Container Vegetable Gardening For Kids Healthy Harvests from Small Spaces Kent Phillips [email protected]
Dec 15, 2015
Container Vegetable GardeningFor Kids
Healthy Harvests from Small SpacesKent Phillips
2
Container Vegetable Gardening
Let’s StartGrowing Vegetables in Containers is• Easy• Fun• Can be done anywhere• Great way to start growing
vegetables• Vegetables taste great and
are good for you
Why Containers?
• No digging• Weed free• Cheap to start up• Grow vegetables from
April until December
Getting Started What Do You Need?• Sunlight
• Container(s)
• Growing medium
• Water
• Nutrients
• Tender loving care
Container Location• At least 8 hrs. sun for
fruiting season crops (tomatoes, peppers, etc.)
• 4-5 hrs. sun for leafy crops (lettuce, kale, etc.)
• Level space
Container Types• Plastic• Wood• Clay• Free • Recycled• Paint them
Bag Container
Swimming Pool Container
Self-Watering Containers
• Self-watering containers conserve water and nutrients
• You can make your own from a 5 gallon bucket. See HGIC publication HG600
• Or you can buy a commercial self-watering container but they can be expensive
Self Watering 5 Gallon Bucket
Homemade Salad Table™• The Salad Table™ HGIC pub 601 • Great for growing shallow rooted plants• Build it deeper for plants like beans, beets, kale
What’s the “Dirt” on Growing Media?
• Supports plant’s root system
• Holds water and nutrients
• Permits drainage
• Need to be light and fluffy
Growing Media
Commercial Soil-Less Mix• Excellent
• Lightweight• Drain well• Holds water and nutrients• Proper pH
• ProMix™, ReddiEarth™, Jiffy Mix™, and Sunshine Mix™
Stay Away From
Garden Soil • Heavy• Brings in weed seeds and soil
diseases• Doesn’t drain well in containers
Don’t use bags of • Top soil• Planting soil• Planting mix• Potting soil
Adding Compost to Media• Highly recommended• Adds additional slow release nutrients• Increases water and nutrient holding
capacity of media• May have to add perlite to lighten mix
• If you don’t have compost, LeafGro™ is the next best commercially available product.
Media MixturesSome good media mixtures for container vegetables are:
•100% soil-less mix
• 75% compost or LeafGro + 25% perlite
• 50% soil-less mix + 50% compost
Happy Roots• Watering needs vary depending on
• container size• ambient temperature• wind• sunlight• humidity• type of plant and its size
• Media in container should be kept moist at all times but not soggy
• Test growing media using your finger• Most containers will need to be watered daily in
the summer• Use a water breaker or watering can for soft flow
Fertilizers• Containers require regular
fertilization• Water soluble fertilizers
• Every two weeks• Immediately available to
plants• Organic varieties are
ready available• Always follow label
instructions
What Can I Grow• Just about any vegetable or
herb!• Lettuce• Peppers• Eggplant• Tomatoes• Beans• Cucumbers• Broccoli• Potatoes• Sweet potatoes.
• Look for “bush” or “dwarf” varieties , esp. tomatoes, cucumbers, squash.
• Have fun
Size Matters
• Match container depth to plant size
• 4-6 inches: greens, small herbs• 8-12 inches: beans, beets, large
herbs• 1-3 gallons: green onions, chard• 4-5 gallons: cucumber, eggplant,
beans, broccoli, patio tomato, pepper
• 15 gallon full size tomato
Planting Time• No pebbles, gravel, or rocks unless you need the weight
to prevent tipping. • Cover drainage holes with fiberglass screen or other
material • Thoroughly work water into the growing medium• Fill container to inch or so of top of container.• Don’t compact media• Follow seed packet directions for planting, spacing, and
care.• Plant seedlings (except tomatoes) at same level as they
were growing in pot or six-pack. • Tomatoes can be planted deeper, for stronger root
growth.
Make Attractive Containers
• Paint them
• Mix herbs and annual flowers in with the vegetable plants.
• Keep containers together to increase humidity and water retention
Keep those plants growing!• Succession plant
• Spring - lettuce or spinach
• Summer - pepper, beans or cucumbers, tomato
• Fall - kale, lettuce or broccoli
• Don’t forget to continue to fertilize each crop!
• Trellis tall or climbing plants• indeterminate tomatoes• pole beans• cucumbers
Plant Care
• BUGS• Wilted leaves – not enough or too much
water - How do you tell?• Yellow leaves/no growth – fertilize?• Inspect your plants daily• Go to plantdiagnostics.umd.edu for
additional help in diagnosing vegetable problems.
Diagnosing Plant Problems
Season’s End• Discard the plant and soil from the pot. • Do not reuse the same soil for a second season
– Infected soil or mix will spread disease into the second season unless it is properly composted
– Properly composted planting media can be reused.• Store pots to prevent freeze damage
This program was developed Maryland Master Gardener Program University of Maryland Extension Baltimore County
and modified for this presentation by
Kent Phillips