna-Gro fertilizer for those plants, it's a liquid fertilizer. 

Also, seabird or bat guano is an excellent organic soil fertilizer for plants in containers (it's basically powdered poop from bats or seabirds).  Not sure if this is the info you are looking for.  And, as I said already, I usually grow all my vegetables in the garden, not in containers.

[shaywyn]

I have used various products from Epsoma for quite a few years, for container gardening especially. I have been very happy with these products and the application schedule required.

http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/tones_overview.html

I used an organic potting soil that contained time release organic fertilizers (the ones that say they feed plants for 3 months) one time and was very unhappy with the results. The plants stayed smallish and had very little flowering. I admit I only used it for flowers, so ymmv, but I probably won't ever try one again.

I also use about two inches of mulch in many of my containers, tomatoes especially, to help keep the moisture level consistent. I will occasionally supplement with a liquid feeding of fish emulsion, when I remember to and if the plants look like they need a boost.

I have found that tomatoes and other fruiting plants, such as peppers, usually produce smaller, but tasty, fruit in containers.

Good Luck!

[Chamomile Girl]

I use fish emulsion. Its great for most veggies and comes from an organic source. A gallon of it lasts forever.

Ami, I'm currently growing some tomatoes and basil from seed and I'm going to have way more than I need. Do you want some? I think they'll be ready to plant in maybe three weeks.

I've also got a bunch of herb (and other) seeds. We should get together.

ETA: What I have found is way more important than fertilizer is how much water you give your plants. Containers dry out soooo quickly around here. When its hot I sometimes have to water them twice a day...otherwise every day. Especially tomatoes and peppers.

[HeatherAtHome]

I use fish emulsion too and am happy with it. 

[JTA Mom]

nak

We should definitely meet up soon. I feel so bad only using a few seeds from each packet. I still have a bunch from 2008 that are coming up beautifully.

So fish emulsion all the way. And watering a ton. I'm always afraid of overwatering and rotting the roots, but I guess this is not the case with containers?

Oh, any good fish emulsion brands? What's the best way you use it?

I'm studying for the second part of a huge anatomy test, but once that is over I will be all over gardening. Well, at least until the next midterm. :)

Ami

[chattyprincess]

I have container gardened a ton in the last 2 years. Tomatos are amazing in containers! So much easier. I use "worm poop" You can actually buy it at target. I buy the dry kind that I mix throughout the dirt and then the "compost tea" that I mix with water and use throught the season. Yes you do need to water alot...way more then you generally feel you should. I just shove my finger into the soil if its not very moist I give them some water. Strawberries are great too!

[HeatherB]

I'm going to jump in on this thread rather than starting another with the same title and line of questions.

I am just starting out with container gardening. I bought a 50/50 potting mix from the local organic gardening store. But, my husband bought a potting soil plus a bag of leaf compost (same store, different salesperson). I'm wondering if it's beneficial to add more compost to the 50/50, or just leave it be? The guy I talked to (whom I liked a lot better than the lady giving recommendations the first time that my DH bought stuff from) said that what DH bought could be mixed to make 2 bags of what I was buying. So, it sounds like it would be silly to add more of the compost?

I think I'm on the road to over thinking every.single.thing I do with this garden. I really want it to go well, though, and I have almost no experience with gardening at all.

The first lady at the garden center seemed to think seaweed spray (I think?) was pretty good for almost all plants. Anyone have experience or thoughts on that? I know I need to look into fertilizers, next, so I may go straight to fish emulsion. (I want to start worm composting but haven't, yet, so no casings or tea/juice from that.)

FWIW, I've got starts of the following:
- diva cucumbers
- zucchini
- watermelon (hoping they'll cope in a container!)
- Big Beef tomato (just one)
- strawberries (4)
- lettuces (a mix they sent us for free... not sure what they are yet)
- thyme (will get other herbs, but the rest were backordered)
- a hummingbird garden mix