Quote :

"I'm definitely going to find a Home Depot in the city and get a few of those long, rectangular plastic containers. I worry about drainage more than anything."

those long containers are great for flowers, but other plants like tomatoes have deep roots so they'll do better in a tall pot. I don't know about herbs though, might be a good idea to research which ones have shallow roots. My basil has always done fine in a shallow pot.

To improve drainage you can put some gravel or pinecones or whatever you can find in the bottom of the pot. And make sure the container has holes in the bottom!!!!

4/16/2009 6:30:06 AM

You should setup drip irrigation for the outdoor plants. saves you from having to remember to water them, as well as trusting someone else to water them while you are away, and they can get precise water every day. I only plant flowers, but I have become spoiled by proper watering, and wont plant where I can install a drip system.

4/16/2009 9:17:28 AM

wow the spinach has its rally cap on! after I abandoned it for dead it has bounced back and is looking promising.

can't wait till I can get some fruit, but I know that'll be a while wish I was in town for the NCSU plant sale!!

4/17/2009 10:23:21 PM

So far things are looking good. I replanted the yellow squash the grub ate , I also planted some tomatoes, cilantro, oregano, nasturtiums, mystery flowers, and habanero today

4/18/2009 12:29:14 AM

when is the NCSU plant sale?

4/18/2009 7:56:55 AM

^ message_topic.aspx?topic=563296

4/18/2009 10:49:20 AM

I planted more tomatoes, some celery and asparagus today. My balcony is being overtaken

4/19/2009 1:53:33 AM

We started ours up yesterday. We have three different kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, beans, bell peppers, rosemary and catnip planted. We ran out of pots and soil, so we need that before we can plant our squash, cucumbers, zuchini, lettuce, carrots, basil, parsley, thyme, baby's breath, and sunflowers. Our deck is going to be covered, but I love it!

4/19/2009 11:05:57 AM

I decided to plant some bell pepper seeds from a pepper I used last night for dinner. I want to try out this spicy bell pepper thing.

4/19/2009 9:33:30 PM

My Container Garden:

4/20/2009 9:43:36 AM

^^ o brother, dont be surprised if the spicy pepper thing doesnt work


anyway, do you know if the pepper seed needs to be treated out dried any before planting? there arent aot of seeds you can just take out of the fruit and stick in the ground and expect successful germination

[Edited on April 20, 2009 at 11:52 AM. Reason : f]

4/20/2009 11:50:03 AM

I am growing some bell pepper plants from a pepper I used about 2 years ago. If I remember right I just wrapped them in a paper towel overnight and then stuck them into a zip lock bag until I wanted to plant.

4/20/2009 12:39:20 PM

I think I might try this option, and do another pot with more herbs.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/04/one-pot-spring-garden/

4/21/2009 10:44:46 AM

Quote :

"we do our jalapenos outside...but if you grow them with bells, make sure they are far away from your bell or they'll cross pollinate and you'll get hot bell peppers found that out the hard way hehe "

wat


this is only an issue if you are reusing your seed, which almost no one does these days. the fruits of your bell peppers didn't "get hot" because the flowers were fertilized by jalapeno pollen. The characteristics of a fruit come from the expression of the genotype of the plant it grew on, not the genotype of the seeds inside the fruit.

what this means is, assuming mendelian genetics, if you have a mild bell pepper plant which had two mild bell pepper parents, it will produce mild bell peppers, even if it is pollinated by a jalapeno. if you then took the seeds out of this mild bell pepper and planted them, you might then get some plants that were hot and bell-pepper shaped. so, if you get hot bell peppers, the seed you used is "contaminated."



Kiwi: the orchid you posted is most likely a cymbidium hybrid, they are popular this time of year. however, assuming it has the same cultural requirements is a big error. Orchidaceae is the largest flowering plant family with extremely diverse needs. This type of orchid has very very high light requirements, but they also must be protected from our hot summers. I suggest you read up on their cultural requirements, but these orchids are much more difficult to keep as houseplants than your typical dendrobiums and moth orchids.




