Icarus
Private Member
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Icarus on May 19, 2008 8:20:16 GMT -5
Because of the flooding that occurs here on our land throughout the rainy times, it's almost impossible for me to have a garden that has a chance of making it through even one season, let alone two. Once I go through all of the effort of preparation, planting, and tending, I'd kind of like to reap a harvest of some kind, even if it happens to be in miniature form. I know that Adona mentioned this one alternative to traditional gardening to me once, and I jotted down the notes, but only found them last night. Now, I am wondering if there are any drawbacks to this square-foot gardening besides having a smaller yield. Basically, right now, I don't see a viable alternative to the traditional garden, aside from this one, and I'd like to know if there are any pitfalls I should look out for. Here's the link for the "official" site: squarefootgardening.com/
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Post by Adona Mara on May 22, 2008 19:22:29 GMT -5
The only pitfall regarding any kind of raised-bed or container gardening is that you do need to check for water needs a bit more regularly. Just stick your finger into the dirt, and if it's dry an inch into the soil, it needs a bit of water. Oh, and don't be afraid to raid a bait shop for live worms to sprinkle around the garden, either. I'm sure your boys would enjoy adding worms to the dirt. Also, consider adding some flowers right in the containers, or nearby any patches you plant that would attract bees, as they do a lot of good pollinating for you. Keep in mind, Icarus, that you can make as many of these little patches as you like. Your yield doesn't need to be much smaller than in a traditional bed. Also, if you add some container gardening to your square foot patches, you can extend your planting area. Tomatoes are great container plants. Now, if you can imagine some nice buckets (5 gallon plastic buckets work great), with holes in the bottom for drainage, and maybe some interesting ornamentation painted on the outside, you might find a nice "border" for the driveway, or a walk way -- and a gob of great tomatoes. This also works for bush beans, peas, and other bushing plants. You may find people are hard put to know what's a vegetable, and what's just an ornamental plant. If you like radishes, you can plant them pretty much anywhere .. and they grow so fast, you need only plant what you need for, say a week. Then, plant new seeds every time you harvest the grown ones (they only take a week or so to grow, so you can have good radishes for all summer long. And they don't take up a lot of space, nor do they drain a lot of nutrients. You can plant them at the base, or along the border of almost any other plant you work with. A bit of trellis fencing works very well for cucumbers and other vining plants. And it doesn't have to be expensive trellising -- just something that stands up on its own that vines can grow around. Have a spare step ladder? Voile' ... instant trellis. And many yummy veggies can be grown in window boxes ... whether they're actually set by the window, or just set in the yard. They're also great places for herbs -- especially the kind that like to grow nuts, as it sort of keeps them in check. There's also a trick for growing lots of potatoes, too, if you have access to some nice, big truck tires. Three or four tires will do very well. You can also use old car tires, but there's not as much space there, so you might want to have more than one if you use them. First, lay down one tire, and fill with dirt. Plant your potato eyes with just a bit of potato attached. (You don't need to plant a whole potato. In fact, my dad used some peelings as "mulch" in his garden once, and they grew .) Then when the green part has grown up a bit, put on the second tire, and put a bit more dirt in. The potato green will continue to grow. When it's grown sufficiently above the second tire, fill the second tire with dirt. Continue with the next tire in the same way, until you have as many tires laid in as you wish. The potato green will grow above the dirt, and all three of your tires (or four, if you use that many) will be filled with potatoes. Such a system has been known to produce up to 20 to 30 pounds of potatoes, so if you do three or four of those, you should have plenty of potatoes to keep everyone fat and happy . And remember to hit the garage sales and scrap piles for containers and doo dads for creative gardening. With some good canning supplies, and a lot of freezer space, you don't need to take up a lot of room to feed your family over the winter with healthy veggies. Oh, and here's some good sites for you to check out regarding vertical gardening -- a very good way to get a lot of food into a small bit of space: www.mastergardenproducts.com/gardenerscorner/vertical_gardening.htmwww.texasgardener.com/pastissues/marapr02/verticalgardening.htmlcontainergardening.wordpress.com/category/horticulture-gardening/gardening-types/vertical-gardening/
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Post by Jinsei on May 25, 2008 21:26:41 GMT -5
To expand a little on what she said, I've got a list of some vegetables and the minimum size container they need.
Vegetable - Minimum Container Size - Number of Plants Per Container
Beans (bush) - 2 gallon - 6 plants; in larger containers space 2-3" apart
Beans (pole) - 4 gallon - 6 plants
Beets - 1 pint - 2 to 3 plants; in larger containers space 2" apart
Broccoli - 5 gallon - 1 plant
Brussels Sprouts - 5 gallon - 1 plant
Cabbage - 5 gallon - 1 plant; in larger container space 12" apart
Chinese Cabbage - 1 gallon - 1 plant
Carrots - 1 pint - 3 to 4 plants; in larger container space 1-2" apart
Corn - 10 gallon - 4 plants; space 4" apart. Plant at least 12 for pollination
Cucumbers - 5 gallon - 2 plants. Trail vertically.
Eggplant - 5 gallon - 1 plant
Kale - 5 gallon - 3 to 4 plants; in larger containers space 16" apart
Lettuce - 1/2 gallon - 1 plant; in larger containers space 10" apart
Mustard Greens - 1 pint - 1 plant; in larger containers space 4" apart
New Zealand Spinach - 2 gallon - 1 plant (good for hanging basket)
Onions - 1/2 gallon - 16 green onions; for larger sized onions use larger container and space 2-3" apart
Peppers - 2 gallon - 1 plant
Radishes - 1 pint - 4 to 5 plants per pot; in larger containers space 1" apart
Spinach - 1 pint - 1 plant per pot; in larger containers space 5" apart
Summer Squash and Zucchini - 5 gallon - 1 plant
Swiss Chard - 3 1/2 gallon - 4 to 5 plants; in larger containers space 8" apart
Tomatoes (dwarf) - 5 gallon - 1 plant
Tomatoes (standard) - 1 1/2 quart - 1 plant
Turnips - 5 gallon - Space 2" apart
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Post by Adona Mara on May 26, 2008 21:20:24 GMT -5
Oh, and if you're planting carrots, and choose a large variety (best bet -- more food for the space), make sure your container is deep enough, as well.
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