Entry tags:
Container Gardening: Give me all of the advice
One of my resolutions after visiting Japan for the second time in 2012 was to grow more plants. In Japan, lots of houses/apartments don't have yards, but people still had potted flowers/vegetables/herbs all over the place, and they were beautiful & I loved walking past them.
I bought a bunch of plants when I came back in July, but most of them have since died.
At the moment I have a fading African violet, an almost!dead but then revived ivy (which looks more like a sickly baby tree at the moment), and a robust spider plant. I got the spider plant as a cutting from one of my friend's spider plants, so I take a lot of pride in that one. It's even spawned a baby spider plant, which I hope to break off and start in its own pot once it gets warmer outside!
What I want:
--I'm not so ambitious as to plan to grow all of my own vegetables herbs, or etc. It would be neat to eat things from my own garden, but it's not a necessity. The cost of growing/maintaining plants needn't be less than the money I save by eating food I've grown.
--"Useless" plants that are pleasing to the eye are fine with me, too.
--I'll ignore advice about tomato and pepper plants for now. At the moment, I can't eat them. If it turns out that I can later in the season, I'll buy plants that's already started.
--I would like to try growing some plants from seed. But I recognize that this can be especially frustrating for beginners, so I'm okay with buying some plants that are already started, too.
--Assume that my budget is fairly liberal, but I'm not going drop like, $50 on a single plant (is that possible??). Thus far, I think all plants that I own have cost me less than $5. If I can re-use common household items like food containers, I would like to. But I don't mind buying pots if I need more than the few hand-sized ones I've got.
Internet resources I'm planning to start toying with right now:
This post about using toilet rolls as seed starters.
This PDF of a seed-starting plan so I know when to start growing shit.
Specs of my growing environment:
Inside: I have a sliding door/window that floods my apartment with light. I keep my three plants on top of a bookshelf next to the top of the door/window. The floor in front of the door/window is bare. I don't have a shelf or anything to set plants on, at the moment.
When it's not freezing, I like to set the plants outside.
Outside: North-facing balcony, measuring at dimensions forthcoming [in August, I'll be moving to a different apartment, and the balcony dimensions may increase.]
--The balcony has a guard rail. The balcony also has three wide beams in its "ceiling," supporting the floor of the balcony above me. With effort & assistance, I could probably hang some stuff from these beams.
--Birds like to nest on top of the beams. There's still an empty bird's nest there from last summer.
--The bottom of the balcony has slotted wood planks. There are gaps between each wood slot, & a balcony down below mine. So I have to be careful not to spill dirt/etc. down below! I do live next to a bike path & fields, though, so I could easily plant stuff on a ground/etc.
--I live in Wisconsin, so we're still a ways away from being able to set plants outside. This past Friday, for example, we had a blizzard.
Starting questions:
I think that at the moment, most of what I'm looking for is really basic advice, like what types of plants are fun to grow; do you use fertilizer and what kind; is it good to start plants growing inside before I set them outside; advice for frequency of watering, etc. I will take any advice!
ETA: Also desperately seeking advice on how to know when to re-pot plants.
I bought a bunch of plants when I came back in July, but most of them have since died.
At the moment I have a fading African violet, an almost!dead but then revived ivy (which looks more like a sickly baby tree at the moment), and a robust spider plant. I got the spider plant as a cutting from one of my friend's spider plants, so I take a lot of pride in that one. It's even spawned a baby spider plant, which I hope to break off and start in its own pot once it gets warmer outside!
What I want:
--I'm not so ambitious as to plan to grow all of my own vegetables herbs, or etc. It would be neat to eat things from my own garden, but it's not a necessity. The cost of growing/maintaining plants needn't be less than the money I save by eating food I've grown.
--"Useless" plants that are pleasing to the eye are fine with me, too.
--I'll ignore advice about tomato and pepper plants for now. At the moment, I can't eat them. If it turns out that I can later in the season, I'll buy plants that's already started.
--I would like to try growing some plants from seed. But I recognize that this can be especially frustrating for beginners, so I'm okay with buying some plants that are already started, too.
--Assume that my budget is fairly liberal, but I'm not going drop like, $50 on a single plant (is that possible??). Thus far, I think all plants that I own have cost me less than $5. If I can re-use common household items like food containers, I would like to. But I don't mind buying pots if I need more than the few hand-sized ones I've got.
Internet resources I'm planning to start toying with right now:
This post about using toilet rolls as seed starters.
This PDF of a seed-starting plan so I know when to start growing shit.
Specs of my growing environment:
Inside: I have a sliding door/window that floods my apartment with light. I keep my three plants on top of a bookshelf next to the top of the door/window. The floor in front of the door/window is bare. I don't have a shelf or anything to set plants on, at the moment.
When it's not freezing, I like to set the plants outside.
Outside: North-facing balcony, measuring at dimensions forthcoming [in August, I'll be moving to a different apartment, and the balcony dimensions may increase.]
--The balcony has a guard rail. The balcony also has three wide beams in its "ceiling," supporting the floor of the balcony above me. With effort & assistance, I could probably hang some stuff from these beams.
--Birds like to nest on top of the beams. There's still an empty bird's nest there from last summer.
--The bottom of the balcony has slotted wood planks. There are gaps between each wood slot, & a balcony down below mine. So I have to be careful not to spill dirt/etc. down below! I do live next to a bike path & fields, though, so I could easily plant stuff on a ground/etc.
--I live in Wisconsin, so we're still a ways away from being able to set plants outside. This past Friday, for example, we had a blizzard.