Nerdchick: you want to be particular about the potting medium in your containers. this is the most important key to successful container gardening. it should be a blend of organic material and in vermiculite/perlite that contains no sand or true soil, and should be sterilized. Miracle grow potting mix is a decent commercial variety. It is better to buy 2-3 small bags instead of a large one to minimize the chance of contaminated soil harming your plants.


The next thing is to select your containers carefully. BIGGER is BETTER, especially in the heat of summer. Terra cotta insulates and holds water better than composites, but light colored containers are worlds better than black plastic pots. if your containers have poor drainage, put a few inches of gravel in the bottom. you will probably have to water daily during july and august, and might have to water more frequently than that or rescue them from time to time. try to really soak the container to encourage deep root growth.


Plant selection: there are plenty of plants that are marketed for use in containers. dwarf varieties tend to do better. Spicy globe and Red Rubin basil are good, prostrate rosemary, parsley, all kinds of peppers, 'ichiban' (japanese or chinese style, basically) eggplants and dill/fennels do well in containers in my experience. Sage can be more difficult but it is worth a try. Sweet 100 or cherry tomato vareties are better in pots and resist drying better. you should supplement the soil with calcium to prevent fruit splitting if you grow anything larger. don't be afraid to mix flowers and plants in the same pot. ornamental sweet potato and wave petunias would be great to mix in with full sun planters.


use a weak fertilizer solution 1-2 times a week, or get time release granules. don't be tempted to over fertilize, because an excess of fertilizer just increases the water requirements of the plant while decreasing the availability of it in the soil. If you use the miracle grow potting mix, you probably wont need to fertilize for a month.

4/21/2009 2:50:03 PM

Quote :

"also are you sure that you can get hot bell peppers by crossing? typically the male only contributes genetic information, the phenotype of the resulting fruit is 100% dependent on the female. now the resulting SEED may result in that hot bell pepper thing but im not seeing how thats possible, maybe the seeed you purchased wasnt pure"

because no one listens to me

im glad green jay is on this forum

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM. Reason : s]

4/21/2009 5:07:51 PM

^^awesome info.

is there anything i should do to increase the chances of my cucumbers actually producing fruit from a pot? it is the small pickling size cukes. i don't have high hopes for them, but figured i'd give it a go.

i also bought a couple of begonias in hopes of attracting bees to help pollinate. I don't know if it will work or not but it made sense at the time. plus the flowers are nice.

4/21/2009 7:37:45 PM

cukes are one of those things that do better in the ground, but again, the bigger the container you use, the more success you will have. cucumbers are very watery and need constant, even water (not wet sometimes and dry others, no extremes) to prevent them from rupturing or becoming mushy. they like sun, the more the better.

cucumbers can be hand pollinated pretty easily. a single vine produces both male only flowers and female only flowers. the male flowers are typically near the end of the runners while the female flowers are closer to the stem. the male flowers open before the females so if you have few plants it might be challenging to have male and female open at the same time. i recommend saving some pollen by collecting some of the anthers in a bag after they start producing pollen. you can collect them pretty easily with tweezers.

to hand pollinate, use a qtip or paintbrush to lift some pollen from the anthers of the male flowers and applying it to the pistil of the female flower. for best results, take pollen from one plant and apply it to the flowers of the other plants instead of to the same plant.


cucumbers have a lot of pests that can attack them. i recommend spraying down the soil, plant, and outside of the pot with insecticidal soap relatively frequently. this is one of the safest insecticides but it is very effective.

4/22/2009 3:38:37 AM

Quote :

"anyway, do you know if the pepper seed needs to be treated out dried any before planting? there arent aot of seeds you can just take out of the fruit and stick in the ground and expect successful germination"

I did this last year with a bell pepper I bought and got a couple plants. I'll report back in a couple of days on whether this year was successful as well.

4/22/2009 5:01:45 AM

letting them dry will definitely add to your success. The viability of your pepper plants is tied to several factors, starting with the strength of its cross. your typical grocery store mutant peppers are hybrids so they may have inherent genetic weaknesses which make them die at sprouting.

The next thing is something called seed dormancy, which is the word used to describe what keeps healthy seeds from sprouting when you plant them. they frequently stay in the soil and develop at a later time.


