What is the strangest container you've used to grow veggies in? - Page 2

NarnianGarden · January 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by followingdream

NarnianGarden - how did you keep the cardboard from falling apart?

Simple: Inside is a plastic bag (and the soil). The system stays together through storms and heat.

MrsJustice · January 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by followingdream

Random question - what is the strangest container you have used to grow vegetables in? I'd love to see photos and share ideas!

Last year I used milk jugs, terra cotta pots, and some big popcorn bowls I picked up at a thrift shop. I tried using a 30-gallon aquarium (indoors) but it didn't work out.

This year I have some interesting ideas - one of which includes using an old bird cage...

In 2001 used my kids old sandbox for Heirloom Spanish. It would have work-out if i had put more holes in the bottom. I don't believe in growing Heirloom Tomatoes in pots, but this year I made have found one that is smaller enough to grow in a pot and remain disease free. It's called a Silvery Fir Tree. I have not released my seeds from them yet, until I learn more about this special and unusual Beautiful tomato dwarf plant. So I have been saving up plastic coffee cans to grow them in because they are so small but have up 3 oz or more tomatoes that need "alot of support". They are just too small to grow in an open field because even carrot plants or pepper plants will block the sun from them because the plant with the tomatoes on them will lay on the ground.
I transplanted them near a dwarf plant called Red Robins and the sun was blocked there too, especially with the Protective Covers I place on all my plants that I made over the winter months.
This morning I will be starting them in some of my plastic coffee can after I found a pretty way to build a support structure that will fit the Coffee Cans.
Someone say they used a plastic bag. “Now That Interesting.”

Farmer Joyce Beggs

NarnianGarden · January 5, 2015

Yes, why buy an expensive grow-bag when a plastic bag you can fill yourself with a preferred soil and nutrients works just as well (and better)?

Thankfully, I have so many boxes in my corners that I'll never run out of containers

Some of them can hold as much soil as a 20 liter pot...

MrsJustice · January 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Yes, why buy an expensive grow-bag when a plastic bag you can fill yourself with a preferred soil and nutrients works just as well (and better)?

Thankfully, I have so many boxes in my corners that I'll never run out of containers

Some of them can hold as much soil as a 20 liter pot...

That is a very good Ideal and a great way to keep placitc bags out of land fills. I like pretty everything on my mini farm.

But, I can find a pretty plactic bags and try it out. Yes, I have a pretty plactic bag from a store I like. I will use this one and hopefully remember to tell you how it worked out.

Very good Ideal, Amen!!

RobinB · January 5, 2015

I've got an old bathroom sink out in my garden. I found it on the side of the road and couldn't resist... It still had a 2' or so drain pipe attached and the fixtures. I just stuck the pipe down in the soil and planted flowers in it. It's too shallow for maters.

followingdream · January 5, 2015

How deep does a container have to be to properly grow tomatoes?

Cole_Robbie · January 5, 2015

How deep does a container have to be to properly grow tomatoes?

It depends on the variety. There are micro varieties that are meant for small containers. Tumbling Tom does well in a 10" hanging basket. Terrenzo is another hybrid cherry meant for containers. I get tomatoes from it in 1-gallon pots. I grew two dwarfs from the dwarf project last summer in 4-gallon pots, and they produced well.

The most challenging tomatoes to grow in a container are non-dwarf indeterminates, like Brandywine. 10-gal+ seems to be the consensus on the required container size.

Worth1 · January 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by followingdream

How deep does a container have to be to properly grow tomatoes?

Depth doesn't really mater as much as cubic feet of soil.

Worth

Zana · January 5, 2015

I've recycled all sorts of containers over the years into containers for growing maters and other veggies....as well as having built some. Depending upon the plant being grown, you'll have to make sure you have the depth for the roots. When I plant tomatoes, I try to bury close to half of the stem in the soil...that means I need a deep enough pot to accommodate the stem and root ball of the transplant, as well as leave room so that the rootball is not sitting in the very bottom and getting wet feet.

peebee · January 6, 2015

I once cut the legs off some jeans and sewed the gaping holes up so that it became a fabric pot. Grew lettuce, did okay but it didn't look good in my garden so I got rid of it. Got the idea from a pic I saw somewhere and the guy had several cut-offs in his yard and even had some off the ground on suspenders. Not a bad recycling idea and the fabric is good for the roots, like the smart pots.

followingdream · January 7, 2015

Clothing... Now that's one I'd never thought of before! I wonder how it holds up if used more than one year.

Has anyone tried planting in old shoes or boots? I see photos of that all over the internet, but haven't tried it yet myself. Is it worth picking up a pair of shoes at the thrift shop? And is there some way to sanitize the inside of the shoes without worry of cleaning stuff leeching into the soil when used as a planter?

Garf · January 24, 2015

My favorite item is recycling bins. They hold 18 gallons and resist sun. Works well.

OldHondaNut · January 24, 2015

Bath tub. I did buy a 99c Walmart plastic clothes basket that I will like with newspaper this next season. The idea came from a 80s article in Mother Earth News on using the baskets but their baskets are a bit better than mine.

