well, i like to keep a garden indoors during the winter, but normaly i just grow herbs. they only need a small amount of room, easy care, etc..... anyways, this year i would like to grow a few vegetables, even if only to get a REALY big jump start with some of them. but i need to know how big a bucket i need to put varieties in. i know i could just give everything a 5 gal bucket, but if i know the proper size i will be able to better use the space i have. i wanna grow some salad greens, preferably a "cut and come again" type. and tomato is a must. maybe cucumbers, squash, pole beans. any other random ones i can fit. so does anyone out there know of some sites that would help me out? or do you just know the container sizes for a lot of plants?

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Wizzards pics

thanx

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Wizzards pics

I also use a 5 Gallon pail for my tomatoes....
I plant deep, so it has a good root system...
put some landscape fabric swatch down on top of
the soil to keep the dirt off of the plant,
stick in a tomato cage... and a stake to keep it
upright, and just water...

I also did some peas in one of those buckets they sell now adays for like an outdoor party filled with like popcans or bottles.. *know idea the size* but I made my own cage for the peas to crawl up, by taking some fencing, and cutting it, and rolling it up in a circle the size of the bucket/container... thru in some dirt, then stuck in the cage thingie and then thru in some more dirt...

Gotta remember about harvesting though...
When the cage is in a circle and the plant grows inside the cage, it's hard to get the produce out
of the middle..
but it worked for me....

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

I got it in late *as per usual for me* And at the end of the summer
it was really starting to bloom.
The other two factors that need some adjusting on were....
Problem #1. Size of pots/containers... *funny this should be the one you pick up on, especially asking for container sizes* I put 4 round pots under the feet of the table..*stuff the feet right inside the pot/container* they were only probably 6" or 8" wide...they weren't nearly as big as they needed for the growth of the root systems. I also had one pot/container under the umbrella's pole.. also too small..
I am trying to figure out if I should put 4 taller one's, or say like a window planter...
I am still pondering what to do..
And Problem #2. Was Woodchucks/Groundhogs, whatever anyone would like to call them besides late for dinner on my plants.
Ate them 3 times when I planted them, until I had to find some funny contraptions to put around it and they found some other tid~bit of mine to chew on...Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

But it would have looked stunning...

I am working on something to do with ring from that same table and try to grow something that would look like a topiary... but ideas' are abundant, time and $$ and something to implement them are soooooooooo limited, and if my husband isn't receptive, I have to figure it out on my own and sometimes they fall apart.. but hence the learning process is wonderful

I can't remember if I have the peas picture in there, it is in the bright blue round bucket with that fencing in a circle.. also did some fencing in half circles' parallel with the ground..

also, if you go to like a Home Depot, I got some 6' tall bamboo stakes.. *I didn't get to use them for my beans, as I never got to planting them..
*I'm slow, children and a mother.. but I am dilagent..*
For outdoor gardening and trellis's we used an old swing set and hung over it one of those netting things you can buy in most catalogs for doing that sort of thing.. I am really liking that fencing stuff I got, it's alot more rigid... and easily bendable and reuseable..
The kind I got said rabbit fencing, but there's more fencing on one side of it, when it's used as it should be, that side is down on the ground and the rabbits can't get thru it cause it's too tight for them...

I also used cloths racks, the kinds in dept. stores, when the store is closing out and getting rid of everything.. and I put over it, some chain link fencing I had sitting around, worked kinda neat for cucumbers...

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Hiya Bigboy!!!!

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

You'll be fine using 5 gallon buckets. YOu could even go with 12 gallons for the lettuce. Just keep an eye on the roots. If the dirt gets tight, or roots start comming out of th ebottom of the planter, transplant it.
Growing indoors is fun!

Jumping in late on this one. If you want to do peppers indoors, they are great for that. I have done them in 5 gallon buckets and had great success.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

Cannot answer those questions, but I do have one for you. How are you planning on pollenating everything so that is bears produce, fruit, flowers, etc?

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

I thought that may be the case, but wanted to check to be sure.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

hi neighbor. nah, the fruit isnt for this winter, its for spring. i live in an apartment where the chances of a garden are slim. however if i can put it in containers, it will be moveable. the landlord will not mind that, and i get to take my plants with me if i move. still intended to let most of the fruit plants die back in the winter (prolly bring about 4 strawberry plants in). my only concern is whether the size of the container is big enough to grow fruit in.
thanx for the info on hand pollinating, i had no idea what i was doing, would have prolly destroyed a lot of fruit capability. thanx again

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Wizzards pics

could you find out the name of the determinate/bush tomato plants for me please. That would be so much easier to deal with. I too live in an apartment....a small apartment.

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Okay, I'm still new to this forum and you guys have put me to work!! I love it!!!

TK, I'll answer your question first because it is the easiest. There are several tomatoes that are determinate tomatoes. The one that I was thinking about that was bred especially for containers is called Tomato Container Choice Hybrid. As its name indicates, it is a hybrid tomato. Though they are compact plants, Park Seed Co. says that they produce 8 oz. fruits! Pretty good for a compact size plant! If you are interested in them, you can find them by clicking here. If you are wanting to stay with an open pollinated or heirloom variety, you can click here to see Victory Seeds' list of tomatoes. Whether they are determinate or indeterminate is specified.

Since you and Wizzard live in appartments, I thought you might be interested in another tomato that I know about. It's called Tumbling Tom. It was bred to be grown in a hanging basket. You set 2-3 in an 8-10" hanging basket and they "spill" over the sides much like a petunia. The tomatoes are only 1-2" around, but they are great for a snack or in salads!