Seed dormancy is controlled by a plant hormone called abcissic acid, or ABA. ABA is present in high levels to keep the seeds from sprouting while they are still growing on the mother plant. high levels of ABA which persist in the seed once they are separated from the fruit contribute to winter survival, so the environment for which your seed was selected plays an important role (did your pepper come from mexico, or new york?). seeds which are more winter hardy need a cooling period or several cycles of warmth and cold to break dormancy. you can stimulate this by putting the clean, dry seeds in the fridge for at least 8 weeks, and then ensuring your seeds are in a warm spot when you begin germination. I'm talking quite warm, many tropical seeds (peppers among them) will not germinate unless the soil temp is 80-85 degrees.

Another important factor in the destruction of ABA is fruit maturity when you harvest the seeds. you really need to let fruits containing seeds you are going to harvest get as ripe as possible to the overripe/close to rotting stage. this is because the seeds may not be fully developed if you pick them out of a green bell pepper, and these seeds will need more time to develop their embryos fully before they will germinate.

Other factors which affect seed dormancy in other plants are the hardness of the seed and the presence of impermeable membranes, and light conditions. some seeds (probably not pepper seeds, they are very small) need to be grooved or scratched with a rock or knife to allow water to penetrate and activate germination (it is actually oxygen which is the signal). some people like to soak their seed in water or other solutions (H202, ALA and KNO3), but just try water at home. just soak until the seeds start to swell, any longer and they may get attacked by bacteria or fungi. The final important part of seed germination is exposure to light. some seeds need light exposure, while others must be buried under the soil and will sprout in the dark only. you can tell when you buy seeds because the packet will either say "sow on surface of soil" (needs light to germinate) or "plant at XX depth" which means they do better in darkness. pepper seeds should be covered by 1/4 inch of soil for optimum germination.


This turned out long, so here is a summary of the points for increasing germination rate of pepper plants. remember, no seed will have 100% viability, but this will increase it appreciably.

a) select a good, normal pepper for your seed, not too big or weird looking, and make sure it is very, very ripe
b) dry and clean the seeds thoroughly, then chill them in the fridge for 8 weeks
c) soak the seeds in water (in a damp paper towel) until they begin to swell.
d) provide heat underneath the germinating plants with a electric heat pad.
e) plant seeds 1/4" under soil for best results.

4/22/2009 12:39:22 PM

*add to my topics

Great thread.
Learned a lot about growing things in my HS 201 course this Spring. Will be excited to start one day

4/22/2009 1:21:31 PM

^^to get an idea of 1/4 depth make a small divot (sp?) in wet soil with the very tip of your finger, just enough to make a little cuplike hole to hold the seed, drop the seed inand use two fingers to pinch the hole closed very loosely and without packing down

thats how I sow tomatoes, peppers, and sugarbeet seeds they are all about the same size class

[Edited on April 22, 2009 at 1:35 PM. Reason : d]

4/22/2009 1:34:54 PM

Without using Google first and at the risk of perhaps making myself sound stupid, can you grow avocado from the seed of one you just ate?

4/22/2009 2:28:44 PM

^ We did that in middle school once lol.

You take your pit, make sure it's clean, then shove three or four toothpicks into the center of the pit. Fill a cup with water and suspend the bigger end of the pit in the water, using the toothpicks to keep the pit suspended in the cup rather than fully submerged. Make sure to add water constantly to keep the bottom of the pit submerged.

Stick it in a warm, sunny place and in a few weeks the pit will sprout. After the sprout has grown to a couple of inches, pinch off the topmost set of leaves. Two to three week after that, when the sprout has more leaves, you can plant it. When you plant it, the upper half of the pit should be above ground.

4/22/2009 8:52:46 PM

excellent post

4/22/2009 9:01:05 PM

here's what i have so far:

cucumbers and begonias


mint, thyme, pineapple sage, dill, and cilantro. there's also radishes germinating in the large pot:


chili peppers, chamomile, stevia, cayenne peppers

4/25/2009 7:54:58 PM

I only grow herbs, flowers, and hot peppers in pots -- everything else goes in raised beds.
I used to grow tomatoes in pots, but in the ground, I can get them to grow 8 feet tall, and produce well over 50 fruits each. I'll probably never grow tomatoes in pots ever again.

