(For previous talk about container gardening, check this out.)
I keep having a lot of random thoughts and links that I want to get out to y’all, and not the time to develop each into a post of its own. So here’s another batch or snacks for your brain…
Links
Life on the Balcony, a beginner container gardener’s wet dream, just finished a blog carnival about edible containers. Lots of good reading there. Check the rest of the site for more container gardening information than you could ever assimilate.
I find a lot of stuff on this site (aesthetically) boring, but it has a huge range of ideas. Check it out if you’re needing inspiration around different materials to make containers out of.
The ever-informative about.com has a section devoted to container gardening that I didn’t come across until just recently. Suprisingly extensive.
Books
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Fresh Food from Small Spaces by RJ Rupenthal, and Garden Anywhere by Alys Fowler. Both are superb books for tenant farmers, and while container gardening is a core focus of each, they explore other interesting topics as well.
Places to find great containers for the 2010 season:
For a lot of us in the northern hemisphere, right now is the time to be gearing up for planting, which means get your containers ready! If you need cheap containers to re-purpose or upcycle, check out these places:
- Yardsales
- Estate sales
- Flea markets
- Thriftstores
- End-of-Season sales at nurseries (varies by region, generally November here in the Pacific NW)
There you go for now. Happy gardening!
-LB
[image source: ...eeek! can't remember]
Tags: container gardening, resources, roundup
LOTB has never been referred to as someone’s wet dream before! Thanks for the shout out!
Thank you for this! My first garden a couple of years ago was a bunch of containers on the roof of the apartment below us, and it worked marvelously! I even had a little wading pool I rescued from someone’s garbage that I filled with enough dirt for a few corn stalks.
Thanks too for the shout out. If you’re looking for cheap containers try old colanders. They’re easy to find at yard sales and thrift stores. They’re great for lettuce and herbs. Also, I’ve had great success growing edibles in reusable grocery bags. Just make sure they’re the kind that is plastic, not all fabric. I’ve grown herbs, lettuce and huge tomato plants in them and they work wonderfully well. Whole foods has both large and small ones for 79 and 99 cents.
Thanks for the additional tips Kerry. I’ve seen two types of reusable bags, and I have questions about both. I’ve seen some that are a woven nylon, and some that look more like a solid plastic (these are the kind I’ve seen at Whole Foods). I’m wondering if the woven ones would transpire moisture easily, and dry out very quickly? And the solid ones, do they drain freely? Which ones do you use, and are either of these things an issue? Thanks for putting out such good information on about.com.
Fern, glad I could be the first to say so!
Lupa, the kiddie pool thing has come up a few times. A guy here in Portland uses them extensively for rooftop gardening. Someone commented on another post that a lot of them get thrown out in the Fall (makes sense). Good time to keep an eye out at the curbside!