I probably should have planned this post for late May or June, seeing how the weather cannot make up its mind. This week, we are expecting beautiful spring weather and then a frozen weekend. One of the dangers of a frozen weekend is killing off large gardens of seedlings or new garden growth. This is one of the reasons, along with space conservation, that I love containers gardening.
Having a selection of containers with various goof-proof plants is one way to begin a love for eating fresh, whole food. REAL FOOD. So, let’s get started!
1. You need a container. It can be ANYTHING that can have holes drilled in the bottom. For fresh herb plants, recycle milk jugs. For larger plants, invest in some 5 Gallon buckets with handles. They can be easily moved inside on cold nights and moved to and from a water source. Most larger hardware stores carry 5 gallon buckets and don’t forget to look at local hardware stores and co-ops.
2. Drill holes. Just a few. This is to allow water to seep out and prevent wet rotting of roots.
3. Soil. Get some all-purpose soil from the store. There isn’t a need to get anything fancy. Most all-purpose soil has adequate nutrients for container gardening.
4. Now the fun part. Buy some seeds or young seedlings! You want to start with some easy-to-grow plants first.
Lettuce: seed directly in the pot
Peppers: chili and bell peppers are better starting from seedlings.
Tomatoes: start small with cherry or grape tomatoes. These should DEFINITLEY start with seedlings.
Spinach: start with seeds and cut the leaves as they grow. The more you cut, the more they grow!
Snow and sugar-snap peas: These are cool weather plants. They will stop growing when it gets too hot and resume growing when cooler fall weather returns.
Radishes: FAST-growing plants that need shade.
Carrots: They take a while, but they are hearty.
Green beans: The ultimate goof-proof plant, but they need a trellis to climb.
Cucumbers: Park these near the trellis.
Swiss Chard: A lovely green that starts from seed.
Green onions: Start with seed and be patient.
Looking at this list, I predict a lot of fresh salads and stir-fry veggies in my future!
Have a great week!