Quote :

"stevia"

Everyone should grow this! Stevia is awesome!

Quote :

"to hand pollinate, use a qtip or paintbrush "

I've just used my fingertip -- is that bad? It seemed to work fine... (for larger flowers, at least)

[Edited on April 25, 2009 at 8:08 PM. Reason : ]

4/25/2009 8:08:07 PM

if i had a yard i'd do rows or raised beds of stuff. seeing how as tilling that concrete slab is going to be awfully hard work, i have to stick with pots for now.

Quote :

" cucumbers have a lot of pests that can attack them. i recommend spraying down the soil, plant, and outside of the pot with insecticidal soap relatively frequently. this is one of the safest insecticides but it is very effective."

my father used to coat everything in sven-dust, but it always seemed like a bad idea to me. is there specific brand of insecticidal soap i can look for? i assume it would be in the pest control area of the store?

[Edited on April 25, 2009 at 8:20 PM. Reason : .]

4/25/2009 8:15:51 PM

http://www.extremelygreen.com/pestcontrolguide.cfm

4/26/2009 2:07:42 PM

Quote :

"I used to grow tomatoes in pots, but in the ground, I can get them to grow 8 feet tall, and produce well over 50 fruits each. I'll probably never grow tomatoes in pots ever again."

Unfortunately, we live in an apartment on the 2nd floor so we don't have any land to plant anything in. Everything we have is in pots or planters, but some plants will have to be re-potted soon or else we'll have issues later on. I was thinking about using buckets...2, 3, and 5 gallon depending on the size of the plant in question.

4/26/2009 7:49:12 PM

pics!!! I went a little nuts and bought a pimento pepper, japanese eggplant, and a "macaroni pepper" which is a type of bell pepper with smaller fruit. I know the strawberry is in a small pot, I didn't have enough and strawberries never work for me anyway

4/26/2009 11:10:17 PM

wow guys, your containers look great. i've got a container full of tiger lilies I.m going to shoot when the blooms open, and i've got some with pansies and swiss chard (beta vulgaris, yes, like beets!) that i need to redo this week. I am going to move some of my Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' into the largest one, even though it will probably take it over within the next couple years. my patch of it is getting constrained by size, and I really want another focal point to appreciate its great flowers:





Another great salvia is "Midsummer Night". I also want to mix in some Calibrachoa "Trailing Blue" and a blue verbena, a lambs ear, and some purple basil. I might also add some yellow marigolds or a dwarf coreopsis, just depends on what i find. I've already got some nice red columbines and parsleys established. will report back with results later this week.

Quote :

"growing plants in 5 gallon buckets"

This is possible, but you`ll have to be careful with the watering and drainage on this one. the ideal shape of a plant pot is with tall sloped sides. whatever you do, never plant in a pot that has a triangular profile (wider at the base than the opening.) make sure you have plenty of holes for drainage, and you may want to consider using some kind of saucer to hold a litlte extra water.


here is a great page that has some basic tips for selecting plants for container gardening and how to make an attractive composition.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP326


where are you folks getting stevia? i havent seen it for a year or two.


happy gardening!

4/27/2009 12:38:31 AM

i think lowes hardware had stevia, but don't remember which one, i've been to several so raleigh area

4/27/2009 3:17:43 PM

this is Nerdchick here

thanks greenjay, glad you like my garden!! the pimento and eggplant are doing great already.

so I want to try squash. what's a variety of summer squash that will fit in a 5 gal bucket? and do I need to plant 2 for them to pollinate? I might sacrifice the strawberry and take its container

btw Fail Boat, I'm jealous that you have room for rows like that! however your yard looks like it might be too shady to grow vegetables. what time of day did you take the pic?

