Containers

Every year about this time, when we start filling up the garden boxes, we realize that we need even more space for testing out, yet more variteties of heirloom tomatoes. We began planting in containers a few years ago, starting out by planting individual tomatoes in five gallon pickle buckets from my brother's restaurant. We have also used large clay pots, and plastic pots.

About anything can actually be used for extra planting space for veggies, and you are only limited by your imagination. I know people who use wooden crates, wheelbarrows, old wagons, and discarded kitchen pots and pans. But whatever you use, (and I found this out when I forgot to do it), you need to make sure that there are drainage holes in the bottom. Nothing kills a plant faster than sitting in three or four inches of water. It's also important to use a large enough pot to give your plant adequate room to grow. A tomato plant will need a three to five gallon pot.

Most container gardens can be filled with regular potting soil, but if you're already supplied with the good stuff, like top soil, peat humus (naturally decomposed material) and manure, you can mix up your own. Perlite, which is actually a form of volcanic rock that pops up and becomes light and airy when heated, can be mixed in to add some looseness to the soil. This is the little white pellets you sometimes see in potted plants. Peat will help retain water and nutrients in the soil of the container, but containers still dry out very quickly and will need to be watered more often than the rest of your garden.

Personally, I like plopping pots of peppers or tomatoes around on the porch or patio, close to the kitchen where I can get at them. And, while you're at it, you might stick some veggie plants in the flower beds. Squash, pumpkins and corn look good mixed in with the flowers, and add something special in the fall.