Urban Garden 2011-Container Gardening For Little to No Money

Hey guys, I have just started my container garden project and wanted to share it. Also, any help and tips would be appreciated as I am pretty much a beginner at this.

I used some 50 gallon plastic drums, cut down into thirds as my planitng containers, and bought 15 dollars worth of top soil from Wally World. So far I have planted a few tomato plants and pepper plants, and have seeded a few others.

Any of you gardeners out there, feel free to offer me some tips and follow my progress!







That's how far I've progressed so far. Let me know what I can do better, or what you think in general!

reply to post by kadyr80


Hi there fellow gardener! Glad to see you've decided to take up this hobby as it can provide stress relief as well as providing food for your table.

Looks to me like you have a good start! I would suggest that at the end of the growing season, as you have already planted this year, or before planting again next year amend the soil in the containers with some compost material. If you don't have a compost pile going, you can purchase compost to add to the soil to give it a bit of a boost. Since you are using topsoil I might suggest some kind of covering over it, say like mulch. This will help with moisture retention so you are not constantly having to water once your plants get established. Try if possible to get some organic mulch as it will not have any additives or coloring agents. You can even try some crunched up leaves and lawn clippings on the tops to help keep the water from evaporating too quickly.

Here is a link to a gardening thread I started a while back that people have contributed to and really came up with some fantastic ideas! This comment was not in anyway to discourage your thread here because I only breifly touched on container gardening as an alternative to 'plot' type of gardens. But some of the suggestions people came up with would easily apply to your garden there. Gardening Tips, Tricks and So Much More

So congratulations on your gardening! Keep me posted on how it's going and if you have any questions along the way please feel free to U2U me! I'm always happy to help in any way I can!

Congrats on your first garden! The thing to remember, is that it will always be a learning experience. Once you feel like you've figured it all out, some new pest or storm comes by and teaches you a lesson. I know gardeners that have been going for 20+ years, and still learning new things every day!

Don't be afraid to just toss some seeds in the ground and see what happens! Experiment with different breeds and types of vegetables. One bit of advice I'll give is to plant as many native species in your garden as possible. Fruits & veggies that are used to growing in your climate will naturally do much better, with far less work on your part. Start by looking at what the Native Americans in your area used for food.

I also 2nd the compost pile. It's not hard work to keep one, and the benefits are immense!

Good luck! Cute dog in the video if you don't use the clothesline poles for hanging plants maybe you could set up a hose with holes on it
to water the plants at the same time just by turning on the hose or something?

I'm also going to try to make a container garden this year. I have a big enough yard to garden here but I thought a container garden would help with weeds and keeping the squirrels and chipmunks away. I've started my seeds indoors and they are almost ready to go into containers. Problem is I haven't got any containers yet. I don't want to spend much, it would be nice if could find something for free even. Does anyone have suggestions on things I could use for containers for free or for cheap? I also was wondering how deep the containers should be.....I have tomato, all sorts of peppers, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, basil, scallion, cucumber, strawberries, watermelon. 6inches? 12 inches? More?

reply to post by WildWorld


Well, for free or cheap containers you might want to try a local bakery, deli or even Wally World (Wal-Mart) if they have a bakery. They receive ingredients in food safe plastic 5 gal. containers and usually just toss them when they are done with them. If you call ahead they may be able to set some aside for you and charge you a couple of bucks. You may even get lucky and they say 'hey..just come on over and take 'em free of charge". I've done this in the past with my herbs and it just worked perfectly!

Remember with your squash and cukes they like to grow in 'mounds' rather than in flat earth. I tried some squash last year in a container and had absolutely NO luck with them. But then again you may have terrific results! I've been gardening for well over 20 years and one of the above posters was correct in that you learn something new every year.

Good luck with your gardening endeavours!!

Great post, thanks for sharing. I'm planning my garden soon, so am looking for tips. However, where I want it the soil is very poor. These pots will be a better option!

For anyone that is interested, I just got an email from one of the places I purchase seeds from. Apparently they are having a discontinued seed sale. They are selling them @ $1 per packet, which is a steal in my opinion. I use only non-GMO seeds so that I can harvest some seeds and over-winter them for planting the following year. This company sells only non-GMO seeds and has signed the safe seed pledge that guarantees the seeds are non-GMO. Anyway, just thought I would pass this along so if folks are interested they can try them out.

Nichols Garden Nursery

reply to post by kadyr80


You know, I just rewatched your vids and I love the old trellis idea.... for both non-bush beans and for peas. You could grow both in your pots there (would not recommend more than 2....maybe 3... plants per pot. As the vines grow just weave them gently in, around and out of the bars. This will leave enough room to walk under the trellis (depending on how tall it and you are) and would make for much easier harvesting of on the vine veggies.

This would leave your clothes line available for pots of herbs if you wish or, even as an above poster wrote, a hose for easy watering. Perhaps a drip/soaker hose for that?

I was raised on a farm but that doesn't mean I know very much.

There are a few things I can pass along.

One thing I would encourage you to get for your composting is earthworms. They will help breakdown the refuse quicker and far more complete than you will think. It may also help your plants to include a few in your growing containers. They will help keep the soil loose and allow for proper aeration of the roots. No they won't eat much!

When you save your seed for the next planting, clean them of debris and store them in a cool dark place. They will better retain their moisture and they will lay dormant better.

Last but far from least. Get an almanac. All my parents "preached" "planting by the signs". I have heard a lot of people poo poo this, but I know something makes a difference.

Updating thread with newest stuff:

We had a storm that hurt the plants a bit....

I've been wanting to do this for many years... but can't trust some of the people in my complex. Sly saboteurs... nutjobs... you name it. We'd need a locked greenhouse with an alarm system. Sigh.

I was told to do this by a close friend and I thought he was out of his mind.

But he was right.

In arid areas where irrigation is necessary, some folks put large, strong magnets around their water supply pipe, and found that they reduce the need for water by 25%.

The magnet apparently softens the water - making it "wetter," and easier to absorb by the roots.

And then, if you're feeling adventurous, you get a connector that connects 2-liter drink bottles together, the kind to show kids the "tornado" effect, and you rotate that water for a few minutes, in vortex after vortex.

If you glue magnets onto the connector, you achieve two things at once, and the growth by using both the magnets and vortices - over being watered with non-magnetic, non-vortice water is almost 20%-30% depending on what you're growing.

But in limited areas, a greater yield can be somewhat beneficial.

reply to post by dreamingawake
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red wiggler worms ... a must! to make your own compost.. this breed only... They LOVE manure (cow horse rabbit) leaves/kitchen scraps... start your "vermiculture" in a closed tub with lid (like a dark blue or black storage box punch a few holes for air and drainage...save the liquid... its gold for plants too!) keep in the tub until they reproduce... take out compost and split/ start another 2 tubs... its addicting! when you see what your garden can do.

feed damp newpaper strips/ leaves and manure.. a pound of red wiggler worms costs about $20 to $38... I have had great luck with both of these places.... www.txworms.com... and Texas Worm Ranch (duh I live in Texas yall)

The compost (chewed up garbage and worm poop) is called "black gold" the plants will grow so fast they nearly knock you over!!!!!

Look out for bugs to eat your plants 1) try a little dish soap and water in a spray for leaf eaters.. or get organic ant killer and spray for other insects... but with great compost... most insects should leave your plants alone.

Good luck..