Ann sent along this wonderful repurposing idea! Use an old wagon wheel as your herb garden! I love it!
Unfortunately though, I couldn’t find the original source of this image. If you happen to know where it originated from, please let me know!
If you’ve been wanting to learn how to harvest lettuce, this new video should help you out! Lettuce is one of my favourite things to grow in a container. Not only does it grow fast, it’s virtually fool-proof too! After learning the first year I tried to grow lettuce that it doesn’t like being in the hot sun for too long, I’ve been on a roll and have a couple containers every year.
Watch the video to see how I harvest spring mix lettuce leaves:
Lettuce also happens to be very easy to harvest. Here’s how to do it:
By pinching off the leaves (instead of pulling the roots out of the soil) you’re allowing your lettuce to keep growing throughout the season.
I’m back with another video! This time it’s all about how to harvest basil. The way I show in the video will allow your plant to grow bushier, which means you should have plenty of basil leaves to enjoy all season long!
If you want to keep your basil fresh, place your freshly harvested stems in a glass of water rather than sticking it in the fridge. The basil will stay fresh in the water for a week or more. In fact, if you leave the stems in water they will eventually root and you can replant them in a pot or out in the garden!
Related: How to Grow Potatoes in a Container
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In the short time that I’ve had a container garden, I’ve learned a few things about what not to do when it comes to planting a successful garden.
In no particular order, here are 5 container gardening mistakes to avoid:
Have you ever tried to lift a big container filled with dirt and plants? I have, and it’s not fun. When using a large container, make sure to place your pot where it will stay, and then fill it. You’ll save yourself a lot of sore muscles!
Also, if you’re planting a vegetable with shallow roots in a large container, you can fill the bottom third with empty plastic containers or Styrofoam. This will make your container much lighter, provide good drainage and make it cheaper to fill since you’ll need less soil.
To avoid over-watering your plants, make sure to use containers that have drainage holes. Also, be sure to read the moisture requirements for the plants you chose and then follow what the labels say. A good habit to get yourself into before you water, is to check if the soil is moist. To do this, put your finger into the soil about two inches deep. If the soil at your fingertip feels dry, water.
A sign of over-watering is yellow leaves or limp plants. If you notice either of these signs, your soil is too wet. Move the containers to a dry spot or stop watering until they dry out.
Most container gardens need watering at least once a day in the summer. Sometimes small containers and hanging baskets, need watering more often because there is less soil to hold the water. When you water, make sure to really soak your plants. If you only give them a tiny bit, the water will only wet the top layer of soil. which won’t reach the roots. I like to water until I can see it coming out the bottom of the pot.
Related tip: Make sure you have your containers in a convenient spot for watering. One year I decided to put some containers on our bedroom deck which meant I had to traipse through the house with a dripping watering can about four times a day because there was no hose. It was a real pain!
If you’re purchasing starter plants rather than seeds, make sure to buy healthy plants. Buying at a local nursery is a great place to start since the staff is usually full of valuable advice. They’ll even help you pick out healthy, pest and disease free plants!
Before you jump into container gardening, take a look at your life. Will you be away a lot during the summer? Do you have dreams of a more relaxed summer with less to-do’s? If so, you may want to reconsider having a container garden. My first year of container gardening, I was really excited to start planting. I think I bought every type of plant that was suitable for containers. As the season went on, I lost my interest since watering the plants daily felt like one more to-do I didn’t want to do. After that initial foray into container gardening, I have since learned to either cut back on the amount of plants or forget about it completely, to make it work with my life each year.
While it may seem there are a lot of don’ts when it comes to container gardening, it’s really not that difficult to grow delicious vegetables at home! Quite often I’m surprised at how “tough” plants can be! So be sure to keep these container gardening mistakes to avoid at the front of your mind!
Happy gardening!
I thought it was time for another container garden update since there’s quite a bit of growth since my last update! I’m quite please with how it’s coming along!
First up are my tomato plants. This was exciting to see; there are tiny little green tomatoes growing! Not long now before we’re eating them!
This bucket of carrots is doing pretty good too. It’s doing way better than my other bucket because it received a lot of rain water when we were having a rainy week.
As you can see, this container of carrots is not doing as well.
The beans are doing very well! And the peas too. They’re hidden behind the beans. Although they’re doing well, I’m not sure it was a great idea to plant them in the same container. I had to unravel the peas from the beans. I may have to put some sort of lattice in the container for the peas to climb.
Even though I only planted the potatoes a little over a week ago, they’re already starting to poke through the dirt! It probably won’t be long until I have to add more soil, especially if we get some hot weather. Wanting to know how to grow potatoes in a container? See my post here.
I think I’ve got some lettuce harvesting to do if this lettuce picture is any indication! I love growing Spring Mix type lettuce. It’s so easy to grow and it grows fast too!
I forgot to take a picture of my basil, but I intend on doing a quick video showing how to prune it in the near future.
