Containers or Borders?

[broadway]

Hi Folks,

I purchased a Polly Tunnel earlier in the year and grew my tomatoes etc in the orange b&q buckets used the year before. The question I have is what would you folks do/recommend for next season, use the buckets again or dig borders?

[solway cropper]

The advantage of the buckets is that you can tailor the compost mix to suit whatever's growing in them and it also gives protection from nasty little things that crawl about in the soil. I grow about half of my crops in containers now and leave the soil for things like spuds, leeks and root crops.

[broadway]

Thanks Solway,

Never thought I was gonna get a reply.

[Robinson Polytunnels]

Hello Broadway,

One of the great advantages of growing in containers is weed control or should I say the lack of requirement for weed control.
As soon as you plant directly in the ground I can assure you that weeds will grow just as well in a polytunnel as your tomatoes do.
For that reason alone I always use containers.
____________________

Stuart (Robinson Polytunnels)

[Alison]

However you have to water more in containers.

[bravo2zero]

Borders every time for me. I have never used containers or grow bags in either my tunnel or greenhouse. Prudent rotation of crops and soil from my outdoor plot sees to any pests that may accumalate. Cost is another factor and watering. All of my indoor crops are heavily mulched with straw from the chicken runs once they have broken it down a little and this year i experimented with the tomatos in the greenhouse where they were planted through black plastic and watered through plant pots buried between them ,they only needed water twice a week and never had a single weed. In beds the plants have unrestricted root growth.