[Edited on April 27, 2009 at 5:09 PM. Reason : ee]

4/27/2009 5:06:28 PM

i got the stevia at a local garden store up the road from me (i'm in atl). they have a pretty big selection of herbs.

i dumped a pack of radish seeds in the pot with the lone pepper plant and sort of forgot about them. i got home today and had a pot full of radish plants ~1.5inches tall! now i've got to go get some more pots and soil and replant them before they choke each other out. i'm seriously running out of room.

i also want to get some more chamomile to fill in around the sage plant (in the short large diameter pot).

4/27/2009 6:50:39 PM

Quote :

"btw Fail Boat, I'm jealous that you have room for rows like that! however your yard looks like it might be too shady to grow vegetables. what time of day did you take the pic?"

The timestamp says 3:30, the left arm of the 'L' is already in the sun this morning and they'll get it probably until at least 3 or so, I'm not sure how that will change up to the solstice as the sun changes it's angle because there are 2 30ft tall maples up next to it. Last year I dug 3 holes and dropped some tomatoes in where the garden is now and they managed to produce a little bit of fruit with no soil conditioning, no fertilizer other than what I started the hole with, and having to contend with some rather massive roots (since removed) from some nearby pine trees, so I think they get enough sun. I plan on being here awhile and I'm taking diligent notes (soil pH was 4.5-5 in 3 different places, no nutrient content anywhere) as I go, so if it doesn't work out this year I'll tweak some things.

4/28/2009 8:52:49 AM

I just re read GREEN JAY'S post about ornamentals, and it turns out I have wave petunias and a sweet potato vine in a wine barrel. they are more shady and the barrel is so big I hardly have to water them, so I forgot about it! the wave petunias are going nuts. there's also some gerber dasies and other things in there

4/28/2009 1:30:11 PM

Good news, TWW! Today I officially SOLVED a garden mystery that has been plaguing me for some time. Two tomato plants and all my basil were showing signs of overwatering, despite the fact that I water them sparingly. Well it turns out that those pots have a removable plastic dish on the bottom that I failed to notice! When the upper soil felt dry, prompting me to water, the bottom soil was soaked in water from the dish. thus a cycle of overwatering was born.

It may be too late to save the basil, but I think the tomatoes will be fine.

BEWARE, gardeners, that thing on the bottom is a plant-drowning secret dish!

4/29/2009 1:18:46 PM

I apologize for my TRIPLE POST, but I have a question.

My peppers and tomatoes are getting flowers already! The peppers are about 1ft tall and the tomatoes are about 1.5 ft tall. Should I rejoice and get some early fruit, or should I pinch the flowers off until the plants get bigger? will producing fruit too early weaken the plant?

4/29/2009 2:45:29 PM

welcome to the joy that is buying plants that are grown in different photoperiods instead of starting them from seed like all good boys and girls should.


Plants, like people, have hormonal reactions to sunlight. when they being receiving a certain threshold amount of light, a hormonal cascade begins that makes the meristem tissue start creating flower buds instead of strictly vegetative tissue. In most plants, it is when they receive MORE than a certain number of hours of light, making them "long day" bloomers. Some plants require 12 days of light, some require 16. some of our plants that bloom in the fall and winter require less than 12 hours of light a day to trigger flower bud production. When you buy plants that are grown in greenhouses in more southern lattitudes or have been grown under lights with an extended photoperiod, they will begin blooming early. in daylength determinate bloomers, this will often make the plants stunted as they begin putting all their energy into flower production instead of vegetative production.


Simply removing floral tissue will not force the plant to go back to vegetative production because the hormonal switch has already been flipped. Marijuana growers, in particular, are interested in forcing flowering annuals to return to vegetative production after flowering has commenced, to test the strength of their cross, so they have developed some procedures. But they involve taking cuttings, hormone application and severe reduction of the photoperiod to try to break floral production. So in other words, no, you cannot reverse flower production.


HOWEVER, tomatoes are daylength netural, meaning that their flowers are not produced in response to daylength. Since tomato crops take so long to develop, they have been bred for early flower production, and it a positive thing that you have flowers so soon. you can pinch out your flowers for the first week after transplant to encourage strong root production.

