My hat is off to you folk who are container gardening!! this will be my last year to do so!! I WILL go back to earth gardening in raised beds!
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hats off
- Thread starter pappywith4
- Start date
Yea I hear you Pappy. I only have 4 plants in pots this season. Last season I had the majority of my plants in pots and lost control of them around July. They began to yellow and stopped growing. In an act of desperation I planted them in the ground around August 1st. They bounced back nicely but it was too late for most of the pods to mature.
I do both some in containers some in beds, my raised bed stuff is growing like mad, containers are chugging along as well but at a slower pace. whats your reason for going back Pappy?
I FIND THAT I have more control of the plants in a larger area because it seems to me they dry out too quick in pots compared to the ground. I know it is a matter of staying on top of things and that is where my hat is off to yall. I pastor a church and I can get stretched out before I know it if the wind comes up along with 100 degree temps those pots are dry.
normally in the ground with dew and good soil it is easy for me. Last year my douglah grew to 6 ft high and 6 ft wide, had all kind of peppers on it, infact the last pick of the fall I picked 123 pods off the one plant. But in all fairness it was in mushroom mix and I was putting a gallon of used coffee ground on it once a month also using fish impulsion on it.
I have the space for good raised beds in the back yard so thats what I WILL DO THIS FALL. I want to make them 3 ft wide and however long . I think just looking at the slope of the yard the beds will be 2 ft deep on the deep side and 18" on the shallow side.
I couldn't find mushroom mix here where we have moved so I settled for cotton burr composte and I must say I a not impressed!
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I also used cotton burr compost and not impressed with either. Wish I had just mixed some chicken and cow together, chickcow compost. It was highly recommended to me but so far I feel the same as you pappy.
AlabamaJack
eXtreme
I agree that containers are a bit maintenance intensive, but I sure do like being able to move the plants around when needed and being able to "channel" the nutrients to the each plant is great IMO...the larger variety's grow to about 6-6.5 feet tall in 5 gallon containers so I am pretty satisfied...
WEW ! I feel better if you don't like it either! I will drive 255 miles round trip to get the mushroom mix when I build the raised beds before I use the cotton burr compost. Just doesn't have the punch that it should!
The biggest summer problems come from using colored containers and not bunching the plants together to shade each other. Colored containers get hot as hell. Every degree the soil raises your plant slows respiration exponentially and your plants will stop respiration around 100 degrees! The heat will also sterilize any bacteria or critters. I use white buckets and bunch them pretty tight together
I like both; containers give me something to play with and I like walking out on the front porch in the morning and picking a few maters for breakfast.
Cotton burrs to me sounds like it would fall more into the category of a soil conditioner (like pine bark fines), rather than a plant food. Cotton seed meal, on the other hand, is a great amendment that will add nutes for your plants.
Cotton burrs to me sounds like it would fall more into the category of a soil conditioner (like pine bark fines), rather than a plant food. Cotton seed meal, on the other hand, is a great amendment that will add nutes for your plants.
if I may ask what is your feeding and watering regiment it buckets and how big of a bucket/pot do you go?
what are the ferts you use in what apportions?
I can do gardening but these pots are tuff!
AlabamaJack
eXtreme
I use botanicare products(Progrow, Liquid Karma, and Cal/Mag plus) at the recommended dosages until I transplant to 5 gallon containers (all I use)...when transplanting, I take about a tablespoon of a standard 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 granular fertilize and work it into the top inch of soil (I leave about an inch and a half head space in the container)...then dig the hole for the plants, "seat" the soil around the rootball from the 3" container and give the plant about a quart of the bontanicare feed which is their last until about the middle to end of August when they get one healthy feeding with Botanicare probloom, Liquid Karma, and Cal/Mag plus...then side dress with a standard 7-14-7 granular fertilize...
when I move them to where they are going to stay, I fill the container until it overflows for their first major watering...after that, they get a 10 count of water about 3 times a week in my heat...tomorrow morning will be 48 hours since I watered and the temp has been close to 100 both days...I only water when I see the plants starting to wilt, so there is no set time period between waterings...
oh yeah, I forgot...I also use 1 Tbsp epsom salt scattered on top of the soil after their first watering...
then every 3-4 weeks, I will side dress with the granular fertilize and 1 Tbsp epsom salt...
not saying this is how you should do it, but I have used this method over the past two-three years and it has worked well for me...
thanks AJ I will try to find the same nutrients and try it out!!