January 2010

January Report – Container Gardening

Well, I don’t know how it’s been for you but in my middle England allotment, January has been very quiet; just too soggy to do anything.

It’s very frustrating because I know in about 6 weeks time I shall be so busy but it’s not ideal to get carried away with seed sowing. If I had a greenhouse it would be different so maybe that’s something I need to think about. For now though I shall look at my seeds that arrived this weekend from our allotment shop and plan, plan, plan.

I received this lovely email (left) this month from Mary who would like to grow more vegetables and fruit on her first floor south west facing balcony. I have decided to use her problem to my advantage as it gives me something to talk about this month, so here goes..

Dear Mary,

Planting in Containers...

First thing I must say is how pleased I am that you said it is south west facing...if you had said north east we might have had some difficulty but the SW direction is best for veggies and fruit as they love to sun bathe

Secondly, I totally agree with ceramic as opposed to plastic. These certainly do tend to let the soil dry out much quicker. You can however recycle a great number of items to grow veggies in. Old colanders, tins, ceramic sinks, car tyres!!! Anything is possible as long as you can get it up to your balcony. Don’t hurt your back!

Terracotta pots are fantastic for veg growing as they give the plants more protection from heat and also absorb moisture and so will return it to the plants if you’re delayed in watering. I love the rustic look of terracotta BUT the other great thing with this type of pots is that they are easy to decorate. A great friend of mine gave me one that she decorated with mosaic pieces and painted and even though the paint has faded, 10 years later I still use it and enjoy the pot as well as its contents. Get creative...go wild!

Compost:

Peat free multipurpose compost is best for growing vegetables in containers.  It’s ok to re-use the same compost when you have harvested a crop but don’t re-sow the same type of plant. This is the bases of crop rotation and it still applies to container grown plants. After the runner beans, for example, you could plant some lettuce but not another member of the bean family. You must, however, replace compost every year as it will be exhausted of all its goodness by the end of the season.

As I know space is a premium you will want to sow your plants where they grow and harvest. This is very easy to do for root veg like carrots and beetroot as they are sown direct in to the soil. Sow all your crops at same time you that you would for normal ground crops, water regularly and give them a weekly feed once they have started to put on a good amount of growth. General purpose feed is great for leafy crops but toms and other fruiting crops like a high-potash feed;

Chillies and peppers:

These guys all like a bit of heat as they come from warmer climates so this should not prove a problem on your hot balcony. A greenhouse is best for extra warmth and protection and you can get quite cheap small plastic greenhouses. The pepper varieties Redskin and Apache F1 can grow outside in very warm areas, preferably against a sunny wall. These may work for you as it sounds like you have what they want!

Cucumbers:

‘Marketmore’ cucumber is suitable for indoors and out but it seems to be more reliable under cover. They like to climb so this may prove difficult in a small greenhouse! Male flowers on a cucumber, if pollinated with female flowers, will make the cucumber bitter so make sure you remove all the male flowers. Cucumber is susceptible to mildew but the fabulously titled ‘Burpless Tasty Green’ seems to be resistant.

Carrots:

These like a nice root run in soil (a depth of about 25cm/10inches) therefore deep pots are ideal. The variety ‘Parmex’ however is a small globe shaped carrot and is ideal for container growing.

Potatoes:

Potatoes are great grown in sacks and giant growing buckets which you can buy from seed and garden companies. You won’t have the space to grow large crops but have a go at the salad varieties that are small. ‘Mimi’ is just right for containers as it has compact foliage as well as small tubers. It’s very easy to grow spuds in this way. Pop some compost (half and half mixture of John Innes No3 potting compost and multipurpose compost) in the bottom of the container and lay a single layer of potato tubers on top. Cover with some more compost and when the leaf tops begin to show cover with more compost. Keep doing that until you get to a few inches below the top of the container. Water and feed as before and harvest the first early varieties around early June. Grow bags are also great for spud growing, just pop 6 tubers in the grow bag and let it do its thing.

Lettuce:

Lettuce is very easy as any old tin will do. I grew a few of the leaf salad variety in tomato tins last year on my garden table and they were great, I tend to use cut and come again as they take up less space and they really do produce more leaf from what you have harvested. I prefer the taste of these as some have lovely peppery flavoured leaves which make the salad bowl far more exciting. Forget round lettuce like iceberg as it’s too big for your space.

Fruit:

As for fruit you can even get very small apple trees so it seems anything is possible. Blueberries and gooseberries are wonderful in pots and strawberries are ideal in hanging baskets. So are baby tomatoes; ‘Tumbling Tom’ is a fantastic variety for hanging baskets. Some fruit like the blueberries will stay in their containers for a few years so you would need a different type of soil. The compost for potato growing is ideal, but add about 10% sharp grit.

Onions:

You do tend to need a large area for a good onion crop but spring/salad onions are great as they require less space. When using them for cooking just use four spring onions instead of one normal onion. You can keep sowing these baby onions from February to November. That’s nearly all year round. 

Herbs are fantastic in pots and hanging baskets and if you grow certain ones near certain crops you can reduce pest attack. I will be discussing companion planting on the AT Allotment very soon.

Slugs:

Well I am shocked and stunned that those little pests climbed the walls to get to your crops. May be they came in as eggs in a plant you bought...that’s more likely the answer and now they’ve moved in, you have a problem with them. The best remedy I’m afraid is to replace ALL existing compost and scrub your pots clean. When you bring in new plants check for slug eggs (small white balls) before you put it in to your clean pots! The slugs love pots and so will be quite happy in them over winter. Now’s your chance to find them and clear them out before you grow your lettuce!

I found that beer just gives them a hangover and after they have slept it off they are back for more food! If you do the beer traps make sure you take the little blighters away from your balcony. Can you re distribute them around the grounds that your flat is on? Make sure you don’t give the problem to someone else as it may make you very unpopular with your neighbours.

I watched a child’s gardening programme with my daughter and they said that slugs hate the smell of nasturtiums...has anybody had any success with this technique? I’m going to grow lots of nasturtiums on my allotment...they seem to be an organic growers saving grace!

If you can get your hands on a copy of Alan’s The Kitchen Gardener it has a great section on growing in containers and lots of useful advice on fruit, vegetables and herbs. I would not be without it!

I do hope this has helped you to start planning your “allotment balcony”. Please send in some pictures of your achievements, we’d love to see them. Good Luck and enjoy it!

Until next month...

Lotte