Help getting started in Container Gardening? (flowers, grown, fertilizer, strawberries)

[dakotamidnight]

I'm just starting with container gardening for veggies mostly - I'm in South Texas. I've not gardened since I was a small child, and I've forgotten most of what I knew then.

I'd like to grow:

Watermelon
Cauliflower
broccoli
carrots
parsnips
beets
rutabagas
tomatoes
some salad greens {anything but iceberg lettuce}
squash {yellow, zucchini}
cucumbers
red, green, and yellow bell peppers
onions
pumpkins
strawberries
onions

Can anyone recommend containers to use for these? I'm trying to do it on the super cheap plan since money is very tight and I'm gardening to try and stretch our food budget. I have a few gallon ice cream buckets, and I'm going to try to get a kiddie pool or two in our brush pickup which is in a few weeks. I only have a small space {maybe 4ft by 6ft} in the backyard that gets sun, the rest is all shaded by trees.

And do I really need a fancy soil-less mix to plant in? I'm trying to keep costs down. I can get regular potting soil for $1 a bag - could I just add in some peat?

[mamh]

I have tomato's in pots as well as flowers, good soil is the key to this, meaning with lots of worm and bat poop in it..
Take a look at squarefoot.com, this might give you some idea's on what to do..Its a neat way to garden.
Also go to talk to your local Ag Extension officer or Master Gardener and they can help with all your question..What you can do in texas ,I live in Oregon and sure in some cases can't and visa-versa.
Regardless of what kind of contain you use make sure you have good drainage and wash it out with a light solution of water and bleach and then let them air dry..
The other thing you can do and we are playing with it out at Oregon garden where I volunteer is simply taking a 2 cubic bag of soil cut slats in it ,soak it and plant your veggies in it..It works...
Good luck with your venture and let us know who it comes out..

[J&Em]

Many veggies are seasonal. There are certain times where they will or won't do well so starting this late into the summer may not work for everything you want to plant. Containers grown plants need to be watered more frequently and probably need more frequent applications of fertilizer than normally seen with in ground plants.

There are some books that your library may have (if not Amazon and Barnes and Noble carry them) that covers container grown food:

Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell

McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers

[davidals]

It may be too late in the year from tomatoes and their relatives, BUT how much frost do you get? Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos are all technically tropicals that are treated as annuals in places with frosts or 3-month winters. If you get little or no frost, you might be able to do them now - you may need to do some heavy mulching through the winter though. In completely frost-free environments there are some varieties of peppers and eggplant that can live for several years with ideal care; tomatoes a bit less than that.

[dakotamidnight]

Originally Posted by davidals

It may be too late in the year from tomatoes and their relatives, BUT how much frost do you get? Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos are all technically tropicals that are treated as annuals in places with frosts or 3-month winters. If you get little or no frost, you might be able to do them now - you may need to do some heavy mulching through the winter though. In completely frost-free environments there are some varieties of peppers and eggplant that can live for several years with ideal care; tomatoes a bit less than that.

In the last 5 years I've seen frost maybe 5-6 times?

And it's normally not until around January - February.

[NoExcuses]

My cousin is near Carrizo Springs and has tomatoes in containers for the first time this year. He's having great success. I think he's using buckets.

[Opyelie]

I'm trying sweetcorn in buckets - 3 to a bucket and grouped in a block of 3 x 3 - we'll see how they go - nothing ventured nothing gained they always say LOL

[LookinForMayberry]

You can garden in anything that holds dirt and water, preferably with good drainage. If you don't have containers, go to your local painters and sheet rock contractors to ask if they have buckets. Those big white buckets are very popular with container gardeners.

You can also use old tires, troughs, wash tubs. Just tap drainage holes in the bottoms, and you might want to spray paint them, if they are going to be publicly visible.

[phonelady61]

I am having great success with tomatoes in pots and also the topsy turvy planters . they just need alot of water . I water every day and heavily since we are currently in a heat wave and that causes the soil to dry out more . You can grow in anything that will hold soil and you can water . Hell Ive grown flowers if cut off milk jugs when money was really tight LOL !!!the heat wave killed my nastriums this year though and i was not happy about that at all .

[Opyelie]

The main problem with the 5 gallon buckets is they take a TON of potting mix to fill LOL

The soil in the backyard isn't suitable really.