<p>I do have a potted hot pepper plant in my house that I dug up from the garden last fall. It was part of a hot pepper mix so not sure exactly what it is. Peppers are supposedly perennials in the right climate and this one was smaller and more delicate that some of the other varieties so looked like it would make a good house plant. It went through some shock at first but the bright red peppers clung on and it’s grown new leaves and flowers. Looks really bright and festive in my kitchen. This summer it may go out in its pot and then back again to my kitchen in the winter.</p>
<p>Not to derail the thread, but since we are talking container gardening, I’d be curious to see any examples of container plant “containers” (especially ones large enough for more than one plant) that people have purchased. Obviously don’t want to spend a fortune, but would love to see something other than the roundish terra cotta style pots in a row on the deck!</p>
<p>Any links to pictures would be interesting!</p>
<p>Bright lights chard can be combined with flowers and other plants for an attractive display. Basils come in various colors, and mixed, they can be quite attractive if kept pinched back. </p>
<p>Patio or not, I start lettuce in big pots for early growth before transplanting. Multi colored lettuce mixes can be rather pretty, if less than long lasting. Last summer I stuck a few sweet potatoes ends that were sending out shoots into a big pot. We grew some skinny little sweet potatoes in that pot, but roasted, they were one of the best things ever. Your climate is better suited to sweet potatoes.</p>
<p>Glad to see that the spring 2012 gardening thread has arrived (Hello there Bunsen!!!).</p>
<p>Well, I’ve reversed course and decided to go ahead and start a container/pot vegetable garden this year. Had so-so results in the past, which Bunsen and other friends on CC comforted me about, LOL.</p>
<p>Just began my compost bin last weekend. Purchased bags of soil from the mega-hardware store, but alas when I opened the package and read the SMALL print it said “NOT FOR POTS.” What??? Oh great. Scotts was a trusted name as far as mama’s plants were concerned back in the day but I felt royally abused when I read the NOT FOR POTS warning. Guess I’ve got to find some suitable dirt to mix it with, LOL.</p>
<p>Back to the plan…I’ve got seeds for Sweet Basil, Italian Parsely, Sage, 49er Gold Zucchini, Sugar Peas, Okra and Bok Choi. Tomato plants have been my curse (no luck), but I’ll try it again one more time this year. Today I plan to order online black/purple tomato seeds, probably Cherokee Purples. Also need to order mexican zucchini seeds. Good luck to all.</p>
<p>Not for pots??? ( Hi there, Lake Washington!) WTH? I have to be very careful when I go soil shopping! Thanks for the heads up.</p>
<p>Jym - a lot of stuff can be grown in pots. The biggest issue is the frequencey of watering, because pots tend to dry out much faster than regular garden beds. Good luck!</p>
<p>I have a large deck area in back of my home and a deck outside of two bedrooms. As a result, I do lots of container gardening. I have these containers–usually fill them full of herbs or seasonal plantings (pansies/daffodils in the spring, etc). They’re large and very dramatic and look great with most any arrangements. This website has tons of outdoor containers at all price levels.</p>
<p>Well Dmd77, the instructions (which I admit I did not read until I opened the package at home) says that this “soil” is to be mixed with ordinary garden soil from your yard. All I know is that the bold letters on the front of the bag says ‘for flowers, vegetables, etc.’ On the back of the package, the little pot icon with the international circle with a strike through it says, IN SMALL PRINT, “NOT FOR POTS.” Sorry to shout at the keyboard but I bought two of these dang enormous bags and now have to sweet talk the folks at the garden section of the mega hardward store into accepting for return at least the un-opened bag (I lost the receipt). Ed Harris and his pithy TV ads can go straight to…well, I guess I shouldn’t get carried away, LOL. Next time I’ll listen to Gene Hackman instead.</p>
<p>Potting soil has perlite or other things in it to provide good drainage. I expect the soil you bought wouldn’t hold air pockets & could smother the roots.</p>
<p>You can always mix it with something. I mix my own stuff anyway, cause it is easy to overwater & drown herbs.</p>
<p>(same reason why you just can’t scoop up garden soil & have them grow optimally in pots)</p>
<p>In addition to what has already been mentioned. Chives do well, and tomatillos do too. I’m adding some color plants this year – sweet potato vine, in particular, since the deer eat it voraciously – but they haven’t yet figured out how to leap up to the high deck.</p>
<p>But EK, the stuff is full of all kings of things. The list of ‘ingredients’ includes rice hulls etc. And just running my fingers through it I noticed small twigs, some with the circumference of a pencil. I didn’t have a problem with the no-name brand of soil I purchased two springs ago. It did need a boost of fertilizer but the seedlings grew in it with no problem.</p>
<p>We have a city rowhouse back porch (mid-Atlantic region) that’s mostly shady but has a sunny “landing” and steps. I’ve had great luck with all kinds of herbs in pots. We especially like rosemary, oregano, basil, and thyme. I’m going to try cilantro this year. I dry and freeze what’s left in the fall. I love sweet potato vine, too, because it grows like crazy.</p>
<p>Last year I splurged on Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix and had the most successful garden ever. It was worth it. I second others’ comments about watering–a little every day unless you’ve had rain. The shady part of my deck has some begonias but mostly green plants because nothing blooms well there. It’s so calm and soothing. </p>
<p>Some other things I’ve learned:
If you use very large containers, fill them half full with packing peanuts. Most roots aren’t deep, and you don’t need that much soil.
