Planting Boxes

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
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@potus,
I am glad to see you back with an update on your container garden experiment.
First off...
I am impressed to see how you have gone from being unable to post a photo to actually producing and posting a you Tube video.
Wow.
Well done.
Those are some nice planter boxes but a word of caution...
Those cherry tomato plants will demand a lot of room and a ton of support as they begin to grow and bear fruit.
They might be better off in a standing pot with a depth of least 15 inches and a diameter of about 12 inches with an ability to stake the plants.
Not to second guess your green thumb assistant but those planter boxes could do with a bit of a top up. They don't appear to be anywhere near full enough.
But then maybe that's just the camera angle.
BTW...
Keep a close eye on that fire engine dog, Arson.
lol.
He looks like just the sort that, given half a chance, will have his big wet nose rummaging around in the earth...just because he can.
Such a sweetie..
Stay green and garden on. 🍅
IMO he would be ok with the planter boxes for seedling only. They then need to be transplated to a much larger bucket. They sell "grow bags" on line and a 5 gal. one for one plant would work for cherry tomatoes. OP was interested in "beautification" so I'm not sure tomatores will work. How 'bout basil, cilantro, chives, mint,?
Only my opinion.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
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IMO he would be ok with the planter boxes for seedling only. They then need to be transplated to a much larger bucket. They sell "grow bags" on line and a 5 gal. one for one plant would work for cherry tomatoes. OP was interested in "beautification" so I'm not sure tomatores will work. How 'bout basil, cilantro, chives, mint,?
Only my opinion.
Purple basil which I grow is beautiful .one would think they are flowers.With proper care of "pinching back" they will continue to grow for you
 

flyinroom

Silver
Aug 26, 2012
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... OP was interested in "beautification" so I'm not sure tomatores will work. How 'bout basil, cilantro, chives, mint,?
I agree...sort of.
Truth be told, I have been very unlucky with my herbs this year in the garden.
I do my basil from seed and they have not been as prolific as usual. I guess I'll need to buy some new seeds.
The mint, oregano and parsley are starter plants from my local nursery and they are a disaster.
Thyme not too bad.
And then there's my baby...the little bay laurel that could.
lol.
I've got a close eye on him.
When we're talking about beautification, we should never forget that old stand-by...coleus.
Strikingly beautiful.
Useless in the kitchen but, easy to grow and easy to propagate from stem cuttings.
Here's one small example...

P7010027.JPG


Sorry. I can't get it down to size.
I tried J.D's advice but no luck.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
7,473
3,243
113
I agree...sort of.
Truth be told, I have been very unlucky with my herbs this year in the garden.
I do my basil from seed and they have not been as prolific as usual. I guess I'll need to buy some new seeds.
The mint, oregano and parsley are starter plants from my local nursery and they are a disaster.
Thyme not too bad.
And then there's my baby...the little bay laurel that could.
lol.
I've got a close eye on him.
When we're talking about beautification, we should never forget that old stand-by...coleus.
Strikingly beautiful.
Useless in the kitchen but, easy to grow and easy to propagate from stem cuttings.
Here's one small example...

View attachment 6004

Sorry. I can't get it down to size.
I tried J.D's advice but no luck.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
7,473
3,243
113
I had some trouble with my basil as when until I made sure they were getting enuf water. We have had many 90+ degrees days and the plants need a lot of water.
An easy way to grow basil (I use seed for everything I grow except some sprouting plants BTW) is to propagate them ..a small cutting in a glass jar of water .It will have some roots in 4-5 days. Then carefully put in seedling mix soil.
 
Feb 16, 2016
3,292
2,589
113
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Basil
I'm speaking of my container garden only.
From seed...
Gotta keep that seed bed moist. You know like when you...it just works better.
Thin your strongest seedings to 4 inches apart

Start harvesting as soon as you have two full sets of leaves.
Go hard with the water.
At least I have to, because containers do not maintain moisture well (I have a meter to measure)
I water in the evening after the sun goes down.
Let's the plant hydrate and get ready for the next day.

Stagger your initial seeding every two weeks to keep a study supply of plants ready to harvest.
When when they start to bolt, don't fight nature.
I let mine goto seed when that happens and already have 5 new plants even in the middle of the heat wave.

Just some suggestions
Your success will vary depending upon your individual growing conditions.


🌱
 

quaqualita

Member
Feb 4, 2002
315
14
18
Funny to find this here, I just started a little over 5 weeks ago with my 'Project Balcony Finca'. Like the original poster here I have no previous garden experience and we live beachfront - so my hopes for success were not very high. Surprisingly, so far every plant is doing great. Tomato and spinach seeds germinated within a few days (I got a seed starter pods in a mini greenhouse I got in the US) and we transplanted them into their final pots within 2 - 3 weeks, the tomatoes are in recycled plastic water bottles hanging upside down. We put green onion also in to a recycled bottle and already could harvest chives after 10 days. Bell peppers, parsley and basil grows a bit slower, but also looking good so far.
Today I noticed that a couple leaves of my tomato plants have white lines, regarding Google those are 'leave miners' , some kind of larvae. I gave them a good rinse with a hydrogen peroxide mixture today, hoping this will get rid of them!

292100221_10166463793645383_148322840457444953_n.jpg
Malabar Spinach

291649106_10166463793725383_4325821105044573604_n.jpg
Chives

293590152_10166463795820383_7491749272226030965_n.jpg
3 Cherry Tomato plants

293026553_10166463794110383_2369063149126487625_n.jpg
Bell Peppers,

293150198_10166463794285383_741477806148199280_n.jpg
Basil

293025010_10166463798475383_1660407784916623662_n.jpg
Buttercrunch lettuce, germinated on my second try a few days ago.
 

D'Arcy (Apostropheman)

Karma, it's worth waiting for ;)
Apr 10, 2022
553
521
93
Here and there
My little home, mostly herb, garden is going great this year...Basil, oregano, chives, mint, some more I'm forgetting. I skipped veggies this year, too busy. Next year I'll have some tomato plants of various types and a few, 5 or 6 perhaps different veggies too....I'll spend the winter getting my setup ready for spring. :D
 

D'Arcy (Apostropheman)

Karma, it's worth waiting for ;)
Apr 10, 2022
553
521
93
Here and there
My little home, mostly herb, garden is going great this year...Basil, oregano, chives, mint, some more I'm forgetting. I skipped veggies this year, too busy. Next year I'll have some tomato plants of various types and a few, 5 or 6 perhaps different veggies too....I'll spend the winter getting my setup ready for spring. :D
I forgot the Rosemary. 3 plants, 2 types all growing like mad! :D
 

flyinroom

Silver
Aug 26, 2012
3,824
708
113
@quaqualita,
For no gardening experience that is a heck of an operation.
Beware...
Gardening gets in your blood.
Meanwhile you should be very proud of what you have accomplished to date.
I am intrigued by the spinach.
It couldn't look any healthier.
And those chives...wow.
Giants.
Mine are puny in comparison.


Stay green and garden on. 🥬
 

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