Modernceo Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 For your viewing enjoyment, and for conversation im posting pictures of my container garden. Im growing a LOT of tomatos, some jalapenos, some squash, lettuce, okra, strawberries, and lemons. (NOt pictured) im also growing some peaches. The lemon tree was just bought, and is the largest plant, on the far left. The two potted plants with supports are two of my largest tomatoes which I thought needed to be in their own container since they are getting big ! The smallest containers in the front have the sprouts of the lettuce, okra, and squash. Ive planted those as seeds, everything else was grown from small plants. Jalapeno plant Lemon tree (my most favorite plant out of all of them , it smells great, and I love citrus !) Tomato plant Im concerned about birds picking at my strawberries, and or was concerned about heat from the hot texas sun baking the strawberries. Anyone have good luck using some sort of sun screen to protect the strawberries, and to help cover from the birds ? Anyone else have any stories, pictures ,or advice for a amateur greenthumb ? Im watering them twice a day, using good container type soil, and have given them some fertilizer nutrients. I plan on getting a testing tool to measure for soil acidity, and moisture levels. Cory SW side of Houston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Im concerned about birds picking at my strawberries, and or was concerned about heat from the hot texas sun baking the strawberries. Anyone have good luck using some sort of sun screen to protect the strawberries, and to help cover from the birds ?Back in East TX, a guy used to grow strawberries every year....he said that he had to replace all the plants every year because of the heat, but they did produce. Are you expecting good production from the tomatoes? Back when I was a kid, we'd grow tomatoes, and the plants would get HUGE...I don't see how a pot that size can support a big, high yeild plant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernceo Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 jm1fd, Thanks for your response. I wonder, if some sort of thin mesh type cloth, could be used to protect the plants from the heat. Id have to rig up some sort of apparatus to hold the mesh above the plants. As the plants grow larger, I have no problem in moving them to even larger containers. I have already moved the two larger tomato plants from the rectangular containers to the larger containers anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I had a great container garden when I lived in a third-floor apartment in Midtown. It was so lush and inviting that I ended up with a whole colony of geckos. My crowning achievement was growing perfectly spherical watermelons. I let them hang off the balcony, and with no ground below them they grew round. When they got big enough that looked like they might fall on someone, I put them in slings made of pantyhose. When those looked like they might break I bought these strange nest looking things at Wal-Mart that clipped on to my railing. They came out great. I have a picture or two around somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 jm1fd, Thanks for your response. I wonder, if some sort of thin mesh type cloth, could be used to protect the plants from the heat. Id have to rig up some sort of apparatus to hold the mesh above the plants. As the plants grow larger, I have no problem in moving them to even larger containers. I have already moved the two larger tomato plants from the rectangular containers to the larger containers anyways.Well, the only problem with a thin mesh over them is also protecting them from the light....and that's OK I suppose if you've got full sun in your location, and plants that don't require full sun. What might work better is a misting system...that will water them, and help keep them cool, and then you're not blocking out the light. I suspect they'll be fine as long as you don't let 'em dry out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 editor, please try and find pictures of the pantyhose-slung-watermelons not only is it a great idea, but i have to see what it looked like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 editor, please try and find pictures of the pantyhose-slung-watermelons not only is it a great idea, but i have to see what it looked like I just checked my archive, and I don't seem to have any pantyhose shots in digital form. They must be prints in a pile somewhere. But here are the same melons after they'd outgrown their pantyhose phase: This was my bathtub. No melons here, just creative gardening. Here you can see one of the melons in its melon nest hanging over the balcony. By this time they'd already formed into spheres and were almost ready to eat. Here's what one of the melons looked like after I picked it. Here is former KHOU-TV anchor Tonia Bendickson after cleaving one of my melons in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torvald Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Anyone else have any stories, pictures ,or advice for a amateur greenthumb ? Im watering them twice a day, using good container type soil, and have given them some fertilizer nutrients. I plan on getting a testing tool to measure for soil acidity, and moisture levels. Cory SW side of Houstonmake sure you check for root rot, watering twice a day may be too much. it's good to get in the habit now, as you are repotting so much anyway. its's the most common mistake so i had to mention it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernceo Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Ok, thank you for letting me know. I am not giving them too much water in my opinion, but Ill be sure to look out for that when I repot them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Im concerned about birds picking at my strawberries, and or was concerned about heat from the hot texas sun baking the strawberries. Anyone have good luck using some sort of sun screen to protect the strawberries, and to help cover from the birds ?I don't know about a sun screen, but I used a "deer netting" on my fig tree last year to keep birds away from the figs. I bought the net (10'x10'?) at Lowe's for about $10 or less. The mesh has approximate 1/4" - 1/2" openings...big enough that it doesn't restrict light or water, but it definitely kept the birds off. I didn't lose figs to birds like I did the previous year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernceo Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 UPDATE: Just transplanted ALL of the tomato plants to 12 quart clay pots. They have plenty of root growth room now !! Ive also planted some sugar baby watermelons ! Wahooo ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modernceo Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Update: All of the plants are doing well, all of the Tomatos are transplanted into 10 inch pots with tressles. Ive also planted sugar baby watermelon seeds and they have just sprouted above the surface. Sorry for the late night photos. First sign of tomatos ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.