So you’ve been bitten by the RV bug but still want to garden? Container gardening might be your solution!
Maybe you’re still dreaming of the boundless life while living in an apartment right now. Again, container gardening might be your solution!
If you’ve got a bit of spare space outside your front door that gets some sunshine, you can still grow vegetables in on your patio inside of pots!
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Container Gardening
Patio pot gardening has some key differences from gardening on a larger scale–but you still get to eat top-quality stuff that you’ve produced by yourself!
First off, don’t think that your limited space automatically means a small harvest. Tiny gardens get tended more, and so problems are noticed quicker while neglect is less likely to be an issue.
Even one or two pepper or tomato plants can overwhelm a family with fruit!
The smaller your pots, the quicker they’ll dry out. Patio gardens need to be watered daily in most cases. Plants need good drainage (they don’t want to be in constantly-wet soil), but they can’t be allowed to totally dry out, either.
Since you’re growing in a very small area, you can really splurge for the best soil without spending a ton. Get the nice organic potting soil, and add some worm castings too.
Worm castings are basically garden magic, a plant’s most favorite food source. No other fertilizer needed!
When choosing what to plant in your pots, pick stuff that’s easy to grow, and that your family likes eating, too (otherwise, what’s the point?). Plants like radishes, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, peppers, spinach, and asian greens like bok choy all do well in patio pots and can be grown from seed. Kitchen herbs like parsley, dill, basil, and oregano also do great in pots.
Choose varieties with shorter harvest times (60 days or less til maturity) for a greater yield. With lettuces and greens, don’t wait to lop off the whole head at once, but harvest a few leaves at a time. This way the plant will just keep growing, and you’ll get many salads’ worth of harvest from the same plant!
Cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and tomatoes are climbing/leaning plants, and may need some support. Just threading some twine strings from your roof-line down to the plants’ stems may be enough for them to climb on and be happy. You can also pick up random sticks and use them as trellises by simply sticking them in the pots.
Growing your own veggies can be fun and easy. Also, keep in mind that eating even small amounts of homegrown food makes a big difference in our diets–because homegrown food has been proven to be more nutritious!
Start growing food in patio pots, and you’ll get closer to the homestead life one bite at a time.
[…] 2. Grow a few garden plants in patio pots, just to whet your appetite for homegrown food! Radishes, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, swiss chard, and sugar snap peas are all great, easy options. Even if you fail the first time, you’re learning. Here’s How. […]
[…] to get up to 25 pounds of potatoes using this method, and it’s really simple too! This takes container gardening to another […]