[digga666]

Anybody growing their veg in containers?

I have made some boxes 2ftx2ftx30" tall for growing spuds as I heard that you can grow heaps of them all the way to the top of the box by continually covering the spud plant as it grows.  Sounds feasible so thought I would give it a try.

Anybody else tried this?

[Chrysalis]

Oh yes!  We grow all our stuff in bags encased in willow crates.   
The willow is now crumbling away after three winters, but I am going to make new wooden ones to go around the bags. 

We do early spuds in ours, but not maincrop as you can't get many in the pot!  Our potato crates are 40cmx40cmx50cm.  They take an awful lot of soil.  we do five seeds per crate and get a reasonable yield.  Be careful to keep them watered enough. It can get very dry at the bottom, and so not many spuds 
Also look out for slugs which can hide down the sides.

Try checking out John's book on growing in containers....

Good luck!

[digga666]

Hey thanks for that.

I only finished the boxes yesterday and put some compost in the bottom but was undecided on what spuds.

What do you suggest for earlys and lates?

I assumed you only planted one spud per box? and my boxes would be 600x600x750mm high but am i understanding you plant several to each of your boxes?

[gavinjconway]

I grew loads of veg in containers on my rooftop garden before I got my plot... Sorry but I'm not allowed to send you the link to my blog site...

ps. go to your PM's and you may find a surprise..

[digga666]

Excellent stuff Gavin and it looks so simple in those photo's but i bet masses of hard work.

I am glad to see you lost the yellow wellies along the way

I am interested in how much people claim they can grow in such small places which makes me think how much more efficient we can be over say farmers with all the expensive machinery and large acreage.

[solway cropper]

With intensive cultivation and plenty of TLC you should easily be able to exceed the yields of commercial growers. As an example I managed to get 3kg of parsnips out of one of those plastic flower buckets last year. They were jammed in so tight they actually split the sides of the container!

I cut the bottoms from the buckets and place them on the soil to allow the tap root to go down. The main reason for starting this method was because my soil is a heavy, stoney clay and not really suited to growing long roots. With containers I can tailor the compost to suit the needs of different types of plant.

[gavinjconway]

Excellent stuff Gavin and it looks so simple in those photo's but i bet masses of hard work.

I am glad to see you lost the yellow wellies along the way

I am interested in how much people claim they can grow in such small places which makes me think how much more efficient we can be over say farmers with all the expensive machinery and large acreage.

Still got the wellies!!

Not too much work when growing on the roof - just watering every 2 days as the compost dries out.. Also i used the same compost for years - just added some manure, chicken pellets and a dash of general fert each year. 

[pdblake]

Sorry but I'm not allowed to send you the link to my blog site...

There's already a link under your avatar

I grow salad spuds in dustbins, five to a bin, and a any other container I can find big enough to hold a fair sized crop. I grow carrots, tomatoes, peppers and chillies in pots too. This year I'm going to have a go at melons as well.

Though to be honest, I do grow much more in the ground than I do in containers.

[digga666]

With intensive cultivation and plenty of TLC you should easily be able to exceed the yields of commercial growers. As an example I managed to get 3kg of parsnips out of one of those plastic flower buckets last year. They were jammed in so tight they actually split the sides of the container!

Yes SC i have seen a few videos on youtube whose complete garden is just one mass fruit and vegetable producing area with the crops growing everywhere  on roofs, up walls, in all kinds of containers growing food for all the family. As soon as a container has been harvested put another growing crop in it changing the soil (if need be) type to suit.

[digga666]

Excellent stuff Gavin and it looks so simple in those photo's but i bet masses of hard work.

I am glad to see you lost the yellow wellies along the way

I am interested in how much people claim they can grow in such small places which makes me think how much more efficient we can be over say farmers with all the expensive machinery and large acreage.

Still got the wellies!!

Not too much work when growing on the roof - just watering every 2 days as the compost dries out.. Also i used the same compost for years - just added some manure, chicken pellets and a dash of general fert each year.

Did you just use compost Gavin or garden soil aswell?

I was planning to use a mix of horse/chicken manure, garden soil and compost to fill up my containers.

What spud varieties do you recommend for containers early's and late's?

[compostqueen]

I still grow veg in pots and trays etc even though I have a large plot and garden. Some things just lend themselves to pot culture.  If you have problems with wildlife eating things, and slugs chomping everything in sight, you can get pots onto tables etc and out of harms way (hopefully)  Salad leaves, carrots, spring onions etc, small potatoes like Ratte etc that you don't want to risk on the plot, all can go into containers.  I always have some kind of salad leaves and oriental leaves growing in trays etc for cut and come again. 

[Chrysalis]

We're doing Lady Christl and Belana earlies this year in our bags/crates.  Five to a box.  Yours, being bigger, will take a few extras.  Rocket and Swift are fast growing ( ), but we didn't rate the flavour last year.

Our maincrops are Sarpo mira and King Eds (I think!). They'll be on the patch up the garden!

Each season I empty out the bags and refill in stages with a mix of topsoil, home compost, and chicken manure pellets  or a general fertiliser.  I don't get fresh soil in, but do refresh what's there and try not to use the same topsoil in the bags. In other words, I rotate the soil rather than the crop!  (And then I see the osteopath.. ).

[digga666]

Thanks i think i will try 6 to a box for early's and 5 to a box for late's.

Have got tons and tons of horse manure but not rotted yet but will mix it well with bought in stuff.

I am going to make containers for lots of things like carrots and parsnips because if this works it means that you could produce much from such small spaces and no digging which i like even more.

What else do you container growers grow each year?

[gavinjconway]

Hi Digga - I originally bought compost and soil enhancer. Then added some home made compost. Then each year I just added loads of fresh horse manure, chicken pellets and a bit of growmore. Also added a bit of home made compost every few years. everything grew really well.

[gavinjconway]

Sorry but I'm not allowed to send you the link to my blog site...

There's already a link under your avatar

Yep - I know there is a link under my avatar .... but according to the forum rules I am not allowed to direct people to it or say to look at my profile or avatar where it is located etc. etc.. So I have to PM if required.    (its only a blog but its not hosted on the forum)