Excuse me, it was in 2003 that my in-ground plants died. Not 2004.

Hi Vance, I see you live in Florida? Reason I ask is in parts of Florida it is almost impossible to grow tomatos in the ground due to a harmful nematode in the soil there. While there are those who swear you can add enough organic matter to have good nematodes/bacteria and whatever to take care of the bad ones, I would advise hopping over to the Florida Forum and asking the folks there about problems in your specific area. I just checked it out and the top post as of now is about a nematode infested raised bed ;-)

If your issue is those nematodes you will likely become a very proficient container gardener as you may not have much choice with some plants ;-)

Also, what are you putting in the containers for a growing medium? If it is potting soil I don't recomend them. Most anything can be put into a bag of potting soil and usually it is way too heavy and won't allow air to enter. Very bad for good plant growth. Most any store bought potting mix will work much better.

Thanks justaguy2

I am pretty bad about saying potting soil when I mean potting mix. Mix is what I use. This year it was new mix form Lowes called "Jungle Growth". It cost about $6 for 2 cu. ft. This fall, actually starting in late July, I used some reconditioned mix from last year. I mixed in some compost and {{gwi:57078}}
it on my driveway . That worked better than the new stuff. That is why I say I am still working on my fertilizing. I typically under fertilize. The bagged stuff seems to have has more texture than nutrients.

Anyway, IÂll spend more time in the Florida forum before I waste too much time putting good tomatoes in the ground. If I can get the container thing to work, why bother. IÂll save the ground for things that can take it. Right now, I want to get tomatoes and peppers as down pat as possible.

Thanks.

HI vancs8b Just where in FLA are you? I am in N,FLA. just out of Tallahassee, and last year I had fair luck in pots as my first time trying it. Now I am making self watering and feeding pots that I hope is going to help the plants with a lot less work.

dangsr2 beat me to it.

I was going to suggest earthboxes (commercial self watering container) for your tomatos and peppers.

Unless you introduce an already nematode infested plant into it, they are about as close to nematode proof as anything I can think of and the bonus is fertilization is really easy.

Instructions come with each earthbox and it is as simple as placing a band of fertilizer on top of the mix and that is it, for the entire season.

Many folks use earthboxes with good success for veggies.

dangsr2

I'm in the Gainesville area. I think that if I can keep the sun off of the pots, I won't need to worry about self watering containers. The frame is finished and filled. The pots (ten total) are in and everything is filled with leaves. I put my pot of carrots and my remaining pepper plants in for fun. By the time spring comes everything will have settled a bit and I can pull out the pots one at a time and fill with fresh soil and seedlings and plop back into place. With full sun on a black pot, the plant can often need water twice a day, with significant temperature fluctuation occurring in the process. This new set up should allow once a day to do just fine with less temp. fluctuation. I don't mind watering once a day, as it give me time to check for bugs and maybe admire new growth.

Thanks everybody.

Hi Vance,
I use pretty much the same mix every year for my veggies and bulbs and any other plants in containers. My homemade mix consists of purchased organic mushroom compost mixed with organic "soil doctor" also called "soil conditioner" (which is medium chunky pine soil), some bone meal and organic fish fertilizer. That's it except that this past summer I believe I added green sand. Sometimes I add coffee grounds.

When I fertilize it is usually fish fertilizer or that mixed with bone meal and sometimes epsom salts or I might fertilizer with a purchased organic fertilizer. Infrequently I spray with kelp. Sometimes I'll put some more organic mushroom compost as a topper. But I'm ill so cannot do much and fertilizing usually happens once if at all in a season.

This past summer I was delighted that my mix worked particularly well for green beans. I filled a huge pot with my mix, then put in a purchased tall "bean tower" meant to go in a garden. Putting it in a container was a satisfying experiment. I sowed the seeds June 22 (Seeds of Change black seeded blue lake snap beans) thickly and watered regularly. Within 4 days they were sprouting and by one week I had 93% germination. I did not thin the plants. I fertilized just once in late July, with the fish fertilizer and bone meal, maybe a bit of epsom salts because the leaves looked as if they had a problem at first. They flowered August 2 and on August 29 I started picking beans and picked them every few days until into November, a terrific (delicious) success and lots of fun for me, being mostly homebound.

The one tomato I planted this year in a container did not do as well but I believe that was due to the fact that I planted it in the middle of containers of tall plants and it was just too crowded for me to to get to it and for it to have enough sun or air, plus it was neglected.

I love growing colored peppers but waited too late last summer to order them (I prefer organic) and although I went to one garden store all they had left were banana peppers, which did fine but I prefer bells, particularly sweets in colors. Keep in touch, I'll be interested in hearing how your peppers and maters turn out.

I used to start my plants from seeds when I had gardens pre- container gardening and had a just a bit of energy (no more) and when I lived in a house with space inside and garden space outside. At that time I started tons of seeds indoors under lights, often using homemade pots. If you'd like my homemade pots recipe or my tongue-in-cheek tomato seed planting method let me know and I'll search them out for you.

Best,

Carole

Thanks Carole.

I like hearing what others do. I have gotten away from the chemical fertilizers and have been slowly reading about and locating the more natural types. Milorganite was my first organic fertilizer purchase, but the more I read, the less I liked it for my purposes. I bought my first fish emulsion in September, but I did not have time to really get to know it very well. I have not come across mushroom compost in town yet. I have not actively looked for it, so it might be just a matter of asking. Kelp is another thing I have not seen on the store shelves. I have yet to buy bone meal, but I have seen it around. I have also purchased some epsom salts. The Black Kow web site said it was necessary to add some to their composted cow manuer when growing tomatoes directly in the bag.

Hot peppers I seem to do good with, sweet bell peppers have been mixed, it's the tomatoes that need serious work. This past year was the first year that my cucumbers did poorly. I think powdery mildew is what got them. Oh well. It's hard to tell what part is the weather and what part is inexperience. I have hit the library frequently this year as well as here, so I think I'm heading in the right direction. Time and money are definitly limiting factors with me, so working smart is a bigger priority than working hard.

Thanks.

Hi Vance,

if you have an Ace Hardware or a Home Depot (maybe Pikes) you can find organic mushroom compost and "soil doctor" at these places and at Ace, dry organic fish fertilizer and some bone meal. They should have an all-purpose organic fertilizer in a bag on the shelf if you should decide you need one but the fish fertilizer and bone meal and compost is enough, especially combined with fish emulsion you spray. Fish emulsion made up in a spray will be excellent for your tomatoes, might even solve your problems with tomatoes.

Spray kelp (very good for tomatoes) is available at Gardens Alive! catalogue.

Since you are in the South, you might think about putting some compost on top of the soil as a mulch around seedlings (you can mix it in as well). Of course you may have to change course if you get an influx of slugs. Maybe you already know this, if not, here is a tip, water the roots of the tomato and pepper plants, not from overhead, so soil viruses do not splash up on them. Give them some air to breathe (now an exception is my Mom who plants her tomatoes rather thickly and they do great but I still think tomatoes need air). For cucumbers be viligant as possible about hand-picking (both sides of leaves) cucumber beetles which cause a kind of wilt and kill the plants. Fold a small piece of cardboard in half as your weapon (ugh).

Best,
Carole

vance8b I like your new garden in the leaves, I never would have thought of that idea of useing the shutters like that.Ill be watching for photos of your gardwn when it is up and growing. Good idea and good luck on your next garden.