Kelly's 2016 Apartment Patio Garden

[TexasTycoon]

That big yellow thing you can see on the other side of the rail is a plumed cockscomb that wandered over from the seeds I planted February 2015. It had a big red one next to it but it died. We're at the back of the complex, so management never said anything about the additions to the landscaping!

[MissS]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Thanks I try to use nothig but organic in the soil outside but I now remember this stuff.

I need to find a source for Ladybug some place close or do some math one or the other.

I just dont want to kill off my worms in the garden.

Worth

Here you go Worth.
BRITE IDEAS HYDROPONICS &
4201 South Congress Avenue #310, Austin, TX 78745, USA

[TexasTycoon]

I haven't had to water but once this week with all the rain we've been getting! Tomorrow morning I plan to transplant the sage out of it's little pot and remove the pod the seeds came in, it'll go in the lamb planter you can see on the bottom shelf of the black table/shelf thing. The hollyhocks will mostly be transplanted into the two remaining copper flowerboxes that don't have pole bean seeds in them, and the rest will go into extra pots I have lying around to be given as gifts (my mom's birthday is next week and I'll probably give one to my Gram on Easter). The carrot picture looks dry but that's just DE that got wet. Nothing is dry out there right now, promise.

Pictures (in order of upload) are: the patio, lavender, bell pepper, thyme, basil, cilantro, sage, tomato and strawberry, carrots, jalapeno. You can see the hollyhocks in the background of the bell pepper and thyme pics.

[Dutch]

Hi Kelly,
Great pictures!!!
Thanks for posting!
Dutch

[Worth1]

Nice.

Worth

[TexasTycoon]

Thanks y'all!

This year's garden has been significantly cheaper than last year's so far - out of necessity. It helps that I didn't have to repurchase pots or tools and had a leftover bag of potting mix from last year, and that the jalapeno and satsuma have stayed alive since last year. I've spent probably $50 total so far, including plants, seeds, potting mix, and food.

[TexasTycoon]

I transplanted the hollyhocks into a flowerbox and some small pots, and the sage into the big ceramic lamb/sheep planter, so they're all a little droopy right now but will hopefully perk up soon.

The tomato plant is still adjusting to the pot, I think I might have added a little too much lime to the potting mix thinking the pot was bigger than it is. Hopefully that won't be too much of a problem as I've been top watering (even though it's a SWC) to help flush it out a bit. It's not dying or anything, just droopy.

And the husband talked me into buying a new Satsuma tree. The one we got last year is still putting out new leaves, but it's also dropping leaves and flower buds. I've asked my mom if she wants it, but if she doesn't it will likely go to the compactor in a few days. The new tree (also a Seto Satsuma, grown in Tyler TX) is HUGE, though! It also has about 20 fruits already set on it and lots of buds about to bloom. We put it in a 20" pot with MG Nature's Care potting mix, with 10 Tbsp of fast acting lime and a crushed MG citrus fertilizer spike mixed in. I was reading on the TAMU patio citrus page (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/patiocitrus/) that we may need to remove some of the fruit to prevent alternate bearing, so we'll be counting the leaves and removing fruit as needed (TAMU recommends one fruit for every 42 leaves, does that sound correct?).

Photos, in order of upload: hollyhocks transplanted into pots and flowerbox, strawberries, some of the fruit on the new tree, size comparison of new tree v. old tree (use tomato cage in both images for an idea of scale), the patio as of yesterday evening

[Worth1]

I have to ask why the lime addition?
Citrus like an acid soil.

Worth

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I have to ask why the lime addition?
Citrus like an acid soil.

Worth

At the risk of sounding dumb, I thought you were always supposed to add lime to potted plants, just in general? I'm betting that's not the case if you're questioning it.

[TexasTycoon]

FWIW, I only added about half the recommended amount of lime to the new tree's pot - 10 tablespoons for 20 gallons.

[Worth1]

Kelly a lot of this comes from getting information from people that live in areas that have a high acid soil.
For years I have heard people say you need to add lime in the garden due to this.

[TexasTycoon]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Kelly a lot of this comes from getting information from people that live in areas that have a high acid soil.
For years I have heard people say you need to add lime in the garden due to this.

Well, shoot. How about tomatoes, what acidity do they prefer? Did I mess up my tomato by adding too much lime, and is there a faster way to flush it out if so aside from dumping everything and starting over? The tomato's been in that pot with 20 tbsp of lime mixed in (it's a 15" pot I think) for just over a week and is still kinda limp. I also plan to scratch in some Epsom salt because I've read that it's a good source of magnesium for container plants and my tomato last year had a Mg deficiency that was corrected only after multiple foliar Epsom applications. Would scratching it into the growing medium help prevent deficiency or is it a waste of time? I have so much more to learn about container soilbuilding it's ridiculous.

[Worth1]

Kelly I am not a container expert and it is the reason I dont hardly ever give advice about container gardening.
Yes tomatoes like an acid environment also.
From around 6.3 to 7.
7 being the high end I shoot for around 6.5.
The Natures Care soil is below 7 and is just about right on its own at least mine was.

[TexasTycoon]

I should probably test it before I do anything else, but would adding vinegar help bring the pH down if it's too high?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by TexasTycoon

I should probably test it before I do anything else, but would adding vinegar help bring the pH down if it's too high?

There are other options, I use diluted vinegar in the raised beds but I have no idea how much you would need to use in a container.
You might try this stuff.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...Y1ucnEujT1A_dw

Worth