I'm throwing in the towel!

[nolabelle]

This is my first "serious" attempt at container gardening. I do so because of my age, arthritis and the "control" factor. I'm still learning from scratch... new things every day. I started everything very late and am somewhat disappointed at the outcome so far. Namely nothing.

Misery DOES love company, and although I am happy not to be the only disappointed person here, I am also VERY happy for those who've had outstanding results. I'll get there one year. I plan to hang in there for whatever that's worth!

[riceke]

Originally Posted by nolabelle

This is my first "serious" attempt at container gardening. I do so because of my age, arthritis and the "control" factor. I'm still learning from scratch... new things every day. I started everything very late and am somewhat disappointed at the outcome so far. Namely nothing.

Misery DOES love company, and although I am happy not to be the only disappointed person here, I am also VERY happy for those who've had outstanding results. I'll get there one year. I plan to hang in there for whatever that's worth!

Don't be disappointe NOLABELLE you can do well growing tomatoes and other veggies in pots. Rather than go into it all on this thread, go to top of the page and click SEARCH and then type in container gardens and select either SHOW THRREADS or POSTS and I think you will find a wealth of information on the subject that may make it better for you. Good luck, don't give up and if you have any questions this is the place to ask.

[cythaenopsis]

Container gardening definitely has an art to it. You can read up all you want, which does help, but ultimately it will come down to having your own experiences. I jumped into this with very little info (heck, I'd picked an heirloom and a hybrid set of seedlings and didn't even realize the difference then), so I'm not terribly disappointed in how anemic the heirloom has been with production. The hybrid is doing rather well, considering the smallish 6 gallon SWC, and that has kept my spirits in good shape.

Still, even with loads of experience there's the uncontrollable visitation of pests and diseases or uncooperative weather. If you're a small time grower, it can feel like "why bother"--better off just driving a good distance to a farm where you can get fresh heirloom tomatoes grown by professionals. I suspect that once you have a terrific season of crop abundance, it becomes a major motivator to keep at it. And each year you learn more to increase your chances for success, in addition to growing varieties you can't buy locally. I will definitely give tomato growing a go next year (already have seeds lined up) and if I really take to it I'll have to see about doing some kind of make-shift pseudo greenhouse, which seems like a fantastic advantage over open air growing.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by Urbanfarmer

This thread presents the best arguement for a greenhouse. If you have the room, the time, and $2000, you can quickly build a 18' x 32 hoop greenhouse out of PVC. That includes covering it with greenhouse-grade plastic and installing intake/output fans with insect netting. Best gardening money ever spent.

Here in the South it means 10 months of gardening, and then a shutdown for July and August. Up North it means a very extended summer season.

No rain, no wind, almost bug-free, and a very special place to be.

Ours took a direct hit from Ike and were unscathed.

I say "almost" bug-free because sometimes the aphids will sneak in, and if not dealt with early they will get out of control. Pyrethrin bombs take care of them. But definitely no stink bugs, caterpillars, etc.

Personally, I would go that route only if I were growing out of necessity (e.g., to earn a living, provide food that I couldn't afford to buy). Dealing with all the ups and downs of battling the elements, so to speak, is part of why I enjoy doing it. And sometimes I win, and other times I don't, but I've never regretted trying. For me, it connects me to my heritage in a way nothing else can.

[Patihum]

Last year at this time I was more than ready to THROW IN THE TOWEL! The heat and drought were dreadful. Half of my garden was already dead or in the process of dying. This year it's a whole different story. We've had some extended heat days and some extended dry time but the garden is doing great. What the heck we've had 5 1/2 inches of rain in the last week and it's supposed to get down to 57 tonight and it's July in Kansas!! Hate to be trite BUT THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR.

[ScottinAtlanta]

This is my third year gardening:

Year 1: In the ground in an antebellum yard, apparently the site of a workshop that burned down. Full of glass and rusty iron. Tomatoes were scraggly, and squirrels got 100% of the fruit. Results: zero.
Year 2: Erected complete cage out of chicken wire. Built raised beds, Bought top soil for them. Used lasagne method. Disaster. Top soil turned out to be clay. Too little organics in the lasagne method. Beds turned to hard red brick in the heat. Results: 10 pounds of tomatoes.
Year 3: Emptied the beds. Bought truckload of horse manure. Filled beds with composted manure and leaf compost. Bought sprayer. Bought Actinovate, Exel LG, Daconil, Copper fungicide. Bought pellet gun and started shooting rodents. Cut some tree limbs to increase light. Results: 200 pounds of tomatoes so far, and more than that on the vines. 150 tomatoes alive and thriving!

Don't give up!

[NarnianGarden]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

This is my third year gardening:

Year 1: In the ground in an antebellum yard, apparently the site of a workshop that burned down. Full of glass and rusty iron. Tomatoes were scraggly, and squirrels got 100% of the fruit. Results: zero.
Year 2: Erected complete cage out of chicken wire. Built raised beds, Bought top soil for them. Used lasagne method. Disaster. Top soil turned out to be clay. Too little organics in the lasagne method. Beds turned to hard red brick in the heat. Results: 10 pounds of tomatoes.
Year 3: Emptied the beds. Bought truckload of horse manure. Filled beds with composted manure and leaf compost. Bought sprayer. Bought Actinovate, Exel LG, Daconil, Copper fungicide. Bought pellet gun and started shooting rodents. Cut some tree limbs to increase light. Results: 200 pounds of tomatoes so far, and more than that on the vines. 150 tomatoes alive and thriving!

