Pottyculture - another nutty idea!

[veggiechicken]

I have a cunning plan that may appeal to small space gardeners and those who have trouble remembering to repeat sow.
Its a sort of polyculture (growing different veg in the same space) in pots - hence Pottyculture, which contrary to popular opinion, does not mean its completely crazy.

Regular readers of my nutty ideas will know that I aim to practice a 4 week repeat sowing plan, Week 1 - Roots, Week 2 - Shoots, Week 3 - Fruits and Week 4 - Leaves. That's 13 repeats a year.

The Pottyculture plan starts in Week 1 - with Roots. This is what I shall do in Week 1.

Find 6 Flower buckets (MFBs) with drainage holes.
Fill 4 about a third with compost and put a sprouting seed potato in each bucket. Fill to the top with compost.
Completely fill the other 2 buckets with compost.

Sow carrot seeds in one bucket and beetroot in the other (your choice of root veg & number of buckets). Might be best to sow them in a circle, so that you know where they are.

Step 2
Sow some quick maturing seeds like radish, rocket or mixed salad leaves in the spud buckets. Pick these before the spud leaves grow too big.

Sow some spring onion seeds in the carrot bucket. Onions may deter carrot fly.

Sow some lettuce in the beetroot bucket. Pick some beet leaves with your lettuce.

Do this every 4 weeks.

I'm starting my pots on Monday and will be keeping them in the GH over winter. I don't expect much growth on the root crops but the leaf crops should be pickable.

Feel free to join in - or laugh

[Greenleaves]

It's the 1st October VC, not the 1st April

[Small pumpkin]

[Small pumpkin]

My tiny little brain doesn't work like that! I couldn't plant two things in one bucket

On your own VC, sorry

[Snoop Puss]

I'm not sure I've understood: every four weeks you're going to be planting four seed potatoes? In November, December and January too? That would be a no-no for me. But you're in sunny Wales, so maybe it would work. I guess that by January, the potatoes will be very well chitted!

Good luck.

[veggiechicken]

Yes, every 4 weeks throughout the year I will sow the same veg - whether the time is right or not - that's 'cos I'm nuts and like to bend the rules.
I'd always intended to sow carrots, beet and radish in Week 1, Spring onion, leeks and oriental veg in week 2, Peas & beans Week 3 and cabbage/kale/lettuce Week 4.
In Pottyculture I'll be doubling my chances of success or total failure!
The spuds are a new addition to the mix - I'll plant 52 - one for every week of the year but 4 buckets at a time. By sowing summat else on top of them, the buckets aren't sitting around doing nothing for weeks. That's the idea anyway
Ill probably double up the peas and beans too.

[Snadger]

True Potty culture:-

[veggiechicken]

I only have one Po and I may need that
I wouldn't want one with drainage holes anyway

[Greenleaves]

As the undisputed queen of nuttiness and daft ideas! What happened to your growing in a bottle idea?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Oi, you taking my name in vain....

[Lumpy]

I love the idea VC - I have a blackberry (Black something or another meant for pots or hanging baskets) in a 12 inch square pot (bottom cut off) in the midlle of an 18 in square raised bed. it is surrounded by winter Oriental lovlies of various kinds.

However, I see one really big problem with your cunning, feather brained plan - a small space grower will need a garden the size of Buck House (excuse the pun) in which to keep all of the buckets. After a few months I would be using them to build a Trump wall as I have no floor space left.

[veggiechicken]

As the undisputed queen of nuttiness and daft ideas! What happened to your growing in a bottle idea?

The honest answer is Nothing! I forgot to plant the seeds
I still have a milk carton full of compost though!!

[veggiechicken]

However, I see one really big problem with your cunning, feather brained plan - a small space grower will need a garden the size of Buck House (excuse the pun) in which to keep all of the buckets. After a few months I would be using them to build a Trump wall as I have no floor space left.

I think there'll be about a 5 month rotation of bucket contents so you could decide how many buckets you have room for and work back from there. If it was 20, that's like a 4 x 5 Square foot bed, or 10x2 strip. 20 pots means planting 4 a month or 1 a week.

[veggiechicken]

Revised Nutty Plan!

I've revised my potty planting plan and pared it down a bit - omitting the spuds and limiting myself to 2 or 3 buckets a week or 10 in 4 weeks. I'm aiming to crop each bucket within 16 weeks so there will be a max of 40 planted buckets on the grow at all times. They'll need a space about 8' x 5' - less than most GHs.
At the end of 16 weeks, the bucket will be emptied and replanted, whatever stage the veg have reached.

Week 1 - Roots:- Carrots with spring onions; Beetroot with salad leaves

Week 2 Shoots - mini leeks with spring onions; oriental salad leaves

Week 3 Fruits - peas - dwarf for pea shoots and taller ones for pods ; Dwarf French beans or Dwarf Runner beans; Broad or field beans

Week 4 Leaves - cabbage or cauli or kale with radish.

Monday is Week 3 so I'll start a couple of buckets of peas and broad beans. I'll also start some extra seeds in modules to plant outside while the buckets stay in the GH for an earlier harvest (I hope).

Everyone needs a plan - never mind how daft

[Greenleaves]

And they don't come darter than yours VC