Mary had asked about my garden, so I thought I would share with you what works for us… or what we hope works for us! I do not have ground that would give me what Bonny has in her yard. The soil here is very poor and extremely rocky – as in there are more rocks than dirt.
So, we first started out with cedar 4×4 beds and this year we moved those beds and replaced them with Smart Pots. We have 2 sizes: 2 – Big Bag Bed which is 50″ across and 5 – 7 gallon pots. These are working extremely well, thus far.
The raspberries have all but taken over the back bed and they don’t seem to mind the poor soil quality. We planted peppers in a third of this bed (the only remaining original bed from our first year of gardening. I replenish the soil each spring, but the peppers are not doing well at all this year. I am hoping the boost of nitrogen we gave them over the weekend, a measured bit of watering, and a bit of shade to allow them to recover without having to bake all day in this heat wave we are having will help them perk up a bit soon! We have 3 different kinds of peppers – Poblano, Jalapeno, and Cubanelle.
I have 4 zucchini plants in the smaller bags and 1 bush cucumber. Both are thriving in the bags, and I have LOTS of baby zucchini growing!
Tomatoes and beans share the larger bag beds, and I have an incredible variety this year. My neighbor gave us a variety of plants he seeded: Romanescos, Striped Germans, and Bumble Bees which I planted in one of the bag beds. He also gave us San Marzanos and Beefsteaks (which I planted in the old cedar beds which are now outside the “deer-free zone”). We also have a trio of Cherry Sweet 100s that share a bed with a Mortgage Lifter, an Oxheart, and a Sun Gold. I interspersed beans in between the tomatoes in the large bag beds.
Surprisingly, I found several tomato plants growing under the rose bush that must have seeded from last year’s cherry tomatoes. I have transplanted them into the “outside” beds and they are doing quite well!
An offspring of last years crop!
I also have a dozen each of red and yellow onions – I have yet to have success with onions, but they are growing well in the “outside” beds and the deer have thus have touched nothing in those beds, fingers crossed that continues!
The rhubarb seems to have done well in moving, and I got one new rhubarb plant this spring.
If you think you don’t have space – I highly recommend the 7 gallon pots! They are sturdy, and the zucchini and cucumber are happy as can be in them! The big beds take more dirt than you imagine they will, but in a tight space it is nice to have a round object versus a 4×4 square. This bed holds just as much as the square, but it is much easier to move around!
There you have a little view at my garden.
Thank you for this lovely view into your garden — I had no idea these bag bed things existed! We just had a “raised” bed put in our yard (our gardeners pulled out some plants I hated and relocated some to the other side of the yarn and then put cobblestones around my planting area). We’ve got wire running around the area to keep animals out, and so far the plants seem to be doing okay — two kids of tomatoes, cucumbers, and a broccoli plant that my kid was given at Phipps. I’ve also got a big pot with herbs (rosemary, dill, and basil). I’d love to grow more, like bell peppers, which we’ve tried for the past two years but either gotten no fruit or bugs/animals have gotten to it first, but we have a lot of critters who like to nibble at anything that’s not blocked off entirely.
The funniest thing that’s happened this year is that I bought and planted a flat of marigolds to try to keep at least some of the animals away, and we’ve discovered we have two (very cute) baby bunnies living under our deck — and they’ve eaten just about all of the marigolds!
Well, I never knew such existed! Fascinating.Your garden looks like it’s going to be tasty to your eyes and tummy! Enjoy!
Cheers~
Lovely, lovely, lovely! There are so many ways to garden!
I love your garden and had no idea you have been growing so many things so successfully in containers! I really do think your way is the smart way; you have better control over your soil, watering, and weeding, and can place your garden where the sun is best for plants. I love those heirloom tomato names, volunteer plants, and those beautiful foxglove flowers. You definitely have two green thumbs!
Those bag beds are new to me but sound like a great solution for you. We have 2 raised beds now and (fingers crossed) things are growing!
Seven gallon pots… I may have to try them. Thanks. I love seeing your beds. We are sort of hesitant to plant much here until we KNOW the soil etc better. So far just a few clematis, petunias, and zinnia. I seeded some lupine in the winter and its growing. I also put some cosmos in last week. That’s it. Just flowers so far
Thank you, Kat, for the tour and the great lesson in container gardening! (I just spent a very fun *ahem* 15 minutes on Amazon looking at containers … who knew??!!) Love the variety of what you’ve planted. Look forward to watching it grow over the coming months.
Who knew! You’ve almost made me consider vegetables again! We’ll see what next summer brings. In the mean time I’m going to enjoy watching your garden grow!
Smith is going to love reading about your contain gardening. You have so many great things growing! I’m envious of all your tomato varieties!