Container Garden pictures May 2nd

[Virtex]

Tl - I was only able to get my hands on Perth Pride and Dwarf Champion. This it is my first time growing them, it will be a test run to see if I like Dwarfs. Since I had extra pots empty, I figured why not fill them with something fun and new. I also have some Tiny Tim's that have fruit set right now, I have 2 in one 10 inch pot. They are so cute, very nice ornamental plants, I could see them on my front porch if it got sun.

My Dwarf plants are looking really healthy, I love the shape of the leaves and how crinkly they are.

If you do plan on using the plastic pots I suggest removing most of the suckers in the smaller pots. I did two steams last year in the 14" for a sun sugar and had some pretty good results results. I used Shake and Feed and the blue stuff.

I bought the smart pots this year and I have to say they have really preformed well. Of course I did buy the 10 Gallon and 15 Gallon ones so it might just be the amount of soil. If your on a budget you can go to Walmart and buy a fabric Grocery bag for $.50 which is very similar. I haven't tried it but I have seen several you tube videos that prove it works. Here is one if interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGPeEr8XWgA

Good luck with your garden!

- Scott

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Virtex

Thanks for all the nice comments, had a few plants that wilted this year. Replanted 4 of them and cut the top off a couple more. What I did was remove the growing tip from both of them. This fixed my wilting problem and now the suckers have grow past the old growing tip. I think my plants out grew their roots and now they are back on track. The black cherry is looking great.

tlintx my terracotta pots are 14 inch (5 Gallon) and 16 inch (10 Gallon).
I planted dwarf's in the 14's, and cherries in the 16's.
I used Lilly Miller All Purpose Planting & Growing Food 10-10-10, I made a 1-2" deep trench around the edge of the pots and put in about 1/4 cup. About once a week I use the blue stuff from MG on the leaves and in the pots. I added some Azomite to all my plants this week as well. On my Smart pots I use shake and feed with Calcium by MG.

For the soil in the pots I used Kellogg's potting soil (Home Depot) and Black Magic Professional Potting Soil (Big Lots) mixed together. I liked the dark rich look of the Kellogg's and the Black magic has bark with peat moss and perlite. I think I got the best of both worlds with them mixed together, the mix drains really well, so far my plants like it.

I have had a few issues with aphids, white fly's and gnats, luckily I have the time to patrol and hand smash the aphids. The Gnats I use a bowl of soapy water and vinegar. The white fly's however I haven't figured out how to take care of them. I tried some organic oils but they are still here.

Having fun and I like my results so far, I am hoping it keeps going this way. I think in 2 weeks I should have a Sungella or Sun Gold to pick.

- Scott

There are some great threads here about whitefly control. Best thing I have used is yellow sticky traps, which tie onto the cages with a twist tie. Whiteflies are strongly attracted to the yellow color, and an added bonus is so are the flies that lay leaf miner eggs, so I finally had a season with 54 plants and not one caught Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus. First time in about 8 or 9 years.
Here's a link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...w+sticky+traps
I buy 2 packages at a time to get the free shipping, and set them out every 4 feet, and goodby whiteflies.
Marsha

[tlintx]

Thanks for the link! I was tempted by the Smart Pots, but ultimately someone gave me a bucketload of empty pots to work with. (You know you have a problem when someone gives you a bunch of pots because you have too many seedlings, and your first thought is to buy more seeds!)

I adore the dwarf plants. I actually signed up for this site in order to read about them, and maybe participate in the Dwarf Project. I've got quite a few going, but out of the Dwarf Project, only Rosella Purple so far. I'm hoping they'll be portable enough that I can keep them producing through the summer. And, frankly, they are adorable.

I hear you on the pruning. I missed a week on my in-ground tomatoes and now I can't see my garden hose spigot. On the plus side, I've discovered a novel trellis - rose bushes!

Hope your whitefly issue clears up quickly. This is the hard part - waiting for those greens to ripen!

Tl

[Vespertino]

Great pictures! How well do the smart pots perform compared to the earthtainers?

[Virtex]

http://www.tomatoville.com/attachmen...6&d=1367531882

The above link are the fabric pots that were planted on March 1st. They are about the same height as my Earthtainer plants that were planted about the same time. They are against a nice warm wall so the conditions are a little different. I rate fabric pots very high so far. I bought 3 more last week because of what I have seen.

Fabric pots are very affordable, at my local hydroponics store I got the 10 gallon ones for $4.70 which is cheaper than I can buy a plastic pot for.

- Scott