I got very excited back in October about the veggies I was attempted to grow in big pots in my very small, urban garden. But I have to confess, I am a little disheartened with the results so far.What I have learned is that it is a waste of time growing dwarf veggies. I harvested a big pot of dwarf carrots last night, which fed my family of four. I worked it out that the carrots for four people was worth about $24...not very cost effective. I have harvested about six broad beans...beans that is...not pods. And my dwarf beetroot are about the size of a large marble.
Oh well...back to the drawing board....
10 comments:
Poor you :(
I have tried many times to have a vegie garden but have never had great success. Something always gets there first, rabbits, slugs, birds,insects, weather. None the less I really want to give it a go and have a garden, time is the issue at the moment.
Bet those carrots tasted great though :)
Hi Sarah - Sympathy! I have found that it sometimes takes 2 goes before something crops for me so I never give up after one try! As Carolyn says I'm sure the carrots tasted great! You might want to try more things that grow "top fruit" rather than roots: tomatoes, capsicum, aubergine, courgette, cucumber, lettuce & one root radish have all worked OK for me in pots in the past. Also climbing green beans - we had 6 at the end of our runner bean row last year and had masses of beans. Best friends in UK have grown tomatoes in hanging basket. You might be a bit cool for ripening capsicum & aubergine but I used to grow stacks of courgette in UK.
Don't get disheartened it all tastes so good when it works :)
Jo Hart
One mouthful and its all gone! Lots of fun trying though. I've got flowers on my two courgette plants in pots so waiting to see the fruits. Something has been nibbling one of the lettuces - snail, rabbit - must be a clever snail to jump up into the large pot. Radishes seem to be growing well but garlic is slow to bulb up - is that a gardening term?
Treat vege gardens as you would ornamental. Choose for the flowers, amazing plant structures, ease of care, and to condition your soils. That way you get beauty and therapy with the added bonus of the odd bit of food, and ever better soils. Reckon planting is a 3-5 year return cycle, not one year. Plant fruit trees, berry shrubs, lots of herbs, and soil conditioners like Comfrey (the Russian variety). Tomatoes are worth it. Herbs too. Squash is easy and a beautiful plant (good to plant now). Cranberries go great in Dunedin. Plant everything in LARGE masses and let it find its own ecosystem...
Thank you all so much for your encouraging words.
@Leigh I do not have much 'land' to use, but what little garden I have, I am managing to grow broccoli and cauliflower with little effort. But you're right about taking 3 - 5 years. I must remember that the pot growing stuff I am doing is experimental at the moment...that it will take a couple of years at least to work out what grows well in pots and what does not.
@Carolyn The beauty of growing in pots is that I am escaping a lot of snails, slugs etc. My main problem is the cats using them as toilets.
@Jo Yes, I am finding that I am doing quite well with tomatoes and courgettes, although we had a period of terrible wind that thrashed the tomatoes. I have just planted climbing green beans in pots, so will be interested to see how they do.
@Bronwyn I have been growing garlic for 18 months...giving up on them becoming a decent size.
Sebastian says:
Dear Sarah,
It is the fun of gardening that matters.
Pots dry out so quick and can really lose their nutrients quickly. Do you have a worm farm? Worm wee is a great thing to dilute and water pots with = water plus nutrition all in one.
Best success in pots I've had is quick growing leafy greens: lettuce, rocket, pak choi. Brassicas can do ok in big pots but better in autumn/winter. Climbing beans did well in an old bathtub and the old standby, cherry tomatoes, can be fantastic in pots.
Keep perservering, you'll find systems that work for you. And maybe some netting for yucky cats...urrgh.
Thanks ms lottie...I have having a go with climbing beans...will be interesting to see how they go.
Hi Sarah, Snapenz here. I posted on your blog about a year ago. Your blog keeps popping up you know, when I'm searching for stuff.I'm working on a new blog now..
www.emigratenewzealand.co.cc
Anyway I read this piece a while bag, and thought I would share my success...
I literally took the seeds out of 1 tomato and threw them in some soil on Labour day, well I couldnt believe it when about 2 weeks later they germinated with a vengence! I gave loads of seedlings away, and I now have about 20 mature tomato plants with about 60 odd huge toms on - and they are still flowering - cant believe it ! Anyway, all I spent was 3 dollars on 2 large grow bags from the Warehouse, which I split into 3 shallow containers. If you ask at the Warehoue by the way if they have any split bags of compost, you get them seriously cheap - the same too of plants, etc, etc. They throw away thousands of dollars a week in the gardening department nationwide.....
Thats all for now duck,
Snapaenz
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