Container Vegetable Gardening

Cynthia Sandberg
Love Apple Farms
www.LoveAppleFarms.com
Welcome to Love Apple Farms
 Class Introduction
Please keep your talking to a minimum, allowing you and your
neighbors to get the full value of the class.

Please raise your hand if you have any questions, but have faith in my
agenda that we will probably cover your question eventually.

Add your name/email to Links List if you'd like to receive a PDF of

this presentation as well as links to resources discussed in class

What this class doesn't cover:

● Winter vegetable gardening
● Growing in the ground
● Starting seeds in a flat
Advantages of Container Gardening:
Best Sunlight
Gopher-proof
 Disease-resistance
● Verticilium Wilt
● Fusarium Wilt
● Hard to get rid of diseases in soil
 Bad soil
● Lead ● Clay
● Salt ● Sand
● Boron
Renters or Apartment Dwellers
 What Is a Container?
● Anything with a bottom!

● Good volume for veggies = 2 cubic feet

 UV Fabric Pots
● GeoPots
● Aerated container - air pruning
● Soft form, fabric container, but
holds shape
● UV rated - durable
● Love Apple Farms Tomato Plant
Sale, Mountain Feed, Hydroponics
stores
● Increases sunlight
● Wheels available (mobile)
● Back problems, wheelchair
accessible, up from pets
● Many sizes available for box and
height
 Earthbox
● Water reservoir in bottom of box
● Fill to top with soil
● Black plastic "shower cap" keeps moisture in and weeds out
● Don't follow instructions for number of plants - cut in half (1
tomato per box)
● Make your own!
Wine Barrels

● 3 cubic feet
● 2 tomato plants per half barrel
● Don't let dry out - shrinks
● Use automatic irrigation
 Half Drums
● Craigslist Farm+Garden
● Non-toxic
● Drainage holes
● Paint designs
Neoprene tube to cover jagged edge
 ● Shade: June - September
Big Plastic Pots ○ Shade cloth clipped to tomato cages
○ White sheet
● Sources:
○ Home Depot
○ Good nurseries
○ Hydroponics Stores
Clay Pots
Hanging Baskets

Not recommended for

tomato growing; only
use for dwarf or cherry
varieties.
Drainage Pipes
 Vertical Gardens
● Affix containers to sides of houses and fences
● Grow up!
www.MonkeyPots.com Vertical garden from
● Stackable pots Geopot.com
● Space saver ● 1 gallon pots
● Self-watering reservoir ● Herbs, strawberries,
greens, flowers
Portable Vertical Gardens on Wheels

Savorysurroundings.com
● Boxes are interchangeable
● Paintable and stainable
● On wheels
● Sturdy construction
 Recyclables: Get Creative!
Kiddie pool
Broken chair
Old bathtubs

Broken wheelbarrow
 Drainage Holes
● For all homemade/recycled containers, drill enough holes in
bottom and sides for adequate drainage
● Or elevate container so it can drain easily
○ Bricks or Boards
LUNCH BREAK
 Number of Plants to Container Size
Vegetable 4 Quart or #1 20 Quart or #5 pot 60 Quart or #20 pot
pot

Bush Bean, Melon, and Winter X 1 3

Squash

Bean - Pole 1 3 6

Beet or Turnip 2 5 20

Carrot X 15 40

Cucumber X 2 6

Eggplant/Pepper X 1 3

Herbs (Basil/Parsley/Cilantro 1 2 6

Lettuce or other greens 1 4 10

Radish 10 30 70

Summer Squash, Zucchini X X 1

Strawberry 1 2 6

Tomato X X 1
Siting Your Containers
North/South Orientation
Against a Warm Wall - Reflected Heat
 Potting Soil

● Always use new, good quality

potting soil
● Don't use "dirt" from your
garden
● Don't recycle
○ Diseases
○ Low fertility
● We like Gardner & Bloome
Potting Soil
 Recycle Old Potting Soil
● Use as carbon source in compost
pile
● Add to beds that have sunk/settled
when amending in between
plantings
Fertilizers
For 2 cubic feet (20 gallon pot):
● 2 cups G&B Tomato, Veg &
Herb Fert 4-6-3
● 2 handfuls Worm Castings
● 1 cup bone meal
● 1 pkg (half cup) of Mykos
 Disinfecting Pots
● Disinfect when reusing
pots.
● 1 part bleach to 10 parts
water.
● Big tub.
● Dip pot quickly.
● Rinse with water.
● Air dry
Watering
● Try to water in a.m. not p.m.
● Frequency dependent on:
○ Weather
○ Size of plant
○ Size of pot
● Hand watering
● Drip irrigation (need multiple
emitters!)
 Water-Retaining Pellets

● Swells full of water

● Dispenses slowly
● A little goes a long way!
 Container-Friendly Varieties
● There are cultivars of some veg that stay small
● Acquire small varieties
○ Small pumpkins
○ Small butternut squash

"Summer Ball" Small Pumpkin

In 2 cubic feet:
● 3 - 4 pepper plants
● 3 eggplant plants
Tomato Container Recipe
● 2 handfuls G&B fish meal
● 2 handfuls G&B Tomato,Vegetable, & Herb (4-6-3) fertilizer
● 1 handful G&B bone meal
● 1 handful worm castings
● 3 - 4 crushed egg shells
● 2 aspirin tablets
● 20 gallon pot = 1 tomato
Place Tomato Cages over Pots
NOW LET’S GO OUTSIDE FOR
OUR PLANTING DEMO
 Growing Potatoes In Pots