Don't give up!

Bravo!

[nolabelle]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Personally, I would go that route only if I were growing out of necessity (e.g., to earn a living, provide food that I couldn't afford to buy). Dealing with all the ups and downs of battling the elements, so to speak, is part of why I enjoy doing it. And sometimes I win, and other times I don't, but I've never regretted trying. For me, it connects me to my heritage in a way nothing else can.

I used to help my grandpa in the garden when I was little. I remember always having a pantry full of home canned stuff from the garden. Back then the only thing bought from a grocery was flour and milk. It connects me to my heritage too, although my grandpa did NOT grow in containers, lol.

Thanks, Ken, for the encouragement! I've read the container threads here and still reading. I won't be going the SWC or SIP route. I can't handle the expense. Also, stepson has plants in the ground that I feel compelled to keep an eye on since he is rather relaxed in his vigilence. Maybe I'll post a pic of my humble carport container garden. I love this place!

[bbjm]

Things are not as bad here in Kansas. Tomatoes are growing like I know what I'm doing. Mild weather had really helped the tomatoes set. I did have fairly bad disease issues early, but treated with bleach and then copper, and things improved. But the bugs are about to get me down. I have stink bug damage on every one of my Black Cherry tomatoes. and my squash look like a horror film with squash bugs everywhere. Cucumber beetles or japanese beetles found my cucumber plants and are swarming. I went out yesterday and two of my cuc vines had collapsed. I assume from some sort of bug-born disease. Stink bugs, squash bugs and these beetles are a big problem. I understand why people reach for the poison. As far as I can tell they laugh at organic treatments.

[luigiwu]

Two year ago, I tried my first garden in container-bucket. It failed miserably. I later learned that tomato plants need constant water, especially on the hottest day and I know now they weren't getting enough.

This year I tried again, having built myself some SIP SWC Global Bucket style and I'm completely hooked! Obsessed you can even say! Everything is doing sooo well and I'm having loads of fun. I'm already planning next year's garden which will be for sure Larry Hall's rain gutter grow system as its basically effortless after the initial set up.

Don't give up!

[tlintx]

Nolabelle, please do, your pictures are so pretty!

I don't have any gardening roots to go back to, but my son will! We're in our "winter" right now, so time to assess what worked and what didn't, and get ready for fall in a few weeks.

[nolabelle]

Originally Posted by tlintx

Nolabelle, please do, your pictures are so pretty!

I don't have any gardening roots to go back to, but my son will! We're in our "winter" right now, so time to assess what worked and what didn't, and get ready for fall in a few weeks.

Surely you've mistaken me for someone else with pretty pictures, but I'll take that flattery any way I can get it! Thanks! Here goes... if there's any reason to throw in the towel, I present:

overall carport container garden view.


closeups of my two pathetic tomato plants. Not sure what's going on with them. If I can find some new plants, I might just pull those two up and start over for fall.



bush cucumbers in bloom but not setting.


herb table with resident bay leaf lizard.


herbs on the rolling cart seem to be happy.

[tlintx]

Your herbs are so lush! Mine have been sulking at three inches tall for weeks. I'd show pictures of my one lovely basil, but it'd be cheating because I bought it like that from TJ's a few days ago.

I think tomatoes just look like that when it gets hot and humid. You're probably as hot and humid there as Houston, right? Have you considered setting up a drip or sub-irrigation system? I'm finding my SIPs are doing far, far better than anything top watered! Which isn't saying much, but gives me hope for fall.

[nolabelle]

Thanks, tl, I practically had to denude my basil plant because an illusive cutworm either destroyed or pooped on most of it. I think the lizard finally got him.

I don't think my tomato issue is due to irrigation. Except for maybe too much wetness. It has rained here daily for I can't remember how long. I've been fertilizing them right at the root ball so I don't completely drown them. I believe my issue may be with soil and nutrients. I'll have to rethink this again.

I've had luck in the past with container growing, including mj, so I feel that tomatoes can grow in a bucket too. I just need to find the right way that works for me. I'm still learning about pest and disease control, as you can see by the fly tapes for the miserable leaf miner fly. Ugh! They were the start of the downhill battle.

I couldn't find any plants today, but last year the feed store had new tomato seedlings in August. I'll call them and ask if they're getting any new ones soon.

Thanks again for the compliment!

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

This is my third year gardening:

Year 1: In the ground in an antebellum yard, apparently the site of a workshop that burned down. Full of glass and rusty iron. Tomatoes were scraggly, and squirrels got 100% of the fruit. Results: zero.
Year 2: Erected complete cage out of chicken wire. Built raised beds, Bought top soil for them. Used lasagne method. Disaster. Top soil turned out to be clay. Too little organics in the lasagne method. Beds turned to hard red brick in the heat. Results: 10 pounds of tomatoes.
Year 3: Emptied the beds. Bought truckload of horse manure. Filled beds with composted manure and leaf compost. Bought sprayer. Bought Actinovate, Exel LG, Daconil, Copper fungicide. Bought pellet gun and started shooting rodents. Cut some tree limbs to increase light. Results: 200 pounds of tomatoes so far, and more than that on the vines. 150 tomatoes alive and thriving!

Don't give up!

Love this Scott. Classic example of what hard work, preseverance, and patience can do. What a difference a few seasons can make!