Beyond tomatoes

MargeH · February 17, 2008

I have no sunny space in my yard for an inground garden so my only option has been pots. Tomatoes have been my obsession for two years, but I am ready to try some other things. I have grown peppers in pots with success, so this year I am adding cucumbers, squash, eggplant, lettuce and bush beans.

I was in the bookstore over the weekend and came across the book "McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Edible Flowers." I spent a couple of hours today reading through it. It has given me some confidence that I can grow something besides tomatoes successfully. I will just have to cut back on my tomato habit to make room for other things..... Maybe next year.

____
Marjorie

phreddy · February 18, 2008

Sounds a good book Marge!
Have you seen the thread showing soda bottle, self watering containers and the Belgian dwarf tom growers thread. Might all ow you to expand.
Pleased that you have found the confidence to grow more. Hope the fence etc can take the strain.

pooklette · February 19, 2008

I've had great luck with all of the veggies you mentioned. I think the only challenge I found was making sure that the pots didn't dry out during the hottest months. But even that was easy to overcome with twice a day watering during the dry spells.

I thought loose leaf lettuce and beans were by far the easiest to container grow because they fit nicely in my smaller pots. I still grow quite a bit of lettuce in pots because I have a smaller garden than I'd like, they look nice in all their leafy colorful glory, and because I can move them around to keep them safe from hungry bunnies.

Ruth_10 · February 21, 2008

Carrots also do well in containers. As carrots like coole weather for their mature stage, they do best for me as a fall or early spring crop. Deep containers obviously work best for carrots. They are also quite decorative with their nice, bushy green foliage.

gardenhappy · March 7, 2008

When i lived in Michigan I would get crazy to be in soil,any soil by spring!!! So I grew peas,carrots,lettuce,leeks,any herbs,potato's,radishes,kales,chards,tomato's..... . All grew fine in containers!!!

mresseguie · March 14, 2008

Hi, Marge.

"McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Edible Flowers." This is an excellent tome IMO. I credit this book with getting me so excited about container gardening.

It was an added bonus that Rose Marie (Nichols McGee) runs a nursery/seed shop 20 miles from my home. I get some of my seeds there every year.

February 17, 2008	#1
MargeH Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Sarasota, FL Posts: 224	Beyond tomatoes I have no sunny space in my yard for an inground garden so my only option has been pots. Tomatoes have been my obsession for two years, but I am ready to try some other things. I have grown peppers in pots with success, so this year I am adding cucumbers, squash, eggplant, lettuce and bush beans. I was in the bookstore over the weekend and came across the book "McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Edible Flowers." I spent a couple of hours today reading through it. It has given me some confidence that I can grow something besides tomatoes successfully. I will just have to cut back on my tomato habit to make room for other things..... Maybe next year. ____ Marjorie

February 21, 2008	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Carrots also do well in containers. As carrots like coole weather for their mature stage, they do best for me as a fall or early spring crop. Deep containers obviously work best for carrots. They are also quite decorative with their nice, bushy green foliage. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

March 14, 2008	#6
mresseguie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 159	Hi, Marge. "McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Edible Flowers." This is an excellent tome IMO. I credit this book with getting me so excited about container gardening. It was an added bonus that Rose Marie (Nichols McGee) runs a nursery/seed shop 20 miles from my home. I get some of my seeds there every year. __________________ Learning to speak tomato! Got compost?

February 18, 2008	#2
phreddy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 260	Sounds a good book Marge! Have you seen the thread showing soda bottle, self watering containers and the Belgian dwarf tom growers thread. Might all ow you to expand. Pleased that you have found the confidence to grow more. Hope the fence etc can take the strain.

February 19, 2008	#3
pooklette Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Zone 5 Posts: 262	I've had great luck with all of the veggies you mentioned. I think the only challenge I found was making sure that the pots didn't dry out during the hottest months. But even that was easy to overcome with twice a day watering during the dry spells. I thought loose leaf lettuce and beans were by far the easiest to container grow because they fit nicely in my smaller pots. I still grow quite a bit of lettuce in pots because I have a smaller garden than I'd like, they look nice in all their leafy colorful glory, and because I can move them around to keep them safe from hungry bunnies.

March 7, 2008	#5
gardenhappy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: PLANT CITY Posts: 255	When i lived in Michigan I would get crazy to be in soil,any soil by spring!!! So I grew peas,carrots,lettuce,leeks,any herbs,potato's,radishes,kales,chards,tomato's..... . All grew fine in containers!!!