Hello there plant lovers and green fellows! Here I'll be posting some tips, tricks and hints related to having a garden which:
Note 2: Much of the information is contained inside the pictures themselves, so check them out!
Note 3: Start by check these 2 introductory photos with a few examples of what I have (and you can grow too!) at home.
Let me say that all the photos were taken in my garden, and all the plants and fruits shown belong to this garden (unless otherwise stated).
- Smells good and fills your house with colors.
- Provides species to cook with, as well as vegetables and fruits.
- Combines plants in direct soil as well as in pots.
- Provides a nice outdoors space where to have meals on sunny days.
- Produces its own humus from organic wastes.
- Runs on the cheap.
Note 2: Much of the information is contained inside the pictures themselves, so check them out!
Note 3: Start by check these 2 introductory photos with a few examples of what I have (and you can grow too!) at home.
Let me say that all the photos were taken in my garden, and all the plants and fruits shown belong to this garden (unless otherwise stated).
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Signing UpStep 1: Balconies and Pots
You don't need a big area of soil in order to set up a gourmet garden. Even if you have a park, you may want to set up small plants in pots so as to leave the bigger spaces for your trees, as I do.
If you have a balcony with enough sunlight, then it's perfectly possible to grow aromatic plants as well as strawberries and cherry tomatoes. Check the photos where I show plants of tomato, strawberry, mint, oregano, ciboulette, rosemary, thyme, salvia, etc., all of them in pots.
Moisture in pots
Note that soil from the pots will lose lots of water during summer and in dry, windy days, even if it's not that hot, so you'll probably have to water the plants more often than you'd do in an outside garden.
One way to protect plants from excesive sun and wind is to set up a number of combined plants in the same pot, and/or to arrange many pots together. This creates a region with buffered humidity, and also helps protect plants from some plagues.
Size of pots
Strawberries, red cherry tomatoes, ciboulete, tomatoes, and small plants can be grown in rather small pots, may be 10 to 15 cm deep. Many plants can be grown in the same pot, even different varieties. Bigger plants like rosemary or thyme may fit well in such a small pot when they are small, but they will eventually require there own big pot (20 to 30 cm deep, 20 to 30 cm in diameter).
Look at the labels in the pictures for more tips on pots.
Arranging pots
You can use wooden or metal scaffolds in order to put some pots above others, thus making better use of the available space. Such scaffolds may also serve as tutors for those plant which require tutors (like some tomatoes).
If you have a balcony with enough sunlight, then it's perfectly possible to grow aromatic plants as well as strawberries and cherry tomatoes. Check the photos where I show plants of tomato, strawberry, mint, oregano, ciboulette, rosemary, thyme, salvia, etc., all of them in pots.
Moisture in pots
Note that soil from the pots will lose lots of water during summer and in dry, windy days, even if it's not that hot, so you'll probably have to water the plants more often than you'd do in an outside garden.
One way to protect plants from excesive sun and wind is to set up a number of combined plants in the same pot, and/or to arrange many pots together. This creates a region with buffered humidity, and also helps protect plants from some plagues.
Size of pots
Strawberries, red cherry tomatoes, ciboulete, tomatoes, and small plants can be grown in rather small pots, may be 10 to 15 cm deep. Many plants can be grown in the same pot, even different varieties. Bigger plants like rosemary or thyme may fit well in such a small pot when they are small, but they will eventually require there own big pot (20 to 30 cm deep, 20 to 30 cm in diameter).
Look at the labels in the pictures for more tips on pots.
Arranging pots
You can use wooden or metal scaffolds in order to put some pots above others, thus making better use of the available space. Such scaffolds may also serve as tutors for those plant which require tutors (like some tomatoes).
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You will need to separate your sweet bell peppers from your hot ones by at least 50 feet or they will cross pollinate and you will end up with neither hot nor sweet peppers. Better to keep your hot peppers separated too so that you get true flavors. Plant them with your tomatoes, if you like. Add a marigold to your tomato pot too, to help keep bugs away.
- "a pot for Roma tomatoes": I don't know this species of tomato, however 46 cm is deep enough for any kind of tomato! In fact, if the plant of Roma tomato is small, you may put more than 2 plants in such a big pot!
- "one for Peppers including jalapeno, anaheim, cayanne and bell"... I'm sorry but I don't know much about peppers... indeed the size of pepper plants varies a lot from species to species (I think, not sure)
- "other for zucchini and brocolli"... well since you pot is very big, this may work; however, zucchini plants are usually very big and have big leaves, which may give to much shadow to the smaller brocolli plant.
- "final one for oregano, mint and peppermint" Mint and peppermint are very invasive plants, so I suggest that you don't mix them with oregano, unless you put an oregano plant which is well grown.
Well, good luck with those pots!The average caterpillar does not get to your plant by 'walking on over' but its Mama the butterfly sticks her little eggs on the underside (most of the time) of a leaf and when they hatch, dinner is already served! So AubreeMarie's ideas of using a barrier around the base unfortunately don't work here - they never have to cross it.
For a small to medium garden I find the best and non chemical way is to check regularly and pick the eggs off and squish them (check on line what they look like) or if you already have caterpillars, pick them off and feed them to your chicken - if you have them. Or to a pet frog/lizzard/goldfish, or have a bird feeding table somewhere away from the vegetables and put them on there - the birds will love you.
If you have none of those caterpillar recycle options, have an old jam jar with lid ready, fill 1/3 with water and half a teaspoon of dishwash liquid. The caterpillars will drown very quickly. Once a week empty the jar into the rubbish on rubbish day.
Warm water with a bit of dishwash liquid (about half teaspoon for one litre, go for biodegradable if possible) also makes a great non toxic contact spray for aphids, spittle bugs, spider mites etc. only spray directly onto the bugs you want to kill and repeat after a few days/a week/etc. and then only when they re-appear. It does not prevent them from coming back, just kills them when they are there.
Oh and for slugs and snails: the night before rubbish day scrunch up some newspaper and place those lightly scrunched up balls around or inbetween those plants that get eaten by slugs and snails. Then spray the newspaper balls with water until they are fairly wet (but not collapsing). Slugs and snails tend to come out at night and they love moisture. So after their nights meal they look for a handy, moist, dark spot - your wet newspaper is just the thing! And the next morning before your rubbish collection, just pick up all the paper balls with their slimy guests inside and throw them in the rubbish. :)
This turned out a far longer reply that I anticipated. Oh well, I hope it helps someone.
And just one more thing. Mango threes get huge! And I mean HUGE! So be aware when planing your garden's future.
I'm posting a mango three photo, And it's not the biggest one!
Regarding your questions: I don't have experience with that kind of lettuce, but I've grown some other varieties. Let me tell you that:
- Heads will probably appear above the soil (since they are quite green, only the base is white) as they grow and mature. It may happen that if the plants are too close to each other, then they have to grow vertically. If this is the case, you won't get a very round, compact shape. Anyway, the taste shouldn't change much.
- I'm not sure when is the exact moment for taking the plants; however I'm sure that you must harvest them before they give flowers. In most lettuce plants, the production of flowers comes together with a bittersweet taste. It is not bad as a taste, neither is it toxic, but it's not what you expect from normal lettuce.
- Regarding how: The only thing I can say here is that, with other types of lettuce, if you leave the roots in the soil then you get a "bonus" plant on that season, so you eat twice or three times from the same plant. I don't know if the same holds for Iceberg Lettuce.... but you may try.
Good luck !