Because the backyard is limited in it's space, and seeing that we are renting the place, we decided to still grow a veggie garden, just in tubs instead of the ground!! Now, rather than paying exorbitant amounts of money for 'recognised' garden pots, I went to the local 'Sam's Warehouse' (Red Dot equivalent in Perth) and picked up 3 x 15L green containers for $2.99 each!! They are deep enough to allow for root growth, and small enough to manage without paying too much for potting mix! I bought green containers to blend in with the whole organic nature of the process, as well as reducing issues relating to heating of the soil that a black container brings, or lighting of the soil (resulting in possible algal/fungal growth) that a clear container brings.
So, for now, we are growing 4 'Grosse Lisse' tomato plants in the one container. This is probably not a good idea (I do recognise), as they grow to over 1.8m tall, although the confined space to grow in may limit them anyway to smaller/dwarf varieties. In another container, we are growing 4 'Californian Wonder' capsicum plants (or bell peppers for our American audience). They should do alright in the containers. In the third and final (for now) container, we have Sweet Basil and Chives. All plants were grown from established seedlings, with the Basil seedlings particularly advanced (as you will see in the photos). By the way, the mulchy stuff you see on the tomatoes and capsicum is sugar-cane mulch! Cheap as chips, it comes in highly compressed 'bricks' about 70cm long, but will cover a MASSIVE area, so if you see it available, consider using it as not only does it reduce evapotranspiration from the soil, but it puts waste-product of the sugar industry to good use!
We chose these veges, fruits and herbs to grow for a number of reasons. Tomatoes are always good to use in salads, sauces, sandwiches etc etc, so you can never have too many. Capsicums are good to grow for a number of reasons. 1. They are just too expensive to buy, and are therefore bonus veges that we would otherwise not get to eat. 2. They are easy to grow. 3. Although they require a lot of water (as do tomatoes), I believe that growing in pots/containers maintains moisture levels in the soil slightly better than the open ground...... (right?). Basil is fantastic to add to sauces and can be preserved in a sense, in pesto for months, ready to use (thanks Mark!!). Chives, likewise, are a good alternative in some dishes to onions, and they are renewable and continue to grow as you cultivate them.
So I hope to take regular photos of the vege patch (area of containers!) and will no doubt add to the veges with a selection from Silverbeet (spinach), pumpkin, broccoli, etc etc... whatever we want!!!
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