Growing In Just Pots and Things

[Lumpy]

OK you wonderful lot.......we have just moved to a tiny garden where most of the veggies are going to have to be grown in pots etc.

We do have the space for 3 half m x 1 m raised beds but because 'I want it all, I want it all and I want it now' - sorry bursting into a Queen song there.

The question is how many pots and what sizes for the basics plus a few luxuries?

I have acquired Hestia runners, bush pumpkin and tub toms but have little idea about anythiing else.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Hi Lumpy what would you like to grow?

You can grow anything in containers if you use the right size pot My pots range from 3 inch up to Morrison's black buckets and up again to 80ltr plastic dustbins. Few pics on my profile which may give you some ideas.

[Lisasbolt]

I grew some courgettes this year in pots, specially designed for pots and they worked really well. i have a couple of new ones in pots which i am hoping to get a crop from this winter, just thought i would bring them inside if it got really cold.

I like the pots where you can add a few different bits like spring onions and salad leaves. They can be really pretty as well.

[Lumpy]

Hoping for normal salad stuff - yay might even manage a beetroot next year.
Dwarf runners = as I said I have Hestia seeds - what size pot would they need.
DFB's
Courgettes - Lisa what were the seeds you grew?
My bush pumpkin are grown in the tyres I bought with me.
I have some bags for Charlottes
Kale - 1 or 2
Leeks
Orientals


Basically anything and everything except turnips - yuk!

[Lumpy]

I thought some pics might help.....

We do have to have space for tiddley dogs and a large spinney line thing.

Oh and I want some more dwarf fruit tree's.....




The front can be used as 2 narrow beds but there is somewhere I can put a trellis for raspberries. The village has rules about front gardens so most of it has to stay as grass.

[Potstubsdustbins]

DFB's like full size runners morrisons black flower (MBF) buckets with drainage holes in the bottom. These can be had free of 99p for 8 much better than paying out for purpose made plant pots.

In 6" x 6" x 18" troughs I do Lettuce, Mesclun mix, salad onions, baby leeks and strawberries.

MBF buckets for cordon tomatoes, hanging baskets for bush tomatoes.

Onions any container about 8" deep.

If you like your raspberries have a look at Ruby Beauty a dwarf patio type, thornless and about 3 foot high I have just purchased 3 plants from Marshalls less than £20, good condition when they arrived now romping away in their containers. They reckon 1 plant in a 12ltr pot MBF again or 3 plants to a 40ltr pot.

My curly kale I work my way through pot sizes until I have harvested my main crop spuds then they go in the dustbins.

[Lumpy]

Thanks Potty - I'm off to have a mooch at raspberries.

We had to leave all the fruit bushes and mini root stock fruit tree's behind so I am having to start again - sighs

[Penellype]

I grow loads of stuff in pots. Most of my pots are either the 18inch square ones (about a foot deep) that B&Q sell, or the 30 litre buckets. I've grown the following successfully in pots:

Bean (French) Purple Teepee
Blueberry Bluecrop, Dixie
Cabbage various
Calabrese Sakura
Carrot various
Courgette Goldmine, Green Bush, Piccolo
Cucumber Vega
Herbs various
Kohlrabi
Komatsuna
Leek various
Lettuce - cut and come again does best, or 6 inch pot per plant
Mizuna
Namenia
Pak Choi
Pea Geisha
Pepper various - 11 litre pot per plant
Potato various, 3 seed potatoes to 30l pot
Runner bean Red Rum
Spinach various
Strawberry various - 6 inch pot per plant
Tomato various - 11 litre pot per plant

Experimenting with the following at the moment:
Beetroot - sown late, doing ok
Blackcurrant Ben Sarek - new plant
Brokali - cross between broccoli and kale, nearly ready
Chinese celery
Corn salad
Gooseberry Captivator - doing ok except for sawfly damage
PSB - doing ok

Sometimes yields are smaller in pots, particularly for things like cabbages.

[Lisasbolt]

The courgettes are
Suttons - f1 buckingham (yellow)
Mr Fothergills- F1 midnight

I could spare 2 seeds of each (above) if you want, pm your address, they are dated this year and next.

I also have suttons - patio star to try

Or they are not cheap, 3pounds for 6 seeds, so its good to keep an eye out on the offers.

[Snadger]

Still can't understand why your stuff needs to be grown in pots? You appear to have plenty of soil?

[Martin H]

Still can't understand why your stuff needs to be grown in pots? You appear to have plenty of soil?

I was thinking the same thing. Looking at the pics, I'd be getting my fork into that ground to break it up and looking for lots of organic stuff to spread on the top. In this way, if you haven't got much soil you can just create some over a few seasons with the help of the earthworms.

(That's what I did in my back garden, the whole thing was completely covered in paving and decking when I moved in. It grows stuff quite adequately now, just completing our 4th season).

[Lumpy]

The idea of straight into the soil is a nice one but it's not going to work for us as we have 2 dogs, one of whom is blind (a greyhound). In the past we have had to fence off any ground level growing areas as otherwise the mutts leave us nice little presents in amongst the foliage which, if we don't spot straight away makes the garden stink and acts like a doggie version of a D.I.D (doddy improvised doo doo).

So I don;t think there is enough space for them, the 3 hens, a large whirlie gig line plus my next strawberry mountain and all the flowers I want to shove (sorry tenderly plant) in next year.

And to be absolutely honest using the micro beds and pots means there is no digging etc (I am built for comfort not speed).

Thanks to all who have given me variety names as well as it will give me an idea of what to go hunting for.

[Jay22]

Where are the chooks going? I've got apple, plum and pear trees in pots and raspberries in another large pot. Also grow runners and garlic in pots too although the garlic didn't do well this year. Along with that I grow bush toms in pots too...they did well last year but not this year.

[Nannysally99]

We do most of our growing in buckets, builders size buckets and council recycling containers. Takes tons of watering, but is really easy to look after. Water, feed, water, crop - that's more or less it. I do grow sweetcorn and runner beans in two small beds alongside a fence.
Strawberrys are all in pots too

[Lumpy]

The freaky beaky sisters are already in.

What the pics don't show is the brick built (small) shed - I stood at the end corner of it to take the pics.

Well, that gave us a reasonable L shape up the back of it and then in front of the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen window. This has now been named @Hen Alley@ and they look routing about in all the leaves that blow up into their corner.