● Buy certified organic seed

potatoes
● Ronniger's Catalog
○ www.potatogarden.com
● "Chitting" seed potatoes:
Lay out seed potatoes by
sunny window for a month
until the sprouts are 1" long
● Cut seed potatoes into
smaller pieces with at least
1 or 2 "eyes" each
● Let cuts callous over for a
day or two
 Growing Potatoes In Pots
● Sterilize 15 gallon pots with bleach solution
● Use sterile potting soil
● Fill pots with 2" soil, add 4 - 5 potatoes, cover with 2" soil
 Growing Potatoes in Pots
● Once shoots reach 8 - 10",
cover up to top leaves with soil
● Continue until they grow out
of the pot
● Once potato flowers and dies,
potatoes are ready to harvest
● Potatoes require full sun
Bean Tepee
● 8 15-gallon pots
● 8 8' tall bamboo
● Wrap trellis netting
around bamboo
● Sow 8 bean seeds, cull
to 4
● Cucumbers, melons,
vining summer squash
Put Lattice Trellis on North Side of Pots
 Cucumbers, Melons, Vining Squash
● Without trellis, when plant
spills over, pot ground needs
to be covered if it it's on
concrete or brick
 Corn - Don't Do It!
● Many plants required to pollinate successfully
● Containers not a viable option for corn
 Leafy Veg
● Lettuce, chard, kale
● Good for growing in pots all year long
● Don't require as much direct sunlight as summer veg
● Demand shading in summer
 Herb Pots
Plant heat-loving herbs in top, South,
and West side of pot:
● Basil
● Oregano
● Thyme
● Rosemary
● Dill

Plant cool-loving and herbs on North

and East side of pot:
● Cilantro
● Parsley
● Chives
● Chervil
 Supplemental Fertilizing
● Plants will need fertilizing EVERY WEEK!!!
● Best fertilizer: Worm Casting Tea
● Recipe: Big handful of castings in a 5 gallon bucket
● Let sit for two days
● Strain through cheesecloth or FRC or strainer and apply to plants
with a watering can or garden sprayer
● WCT foliar spray has been shown to: increase fertility, reduce
incidence of disease and reduce bug stress
● Available at Love Apple Farm Tomato Plant Sale in Scotts Valley
 Aphids
● Green, Black, Red, Grey
● Watch for curling leaves
● Organic pesticide: Pyrethrins, Safer Soap,
G&B Insect Control Spray
● Organic preventative: Garlic spray
● Beneficial bugs: Lacewing, Ladybug
● Give infested leaves to your chickens
Squash Bug
● Attack all cucerbits, not
just squash
● Smell like bananas
● Hand pick early in season
before population
explodes
 Cucumber Beetle
● Striped or spotted
● Carry diseases
● Pyrethrins
● Hand pick
● Attracted to yellow flowers
● Floating row cover before
flowering
 Slugs, Snails, Earwigs, Pillbugs

● Sluggo
● Diatomaceous Earth
● Hand pick late at night with
flashlight
● GroPower Snail & Slug Away
 Tomato Russet Mite & Thrips
● Microscopic - check weekly with 10x or 20x hand
lens
○ Look on foliage above dying leaves
○ New leaves curling w/ black frass
● Preventative: Neem Oil, Wettable Sulfur
○ Organic smothering agents
○ Contact all surfaces of plant
○ Every 2 weeks
● Organic miticides: Azatrol, Agri-mek
○ Several applications Mites >>>
○ Early in morning

<<< Thrips
Leaf Miner
● Remove bad leaves
● Rub out egg sacs
● Spinosad
● Trichogramma Wasp
 Beneficial Bugs
Lacewing Soldier Beetle

Lacewing larva and aphid Soldier beetle larva

 Beneficial Bugs
Parasitic Wasp (Trichogramma)

Spider
 Beneficial Bugs

Ladybug
Larva

Ladybug

Honeybee & Bumblebee

 To Review:

● Size of container matters!

● Soil is key
● Fertilizing is a must
● Don't crowd them
● Watering is extra important
 Upcoming Events at Love Apple
Intro to Bee Keeping $59 - Saturday, March 15 or April 27

Summer Vegetable Gardening $89 - Sunday, March 16 or

April 13

Gluten-Free Cooking $89 - Sunday, March 23

Growing Herbs $69 - Sunday, April 6

Beer Making $79 - Saturday, April 12

Simple Canning $79 - Saturday, April 19

Tomato Masters $49 - Saturday, April 26

 Annual Spring Tomato Plant Sale - Biggest in California!
March 29 to June 1, 2014
Mon thru Sat: 10am - 5pm Sun: 11am - 4pm
Ivy's Porch
5311 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley
Worm castings, Mykos, Geopots, potting soils, and amendments for sale too!
 Available for Sale Today

● Worm Castings - $12

● G&B Potting Soil - $9

● Mykos - $5

● G&B Fertilizer - $8

● 20 gallon Geopot - $12

● Tomato Planting Calendar - $10

● Jams & Pickles - prices on jars