Container Gardening in Connecticut (growing, strawberries, containers, tomatoes)

[TouchOfWhimsy]

Hello! After several years of owning a home in Florida, we are renting an apartment in Connecticut. We don't have a yard, but I am allowed to put whatever I want in a section of the back driveway, and I would like to plant some veggies.

Can anyone tell me what types of tomatoes would do best in a large pot? Or should I plant in something else? Also, what other types of veggies would do well in containers? The area is sunny in the morning and until mid-afternoon in the summer.

One other question: Could I plant basil in the house?

I know I"m pretty clueless... in Florida, all I had to do was stick some seeds in the ground in February or March, keep well watered, and everything grew wonderfully.

[Gerania]

You can plant just about anything in a container. If you're concerned about how the containers look, you can use large flowerpots. If any container will do, I'd go for the 5 and 10 gallon buckets from the hardware store or building center.

One idea - 5 gallon bucket, drill a few holes for drainage, fill with potting mix. Plant an early, quick to mature veg like radishes or salad mix. Clear those out of the container and when it's warm enough, pop in a tomato plant.

In a 5 gallon size I'd stick with determinate cherry or patio type tomatoes. For very large tomatoes, I'd go with a larger container.

In another thread on this forum, someone gave the directions on how to make a "self watering" container. I can't find it now but maybe they'll chime in or you can internet search that.

[lammius]

I'm giving container gardening a shot this season. It's my first time trying. I live in an apartment in New Jersey with a nice large back patio. I bought some large 20" x 20" x 20" cube containers and some 40" x 14" x 14" planters. There is a small patch of dirt where the patio pavers were not laid, which I will also use.

In the containers I am planning to plant tomatoes, green beans, red chili peppers, cucumbers, and I've already planted some eversweet strawberries. In the patch of dirt, I will plant sunflowers, which I am germinating in paper towels currently. The area where the containers will be receive full sun all day long. The patch where the sunflowers will be receives less sun, but I think once the plants get high enough they'll get all the sun they need.

I'm also setting up a window box on the deck railing to grow some herbs, and I have pansies growing in window boxes in the front of my bldg. Everything I grow, even if the primary purpose is ornamental, I want to be edible.

I'm undecided on some things, such as which variety of tomato to plant in the 20" containers. A friend is germinating Rutgers tomato seeds, but I wonder if those plants will grow too large. I've read good things about heirloom tomatoes, but I'm not sure if they'll work either. Anyone have advice?

Are there other container/urban gardners out there? What are you guys growing? What have you learned from past experience?

[gwynedd1]

Here is a cheap under $10 self watering solution. You can also cold frame them with an inverted tomato cage and clear plastic bags. You can grow any tomato in them. The plants will size themselves to the soil volume. Usually the optimal range is 1/2 to 2 square feet of yield by soil not by plant. 5 gal is in that range and quite mobile. I had a two vine black cherry grow 6 feet in a 3 gal container with good production. Use a rich high grade potting mix to do that , not top soil.

It was inspired from here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUCxBHeq04