Plant breeders have not had much opportunity to work on the open dill and fennel crops over the last few years. With the arrival of dwarf beans and other window-boxes, both popular with gardeners, it appears that the open dill will not be so disappointing. However, I do wish that they had not nearly doubled in price over the last four years.
While many seeds found their way to the market over the past few years have been bought and planted, some have simply slipped through the cracks. Perhaps most of them were simply nobody’s idea of what a vegetable garden was and how it was going to work.
When I planted my first vegetable garden in suburban New Mexico in 1998, I was certain that I was going to be motivated by the success of our crop. We had gotten a number of free bags of garden soil from a local homeowners program with design for home, and we also had pieces of chicken wire strung around our property.
When the planting was done, my husband organized a big enough compost bin for the garden area and we started by piling the various scraps that never worked. Those were mostly fruit and vegetable scraps from the assembly area, coffee grounds from the cooking area, shredded paper from the lettuces, and so on. We would then turn this into the garden. When it was ready, we would take it to the rendezvous, which was a huge pile of yellow bags extracted from the supermarket.
This is a typical example of creating a terrific blend for your vegetable garden. The main point to understand is that all of these things combine together to create much of what you are currently looking at. You are not creating a new soil, nor are you amending the soil, you are not plowing the soil either. You are adding all of these things and then putting it in a big pile outside to get rid of all of those foods that do not want to rot.
Your pile will eventually be ready for use when you are ready. If you want to compare your pile to a store-bought pile of the same volume, then you could always do it using a compost thermometer. Also, this will enable you to monitor and keep your pile at the ideal temperature for how quickly the pile breaks down. The dump is going to turn over in about a week, and you will be able to monitor this.
If you do not have a compost pile, then do not fear. Container gardening is very doable and it is the solution to many of the problems that gardeners face when it comes to leaving behind rubbish, soil and grass clippings. tenants poop on their balcony, dogs do their business in the garden next door, and cats use the space as their personal litter box.
When all of this litter is accumulated, the best option is to start a container garden. There are a few key containers that are always a good size to start a container garden with. They are dark in color to absorb the heat created when the compost material turned, they are wide to provide enough growing space for the plants, and they are short to raise the structure of the container enough so that the plants will have support as they grow.
The next best type of container would be to use a few plastic barrels. Plastic barrels will hold larger amounts of moisture, usually dirt and garbage, will not attract vermin, and will not break down quickly. However, if you are planning to grow organic plants, most of the creepy crawlies will not live in the barrel. For those Earth friendly people out there, a wooden box is a better bet.
These are the best choices when creating a container garden. You can check at your local grocery store to see what they have available, then pick up a few cheap ones. Normally, whatever you buy for free will be cheaper than buying a container made specifically for the purpose.
Also, look for badges for recycled containers. You can with a little bit of work turn those plastic crates into decorative outdoor containers that will make a nice addition to your patio or yard.
You may want to consider this advice when you are deciding on just where to put your container garden. You may want to create a tiered display, where the plants are on one level and the grass underneath is on the next.
The tomatoes will tend to trail down, making an appealing display. You will enjoy having the container garden in such a spot, as they are both practical and beautiful. Save yourself some work by finding the best types of containers. You will end up with a nice pile of tomato sauce at the end of the summer.
Now, you may be wondering what is all the fuss about? Well, some people are so consumed with their yard that they do not see the point. If that is you, you should know that you can have a container garden attached to your greenhouse.