I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone state that they couldn't garden because they didn't have the room or couldn't afford the containers needed to do "Container Gardening." You can see by the picture above, that my friend Jan proves container gardening can be affordable. There's no need for the "traditional" terracotta pots. You can honestly use just about anything. My friend Jan, over at SLOW MONEY FARM built a compost bin out of pallet wood and screwed recycled soda bottles in to the boards for her "container gardening." Her idea is far from traditional, can be done in small spaces and recycles. That's a win-win as far as I'm concerned! As I talked to Jan today, she mentioned that this was a hit & miss type project. It seems that some of the plants died & it's possibly from the containers (soda bottles) getting too hot. I'm wondering if a shade cloth or different climate would be the answer. We'll be trying this at some point this year because I really would like to see it work! I believe the old adage, "if at first you don't succeed ... try, try again."
Some other non-traditional containers would be those hard plastic, child pools. I've seen those and they work great for planting more than the soda bottles or small pots would hold. I'm thinking about putting things like squash, zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries etc in those. Small plants that yield larger quantities could benefit from the size of the pool.
I've also seen those "Rubbermaid" style containers used. I'll actually be using a few of those for larger/taller plants like corn and sunflowers. I may also plant potatoes by the layers in a few of those. I could use one of two bins for each type of potato I want to grow. I could also use them for carrots.
Another non-traditional container we've considered using is a barrel. We'd use them mainly (and possibly only) for planting potatoes. I could actually see using them for crops all year long. I think they are thick enough to offer some protection from harsh weather ... and for extra protection from weather, you can put straw bales around the barrels & maybe even one on top to keep the weather away from the top soil. You could also put these barrels in a green house or garage, and keep them covered. Great option and in our area, cheaper than the Rubbermaid bins.
One last, container I'd like to discuss is rain gutters. You can attach them to the sides of your home or even build a structure to attach them to. Either way you can keep them at a specific level and plant as much as needed, with space not already used. It certainly keeps plants neat & orderly. We may be using this idea for herbs and small plants such as radish.
Container gardening has so many possibilities. It's just a matter of thinking outside the box ... or maybe inside :wink:
Neat post! One thing you can do with clear bottles to keep the roots cooler is to paint them white (use plastic spray paint). I love the idea of container gardening, its just that in our area during the hottest time of the year containers literally may need watering 2-3 times.:( I personally, am not consistent enough for that type of system.
ReplyDeleteOne cool potato growing system I have heard of being used very successfully is to stack old tires, fill them with straw and compost and plant away. When ready to harvest, simply lift the tires and brush away the soil. Repeat again the next year. I was thinking of trying that this year. I have a good friend that works at a local dealership/repair shop and I know I have access to unlimited old tires.
Anywho, again, great post! :)
Great information, thanks!!! I had thought about the tire gardening too. I should've posted about it. We'll be using tires for the "wall" around our land. I wonder if a shade cloth would help eliminate the need for so much watering? Or maybe connect a misting hose so it's automatic.
ReplyDeleteI think doing that in zone 1 would be a GREAT idea! I tried doing that a little last year with some strawberries. I didn't think about painting the bottoms white, and I'm pretty sure that's what happened... too hot. :( I will remember that when I try it again.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the rain gutters! Seems like it would be a great solution to several problems, not just space. I think it would make dual use out of the fence row or across the side of the barn/shed. Load it with salad fixin's and they'd be right there at hand! Easy to pick, cut, replace and replant. I can definitely see myself doing that! Probably be great inside a greenhouse, too. I really like that idea!
