Broccoli and other fall container planting

13 years ago

Hi All

My container garden has been growing away quite nicely over the summer (except for the roma tomato BER fiasco), and I was thinking I should get a few things started for fall.

I just started some broccoli seeds indoors, and plan to replace the romas (which I will be hacking down with great wrath) with the seedlings in a few weeks. Hopefully they'll produce before the frost hits (which likely won't be until november)

I plan to reuse the containers the aforementioned tomatoes are in. One is 10 gallons, the other is about 5.

A couple questions:

- I will have to reuse most of the potting mix. Any recommendations for preparing the soil for a new crop without starting from scratch (with broccoli in mind)

- how many plants per container? They say plant 1' apart, so I'm guessing one per container? The 10gal is quite tall.

- any good things to plant with broccoli? I have seeds for kale, beets, carrots, peas (I think), pole beans, some lettuce.

I may also replace some of my other plants once they're done (my peas are more or less spent, and the kale I planted has slowed to a halt). Perhaps with more peas, or just kale, to give it a fighting chance.

Anyway, any advice recommended. It's been a hot summer, but it's finally settling into normal, got some good rain last week, so I think fall will be good.

Thanks!

Peggy

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Comments (4)

tempusflits
13 years ago
Some people feel differently, but I reuse my potting mix. For me, it's too expensive to toss out. I "fluff" it by digging deep in the mix with my trowel and turning the mixture over and over throughout the pot. I don't worry about amending the "soil" because I water weekly with a low dose of fertilizer. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Gardening is always a bit of an experiment.

It's been very hot here, too, but I'm going to plant some fresh kale and lettuce this week. Let's hope we get great fall harvests.
capoman
13 years ago
If you are reusing peat based mix, might be worth mixing in some pine bark to air it up. Bark is cheap. Peat is already too water rententive, and gets worse with reuse. You need some air in the soil.

By the way, peas and kale will often recover with new growth once the weather cools. They are cool weather plants. You may not need to replant. Kale will even survive well into frost, and I've had it come up again in spring before. I'm just east of you and my snow peas are starting to regrow and produce new peas after mostly dying off in the heat of summer.
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pegleg48
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the tips. Yes, I can probably get my hands on some more bark/mulch.
Turns out the romas aren't going to be yanked out just yet. They finally have a few fruit on them that haven't been attacked by BER yet.
Instead, I plan to take out the eggplant plants that never grew much, and use the big 18gal container they're in.
My broccoli spouted, but need a few weeks before they're ready to go in the garden, I think.
I pulled up my peas (they were very very dead), but the kale is still puttering away, and maybe will start growing a bit more. Beans are still going.
I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks!
Peg
capoman
13 years ago
I thought my peas were dead too until I saw the beginnings of new growth, so I left them and are now starting produce pods again. Not saying that's true in your case, but don't be too quick to give up.

Next year, try the 5-1-1. I've never had BER in it. You won't regret it.