Empty and wash your pots every fall. Some people say to use bleach and rinse well.
Use lightweight resin pots (or a similar material), which look like real stone and ceramic. We rebuilt our porch last year, so I started fresh with “fake” pots in yellow, turquoise, and terra cotta–easier to water and less stress on the porch structure.</p>
<p>One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is pole beans. (Kentucky Wonder or Blue Lake–I prefer the Blue Lake.) Two years ago I planted 3 large pots with 6-9 plants each and got so many beans it took me 2 years to finish using them all!</p>
<p>I staggered planting each pot by 7-10 days. I plan to plant beans again this year and use bean towers. (I’d used tomato cages to support the plants my first try, but the bean overtopped the cages in about 5-6 weeks and I had to stack the cages to give the bean enough support.) I think tall bamboo poles might work equally well. Or a trellis if there’s some support to hold it up. (My pots are at the edge of concrete patio and about 10 feet from the back of the house so a trellis wouldn’t work for me.)</p>
<p>I also grow 2-3 types of tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, Big Boys), eggplant (asian varieties do better in pots), lettuce, herbs (oregano, spearmint, catnip, sage, thyme, basil), chile peppers, green onions from sets, and green [pole] beans every year. Last year I tried growing Swiss Chard–which had disappointing yields. </p>
<p>Re: packing peanuts. I’ve done that with a terra cotta planter in the front of my house where it gets full western exposure. Two issues–the pot dries out too fast because there is less soil to hold moisture and the pot is top heavy so if you get strong winds and have tall plants or plants with a large surface area (like end of season tomatoes in cages)—they tip over.</p>
<p>Re: use dilute bleach in a spray bottle to disinfect pots, then hose them out and let them dry in the sun (UV will kill plant viruses) otherwise you can infect new soil with viruses and fungi from the dirty pot.</p>
<p>I use big plastic pots. They’re good for about 5 years before the UV starts to make them deteriorate and they have to be replaced. Don’t like terra cotta because they’re hard to disinfect. (Fungi will survive even bleach treatment.) Terra cotta also spalls every winter so they look bad after a couple of years. Also in the hot, dry Southwest, terra cotta requires significantly more watering to keep the soil from drying out.</p>
<p>This whole concept could work well for us. Our deck has good sun and perhaps the deer would leave pots alone whereas anything planted in the yard gets gobbled up.</p>
<p>Those are good ideas, WayOutWestMom. I have a packet of seed for yellow wax beans. Also, if space for a trelis is problematic, I’d suggest wire shelf components (coated in white plastic), which I used for Sugar Peas last year with much success. </p>
<p>As for pots, I use resin pots and for the tomatoes and other tall top-heavy plants, I put a bit of gravel in the bottom before filling with soil (yeah, had that wind problem big time two years ago, which taught me a lesson. Came home to find the tomato stalks tipped over more than a few times during that rainy, stormy summer).</p>
<p>I accidentally broke the stem of one of the beefsteak tomato plants. I stuck it back in the soil but who knows what will happen. I got a hairbrained idea and threw eggplant seeds into that pot. That will be my experimental garden pot. Stay tuned!</p>
I do restoration work in the Puget Sound area, & buddelia is considered invasive, i am more likely to rip it out than plant it, & I don’t like it’s smell. Sickly sweet to my nose. Oregon has even banned its sale.