Alright Wizzard, your turn!!

When I would think about you growing blueberries in containers, I felt as though I had something gnawing at the back of my brain! At first, I thought it was a flea! But, it turns out that somewhere in my memory there was information about a blueberry that has been bred to grow in containers. But, I couldn't remember any more than that.

Tonight, I finally remembered enough about them to find them for you. They are called Top Hat Blueberries. They were specifically grown for containers/flower pots. So, a 5-gallon bucket should work fine. They only grow about 24" tall, produce full sized 1/2" berries, and turn a beautiful firey red in the Autumn. The plants look small beside their full-sized cousins, but they produce blueberries like they were going out of style!! And, they are good too!

The way I found out about them is that a guy that I knew about 6 years ago had two of them on his back deck. When I visited him last, they had a world of ripe blueberries on them, so I tried one. They were wonderful. I asked him why he hadn't picked them and he said that he just grew them for the birds!!

Although these little guys are easier to grow than their full-sized cousins, you need to try to maintain a pH range of between 4.0 and 5.0. Also, although blueberries and blackberries love very moist soil... not wet, but very moist soil they demand good drainage. And as far as the freezing is concerned, I believe that I would insulate them for the winter as you described.

Since you will be growing them outside, don't forget to put bird netting over them or you won't have any blueberries!! Birds are pretty smart little critters. If you leave a way for them to do so, they will even crawl underneath the netting to get to the blueberries. If you are interested in the Top Hat Blueberries, you can find them at Gardener's Choice by clicking here. I thought they were very reasonable... only $8.95 for 2 plants.

As for the blackberries, all I have been able to find out is that they will probably do alright in containers. I don't know of any type that has been bred specifically for containers though. Were it me and I wanted to try some, I would put them in 5-gallon buckets and protect them in the winter like I would the blueberries. Also, don't forget to protect the fruit from the neighborhood birds. They love them just like blueberries!

Here are a few other things to consider or keep in mind about them. Unlike the blueberries, blackberries like a sweet soil. A pH range of 5.5 to 7.0 should do nicely. Especially by them being grown in containers that you will probably have to move at some point, I would strongly consider the thornless varieties! They are usually not as sweet, but they don't bite!! Blackberries produce their fruit on the 2 year-old canes. The older canes produce little to no fruit So, they need to be pruned to help them produce more fruit. And if you don't prune them, you will soon have a bramble patch instead of a blackberry patch! You can find information about pruning from the LSU AgCenter here. Some more pruning info here. You can find more indepth information by doing a Google search for "pruning blackberries" or "growing blackberries."

Well, that's about it for now. I hope this isn't so long that it blows the server when I try to post it!! Good luck with your container garden and berry patch. If there is anything else I can help you with, I'll be glad to try!!

Robert

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My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks

Glad to be of assistance tk.

Robert

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My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks

Just a tip on those nursery pots...First of all if you contact a landscaper they may give some of these pots for free....as most of them that don't grow their own plants just throw the pots away...I have a whole shed full that I got for free that way. Also with the nursery pots since they have all those drainage holes, I have found it necessary to put duck tape over some of the holes, so all the water doesn't just drain strait through the pots. I have grown tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers in these pots and also in the 3 and 5 gallon buckets. The full sized tomato plants or indeterminate type work fine, they just require you place a stake in the pot, I do this early, so the stake is all the way to the bottom of the bucket or pot and doesn't disturb the root growth.

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OK I am a rank newbie so bear with my beginner question. I noticed earlier in this post that someone mentioned hand pollinating with a small brush. The reason I ask is I have a tomato plant in a 5 gal bucket growing indoors. The plant is pretty big and has some flowers but no tomatos. Should I be pollinating the flowers?? If so how?? Thanks for any help

Wizzard,

Any plastic container will work. Use a drill bit no smaller than 1cm to make your holes, the better the drainage, the better, no need to put rocks or pebbles in the bottom if you're using a good soilless mix like Pro-mix. I've grown tomatoes in plastic cat litter containers and protein powder containers in the past, it's no biggie as long as you "sterilize" the ones you're recycling with a dilute bleach solution first, rinsing it well afterwards.

If you grow in a container that is too small, what will happen is that the roots will fill up that container and deplete the nutrients of the soil very rapidly and you'll have to water very very often, even inside because of the dry conditions that exist indoors. Do yourself and your plants a favour and use larger containers.

Tomatoes, in case you don't know this, are self-pollinators, but when grown outside, they get the benefit of breezes which carry pollen almost as efficiently as the bees do. You can facilitate this by either leaving a fan close to the plants or shaking them (gently) manually each day. If you're planning on saving seeds, however, you'll want to either grow only one variety or cover the blossoms so they don't get cross-pollinated and you'll have to shake those blossoms yourself.

Buona fortuna,
Julianna

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Of course it depends on the type of tomato you are planting, but in a 5 gallon bucket you should get more then what you require for the month. The harvest is alittle smaller and the tomatoes could be alittle smaller also then if planted directly into the ground...but not to a point of it making a big difference.

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That is exciting about the berries. Do you know if she prunes it back every year? Raspberries can get pretty wild, can't they?

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

I am pretty sure we have wild berries of some sort growing across the road. If so I will be looking to snag some to grow. Going to do them in a container as well as that sounds like the best way to keep them in check.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

And with yours too!

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.