Saving Space

[Potstubsdustbins]

2 Sheds thanks for the heads up. I also 3 troughs of strawbs on a wooden shelf and they were attacked so me being me I netted everything.

Colin

[chris]

I grow most of my straws in hanging baskets.. just need watering every day! no slug problem them Dont' net them here - but my neighbour feeds the birds, they're so well fed they leave my stuff alone!

[buzzingtalk]

Sweet. Where can you get brackets from? I looked in a garden centre earlier and saw baskets but no brackets...do you need particular ones? I'm gonna put some tumbling toms in them.

Think I'm still gonna have some tom's in pots on the ground though as I like big ones and did really well last year...I'm gonna downsize the tubs but about 1/3 though, I think they'll be fine. When I cut them down at end of season, the roots hadn't even got to the edges of the tubs so I'll try smaller ones.

I'm still stuck on what to do with my strawbs - I have about 30 strawb plants, all currently in little pots, taking up lots of floor space. I can't afford one of those posh strawberry planters, anyone got any suggestions? I'd like them growing 'vertically' so I can have more pots on the ground.

Thankfully one of the good points of living in a city centre with no grass/gardens around you is there are NO BIRDS!! So nothing is netted or protected

[Two_Sheds]

Where can you get brackets from?

Almost anywhere... this one's in Wilkinson - I'd expect Roys on Magdalen St would have some too

I'd like them growing 'vertically' so I can have more pots on the ground.

How about a tower made of circular pots, one on top of the other? (biggest on the bottom filled with soil, next one on top of that, also filled with soil, keep on stacking for 3 or 4 levels. Plant your strawbs around the edges)

[Potstubsdustbins]

Buzzing,

See you live in Norwich, B & Q Depot have a selection of brackets plus plugs & screws if you need them.

Containers for you cordon toms try Morrisons they sell black flower buckets dirt cheap just need a hole in bottom for drainage ideal size for toms and runner beans and new potato's and single courgette plants and loads of other things.

I like 2 Sheds idea for your strawbs.

Colin

[buzzingtalk]

Nice one for tips guys - I managed to get 2 14" hanging baskets and 2 brackets today from the garden center. Gonna get them screwed in by OH in a few weeks ready for toms & marigold combos Have got room for at least another 2 baskets though so might buy some more!

T_S - Thanks once again for another genius idea, I just today sorted through all of my pots and I have MASSIVE ones (hold about 50L) that I can't really use for anything this year, so will try one of them on the bottom with a few more pots stacked on top. How much space do you think the strawbs need? They are all currently in little 5-8cm pots, so I'm guessing 8cm between the pot and the edge is fine? Would it be smaller for alpine strawbs? (Got some seed ones I'm gonna start soon)

[buzzingtalk]

Pots - nice one for the help. I think I have some 'flower buckets' already got holes in them - they seem like a better size for cordon toms. Last summer I had my toms in huggggeeeeee pots that took up most of the space, so I'm going to experiment more this year and plant them in various pot sizes to see what happens. I think bucket size will be good as the roots didn't even touch the edges of the pots I had for them last year.

If not I'm gonna get a few of those plastic reusable grow bags and fill em with compost and line them up against the wall, apparently you can have 3 plants per bag which will be much more space efficient than pots. (I have a 3x5m space that has plants, bins, recycling bins, and needs a bit of space for a car...they call it the 'urban jungle')

I am intending to experiment this year though with toms in pots and containers, I'll keep everyone posted

[buzzingtalk]

Ooooh just found these online ---> Stackable Containers for Strawberries, Totamoes - Greats for Floral Displays - Grow Your Own With Potty Innovations

Ordered a set - look good, and can use them for strawbs and herbs

[Two_Sheds]

I'm wanting some of those pretty stackers for the school garden. Let me know if they're worth £13 would you?

[chris]

TS, they have very similar ones in the pound shop.. not blue mind, bog standard terracotta. £1/tray..

[Two_Sheds]

Thanks Chris, but it needs to be sturdy/tough, and pretty

[buzzingtalk]

I'll let ya know, I ordered the green ones. They look pretty good. There are terracotta type ones on fleabay but they were more expensive and looked about the same thing anyway,