Upon review of your pictures, they arent developing too early at all. however, I do notice that the leaves a pretty yellow. they need NITROGEN!! also, you probably want to supplement the soil with calcium as well, particularly if you have beefsteak or other large varieties. easiest way to do this is to apply a little lime or bone meal.

4/29/2009 3:09:28 PM

I've been giving egg shells and hair (from a haircut) to my tomatoes. I've read that's a pretty good way to make sure they get that crucial calcium; hopefully they'll do better than last year's calciumless tomatoes.

4/29/2009 5:13:58 PM

well, its good longterm, but it wont be available immediately. if you are amending soil though (not in pots) you cant go wrong

4/29/2009 5:22:43 PM

thanks for the advice! yes, the yellowish leaves have been troubling me but I thought it was due to soggy roots from those attached dishes. I bought some 18-18-18 fertilizer for them. I've been reading that herbs are tastier when grown without fertilizer, because big leaves dilute the flavor. but I'm gonna go a head and fertilize the basil so it can LIVE!!

yesterday I bought another jalapeno, red pepper, and banana pepper!!!

I think I have a problem. You know, I'll buy a plant and I'm happy for a while, but then get bored and need to buy two more to get the same THRILL!!

PS one more question, my spinach is dying again, what would be a good herb to grow in a shallow planter?

4/30/2009 9:56:56 AM

the only one ive had really good luck in a windowbox container like that is chives.

5/1/2009 12:44:06 AM

pics!!!!! I already have my first mini-pepper, soon to be a big pepper!!!

basil is still a bit yellow but it has improved since I fertilized

5/3/2009 4:33:10 PM

for the most part, my plants all look healthy, but are growing slowly. i wish i could get about 2 more hours of sunlight. the sun doesn't get around to my side of the building until around 2:00pm, and there's a big tree that that blocks it from around 3:00 to 4:30.

i, too, have a couple of mini peppers starting to bud.

my cilantro looks sad though, i can't figure out what the deal is. nothing i do seems to help it.

5/3/2009 5:37:30 PM

Does anyone want some squash seedlings? mine have come up and put on their first true leaves. I'll gladly pot up a few if someone has room for them. I live out near Knightdale but I could be convinced to bring them somewhere if someone wants to hang out and talk plants for a few.



Chop, did you buy the cilantro in a pot, or plant it from seed? in my experience, they only do well if you sow the seeds. they are difficult to transplant because they have a long taproot that is easily disturbed. also, they do better in cooler weather. your plants are probably going to bolt immediately and never spread and make leaves. I would recommend starting over between mid-august and early september by sowing the seeds. if you want to eat your cilantro and not just look at it, prepare a decent sized bed (or lots of pots) and do a couple more sowings at 2-3 week intervals. you can expect seeds in about a hundred days.


I have been very busy this weekend planting tons of new containers and repotting some houseplants and stuff. My brother borrowed my camera, but I`ll try to get it back from him tomorrow and snap a few pics of whats going on at my place.

5/3/2009 10:45:09 PM

i think i managed to kill everything i had. as a preventative measure, i sprayed everything down with the insecticidal soap. now it all looks like lettuce left in the refrigerator 5 weeks too long.

story of my life.

5/4/2009 6:09:03 PM

We are in a construction frenzy and are currently drawing up plans for the chicken coop and putting together our garden beds- 4' by 8', and 1 foot high, with 6 inch dug down into topsoil.
We're getting a topsoil/compost mix delivered from our friends, and can't wait for to start planting.

I am digging up and re-potting the following herbs:
2 kinds of mint, oregano, onion chives, parsley. Does anyone have experience with how well they do?

In my experience, sage and rosemary are good in pots- mine over-wintered fine. I am actually thinking of putting these plants into the beds and am excited about getting big beautiful rosemary bushes.

I'm planting the following: canteloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, 3 kinds of sweet peppers, zucchini. For companion planting, these guys do well with basil, parsley and marigolds. Plus,
marigolds are a great colorful addition to the garden.

5/4/2009 8:10:32 PM

sounds like you need some squash AntiMnifesto

5/5/2009 12:09:17 AM

sounds like you need some squash AntiMnifesto

5/5/2009 12:09:57 AM