Starting questions:
I think that at the moment, most of what I'm looking for is really basic advice, like what types of plants are fun to grow; do you use fertilizer and what kind; is it good to start plants growing inside before I set them outside; advice for frequency of watering, etc. I will take any advice!
ETA: Also desperately seeking advice on how to know when to re-pot plants.
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I find seeds to be kind of hard, in that they need to be babied along. It's easier for me to get young plants. Herbs and houseplants are fun. :) You can also put a spider plant in your cube!
My favorite greenhouse is Johannsen's which is on Todd drive exit off the beltline.
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Thanks also for the greenhouse rec; I haven't been to any in Madison!
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- If you want to move indoor plants outside, you should do that in stages. I know you've put plants outside in previous summers, but i can't remember if you've mentioned doing this step! This is to help the plant build up the proper resistance to being outside in sun and wind.
- Potting soil! You, um, probably know this, but my own mother didn't, so i don't assume anything anymore. Don't just dig up dirt and plunk it in a pot.
- Fertilizer: We have a worm composting bin, so i largely use the vermicompost on my plants. I use fertilizer only on specific fruit-bearing plants -- tomatoes, strawberries. I also use fertilizer on plants that have specific pH requirements in their soil -- tea plant (Camellia sinensis), Meyer lemon tree, blueberries [note that all 3 of these have died because i'm still having trouble gauging the fertilizer, but i am going to try again this year!].
Some plant suggestions:
- Basil. It's not terribly complex, tho' a little fussy, and i LOVE fresh basil in the summer.
- Rosemary. Fairly low maintenance; tasty; GREAT for running my hands over for the scent.
- Strawberries. Also fairly low maintenance, and with tasty rewards!
- Mexican sour gherkins! (I have seeds for this.) Tho' you'll need to provide some kind of trellising for it, even if it's just a piece of string or 2 that you tie to your railing and anchor on the beams on the deck above. It needs to climb and will attempt to latch onto anything (i regularly train its tendrils onto my trellis). But it's fun to grow and the wee adorable gherkins are EXCELLENT. EDIT: Ooops! This will be hard to move come august. Sorry!
I mostly grow things because they're food, so i'm not going to be much help on suggestions for fun plants that don't also go into my mouth. ;)
I do also grow African violets, and could possibly give you advice on yours, if you'd like. What's up with it?
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Edamame! Another seed i have is a dwarf variety good for growing in pots. I also have a dwarf pea variety good in pots. Y'know, if you want more seeds.
*will reread advice for hours*
This might explain some plant-death, as every time I move them inside or outside, I move all of them on the same day, done-and-done, :D
LOL I didn't know that about potting soil, although I would have done so anyway b/c I don't own any dirt, ;_; Still, it is good to know!
OMF I <3 basil, too. It's one of the plants I had last year that grew a bunch. I bought an already-started plant, and got a ton of basil out of that shit. Definitely doing one again this year!
I really want to trellis shit on my balcony. Even though I'll have to move in August, it might be worth it to grow it up until August. WILL PONDER.
I'll take pictures of the African violet when I get home, or maybe just detailed notes. Mostly, it is droopy and the flower-parts in the middle seem dead-ish.
Re: *will reread advice for hours*
More later. Gotta (pretend to do) work!
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Marigolds were pretty easy for me. I am totally blanking on the names of the other flowers I've grown, though. ;___; Lots of salad greens & herbs are pretty easy -- I like sorrel a lot, & have grown basil & stuff. Um, chives are really easy, but I assume you can't eat those either (though the blossoms are super-pretty, & then you could give them to friends to do something w/maybe?).
String beans are supposed to be pretty easy, too -- I've grown some -- & you can get varieties especially for small spaces. I had decent luck getting edamame to grow, but I dunno how well it's suited for your climate.
Um. More if/when I remember useful things. ;___;
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I wouldn't have thought about that, with plastic bags, either! What a good use for plastic.
I definitely want to grow basil, and growing stuff like sorrel would be cool too, just for the smell of everything!
I want edamame and marigolds, too! IDK if edamame is suited to our climate - will consult The Hammer (Boyfriend's roommate, expert on Everything Ever).
I expect I'll be working at this for a while, and possibly blogging/tweeting with updates, so advice whenever you remember things is welcome/awesome!
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You can feed fruit and vegetable peelings and crushed egg shells to the worms. The bin can live inside, if there's room in your apartment; ours lived at the edge of the kitchen for easy disposal of peelings. We never had a problem with odor - the bin isn't supposed to smell - but I can say from experience that if you suspect something is on the verge of molding, don't put it in a worm bin: you may get mold growing all over your bin. *facepalm*
Once you're past the set-up costs of bin, bedding and worms, this is a way to get fertilizer and rich soil from things you'd be throwing away anyhow. And this would be something you could start now, if you wanted.
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Once it's nice out, is it okay to keep it outside?? Or do they need even temperatures?
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If you can get a hold of a copy of Worms Eat My Garbage, that's the book we started with and it's written by a woman from Michigan, iirc, so there's probably better information in there about when you could put a bin outside.
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One thing i do know is that you shouldn't dump old flour in the worm compost bin. :o
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You might do well with a fern since you have a North facing window.
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There's another good greenhouse south of town, Kopke's. They sometimes come to the market too. If you want a great selection of perennials go to the Flower Factory but be warned, everyone I know who has gone there ends up spending more $ than they planned. They also are at the market but I hear the selection and variety at their site is amazing.
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