I've always been a little bit leery about using old tires. Maybe I'm way off, never really studied into it, but I would be concerned about them leaching into the soil and get sucked up into my food. I've seen people use them for lots of things, and I'm no pro for sure, but the green people hate anything to do with tires. I don't put much stock in what they have to say, but I can judge that environmentally they are a concern or the wackos wouldn't be universally raising the roof about them. Could be that it's just a land fill thing, I dunno.... If you have good info on that I'd like to hear it. :)
Good article, Loretta! *Like!*
I never thought of the white paint either. Definitely may be on to something with that! I bet we could come up with a whole bunch of ideas for the gutters! We'll even be using them inside for book shelves http://raisingolives.com/2009/07/raingutter-book-shelves-tutorial/
ReplyDeleteI understand what you're saying about the tires ... but wouldn't it be the same (or at least similar) with soda bottles? You could always use some kind of barrier between the tire and the food being planted. I like them specifically for the structure. You could stack 3 then put a piece of wood down & then in the 4th tire you could garden. Now that's what I call a "raised" garden bed! :)
I thought about that, too. I guess because the tires would become permanent and integrate themselves into your landscape I really hesitated. If they were to become a problem there would be more at stake than a liter of potting soil. I actually planned around the soda bottles, too. :) Coffee cans. But I never did it. Why? I was afraid they'd get hot!! LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean about the tires becoming permanent? Maybe we should rethink using them as our outer wall too?
ReplyDeleteWell, I mean if you are using them for planting, they'd be filled with dirt or if you build retaining walls or walls to your house, then they'd be a permanent part of your farmstead. I am not saying NOT to, but I'd want to find out with absolute certainty that they don't leach things out into the environment, indoors into the air or outside into the soil. I've heard similar things, btw, about railroad ties and telephone poles because they have a lot of chemicals in them to preserve them. Dunno... PLEASE! Don't just take my word... I'm just speculating. I'd want to find out for sure before I would be comfortable using them.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh ok, I see what you mean. You have some good points! I'll definitely do some research before we go picking up all the tires in our town LOL We want to be able to say that our property is as chemical free & natural as possible (with out something being blown over by the wind etc) when we feed & sell our animals & produce ... and I couldn't in good conscience, unless I find out all the info about them first. I've heard that about the railroad ties & phone poles though ... which is why we'd decided we'd never use them.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about all the rock there. I'd prefer it anyway for the most part, but geez.... labor intensive! Dunno what I'll do. :( Guess I better get crackin' on the research.
ReplyDeleteNow see ... I haven't even given any constructive thought to the rock. I'm always planning on digging it up to do the shelter & gardening etc. I bet it could be used in really awesome & creative ways!!! Hmmm ... now I'll have to do something on that too!
ReplyDeleteThere's a place in N.Arkansas where they are building a medieval castle all out of native stone, cob, and indigenous natural materials. (http://www.ozarkmedievalfortress.com/en-us/) I LOVE the looks of stone and wood.... big and sturdy! Rock is cooler in summer, too, and I HATE heat. (ENOUGH ALREADY!) I plan to use stone as much as possible. However I'm under no illusions that it's going to just show up in piles for me to use. No telling how much I'll actually get before I decide it's too much work.
ReplyDeleteI do think, tho, that if I do the 'extras', such as garden paths, retaining walls for raised beds, other outdoor projects, and do them a little at a time as I am able to construct them,, I might get a lot of use out of the natural rock. I would LOVE it if I cold build a house from it, but NOW we're talking work! Maybe just the foundation? Maybe part way up the walls? Maybe one wall.... the one with thee hearth? Ahhhhhhhhh........ dreamin'!!! Looks SO good in my mind. :)
Yep, lots of work ... hard work ... but so worth it when you look at it! I have so many ideas swirling around in my head!!! Thanks for the spark :)
ReplyDeleteOur family has done the tire potato gardening several times. They most definitely did not become permanent. We put down one tire, filled it with sawdust and laid the cut-up potatoes spaced out on the sawdust. Then we put the next tire down and filled it with sawdust, again placing cut up potatoes on that layer. We did it one more time for a final stack of three tires tall. Then we gave it a good watering and left it alone. We have a shorter growing season in Minnesota, but when the plants were done in the fall, we simply knocked the tires over and picked up all of the wonderful round potatoes. They were small, kind of like baby potatoes. We didn't get any dirt on our hands and just easily sifted through the sawdust and picked up the potatoes, dusted them off and brought them in the house. It was wonderful and I would do it again in a minute if we didn't now live in town on Main Street. (They complain about appearances here, and probably wouldn't like a stack of tires anywhere in my yard.)
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