2009-07-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Freddie L. Sirmans, Sr’s container garden.

How I grow my container garden.

I decided to share my container garden with you because I believe the USA in a very few years is going to face mass starvation.

I’m going to make it short and not go into any long details. Container gardening is the fastest growing form of gardening there is today. It is so simple almost anybody can do it. In most cases even people in the cities can do it. All one needs is some containers and potted soil.

You can grow almost anything in a container that you can grow in the ground. The biggest problem is limited space, especially when it comes to vines and running plants. Myself, I don’t like to do a lot of bending over so I bought some wide cement blocks and some 2 inch by 10 inch pressure treated boards to sit my pots on.

In most cases at least a 5 gallon container should be used. You don’t have to use expensive flower pots; just any 5 gallon bucket will do as long as drain holes are put in the bottom. Potted soil ranges from the cheap to the expensive. Myself, I use the cheapest and get very good results.

For planting: Seeds will come up after about 2 ½ days when planted about ½ inch deep and watered daily. However, I prefer to just buy the plants and everything I need from a garden center in Wal-mart, Lowe’s, Home depot, or any plant store or nursery.

Once the planting is done I add about 1 quart of water per plant each day or as needed. I make sure there is adequate drain off to prevent root rot, just place a saucer like holder you can buy at the store under each pot. Lastly, to get good growth and high yield I add about 1/2 gallon of liquid Miracle Gro fertilizer per plant every 2 weeks, just follow directions on box.

There are 2 types of tomatoes indeterminate and determinate. The determinate type limits the size to 3 or 4 feet, which is best because of limited space.

Also it is always best to limit it to 1 plant per pot to get the best yield.

The number of container plants I have this season is: 4 Tomatoes, 3 Bell peppers, 2 Banana peppers, 5 Okra, 2 Collard greens, 2 Turnip greens, and 2 Mustard greens.

Also, I keep on hand a bottle of vegetable insect spray to zap any intruders I see, but make sure the kind you use can be used up to the day of harvesting.

I have enjoyed sharing my container garden with you, hopeful you will try one for yourself, go for it.

Anyone can do it all it takes is to just try, all it takes is just a few feet of space as long as the sun can get to your plant. Good luck on your fresh home grown tomatoes.

SIRMANS CONTAINER GARDEN