Last year I did the Walmart 50c blue shopping bags but had no luck with the tomatoes. To be fair, the guy on YouTube put them into a childrens swimming pool but I never bought one. The swimming pool makes it work like a SWC. I can see advantages as the roots are different in the Walmart bags than in the 5 gallon buckets. Still, a bit of an odd container these Wally bags are.

OldHondaNut · January 24, 2015

Also did the bags of potting soil like the Brits do. It is not unusual over there but here you can't even buy the grow bags at the local nursery like they do. Easiest form of gardening there is. Toss a sack down, poke a few holes, and load with seeds or transplants. Why these are not popular here is beyond me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcAEUbRr1Qo

noinwi · January 25, 2015

A "bowl" from a fountain, about 30" in diameter and about 6" deep that we found on some property we were renting. I never took a photo of it. I grew some charentais melons in it.
Also, lots of ammo boxes. We used to frequent a second hand store and they had a huge quantity of ammo boxes with hinged lids. We bought quite a few and used them for gardening and other things...even made bathroom cabinets out of them because the old farmhouse we were renting had little storage. I hated having to leave our ammo boxes when we moved. I think DH still has a couple he keeps tools in. I gave mine to our neighbor for his gardening.

We added a little depth to this one. I loved the handles. Even the shallow ones worked for zukes and cukes. I painted some of them when we moved to the apartment to match the building.

January 5, 2015	#24
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	I've recycled all sorts of containers over the years into containers for growing maters and other veggies....as well as having built some. Depending upon the plant being grown, you'll have to make sure you have the depth for the roots. When I plant tomatoes, I try to bury close to half of the stem in the soil...that means I need a deep enough pot to accommodate the stem and root ball of the transplant, as well as leave room so that the rootball is not sitting in the very bottom and getting wet feet. __________________ Zana ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There is a fine line between genius and crazy. I like to use that line as a jump rope. ~Anonymous (but I totally agree with this! LOL) Forgive and Forget? I'm neither Jesus or nor do I have Alzheimers. ~ Anonymous Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace. -- Dr. Albert Schweitzer

January 5, 2015	#18
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Yes, why buy an expensive grow-bag when a plastic bag you can fill yourself with a preferred soil and nutrients works just as well (and better)? Thankfully, I have so many boxes in my corners that I'll never run out of containers Some of them can hold as much soil as a 20 liter pot...

January 5, 2015	#20
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	I've got an old bathroom sink out in my garden. I found it on the side of the road and couldn't resist... It still had a 2' or so drain pipe attached and the fixtures. I just stuck the pipe down in the soil and planted flowers in it. It's too shallow for maters.

January 5, 2015	#21
followingdream Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 13	How deep does a container have to be to properly grow tomatoes?

January 5, 2015	#22
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	How deep does a container have to be to properly grow tomatoes? It depends on the variety. There are micro varieties that are meant for small containers. Tumbling Tom does well in a 10" hanging basket. Terrenzo is another hybrid cherry meant for containers. I get tomatoes from it in 1-gallon pots. I grew two dwarfs from the dwarf project last summer in 4-gallon pots, and they produced well. The most challenging tomatoes to grow in a container are non-dwarf indeterminates, like Brandywine. 10-gal+ seems to be the consensus on the required container size.

January 6, 2015	#25
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	I once cut the legs off some jeans and sewed the gaping holes up so that it became a fabric pot. Grew lettuce, did okay but it didn't look good in my garden so I got rid of it. Got the idea from a pic I saw somewhere and the guy had several cut-offs in his yard and even had some off the ground on suspenders. Not a bad recycling idea and the fabric is good for the roots, like the smart pots.

January 7, 2015	#26
followingdream Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 13	Clothing... Now that's one I'd never thought of before! I wonder how it holds up if used more than one year. Has anyone tried planting in old shoes or boots? I see photos of that all over the internet, but haven't tried it yet myself. Is it worth picking up a pair of shoes at the thrift shop? And is there some way to sanitize the inside of the shoes without worry of cleaning stuff leeching into the soil when used as a planter?

January 24, 2015	#28
OldHondaNut Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Zone 8a Posts: 120	Bath tub. I did buy a 99c Walmart plastic clothes basket that I will like with newspaper this next season. The idea came from a 80s article in Mother Earth News on using the baskets but their baskets are a bit better than mine. Last year I did the Walmart 50c blue shopping bags but had no luck with the tomatoes. To be fair, the guy on YouTube put them into a childrens swimming pool but I never bought one. The swimming pool makes it work like a SWC. I can see advantages as the roots are different in the Walmart bags than in the 5 gallon buckets. Still, a bit of an odd container these Wally bags are.

January 25, 2015	#30
noinwi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: PNW Posts: 486	A "bowl" from a fountain, about 30" in diameter and about 6" deep that we found on some property we were renting. I never took a photo of it. I grew some charentais melons in it. Also, lots of ammo boxes. We used to frequent a second hand store and they had a huge quantity of ammo boxes with hinged lids. We bought quite a few and used them for gardening and other things...even made bathroom cabinets out of them because the old farmhouse we were renting had little storage. I hated having to leave our ammo boxes when we moved. I think DH still has a couple he keeps tools in. I gave mine to our neighbor for his gardening. We added a little depth to this one. I loved the handles. Even the shallow ones worked for zukes and cukes. I painted some of them when we moved to the apartment to match the building.