March/April 2010

Dig In!

by Karl Eckert

I feel safe in saying that the grass roots of gardening can be found in a vegetable garden.  Growing your own vegetables, once a necessity, is now a preference with many home gardeners and with all the technology and products out on the market now, anyone can have a vegetable garden.  Yes, even the apartment and condo dwellers.  And in senior residences, where digging into the ground may be prohibited, many may still grow their own vegetables in containers!

While container gardening has been around forever, the need for new vegetable varieties suitable for limited spacing has resulted in many new plants on the market.  This allows the home gardener to pick and choose what they like and also to experiment with something new.  Some newer tomato varieties for containers are the Totem Tomato and the Tumbling Tom Yellow.  If peppers are your fancy, try the Bell Pepper Redskin or the Bell Pepper Mohawk for a cascading look.  Think you can’t grow zucchini in a container?  Think again.  Try Buckingham variety.  Why not try Okra Green Fingers or Ebony eggplant and be sure to add Strawberry Temptation Fragaria for an ever-bearing fruit!

Once you’ve decided what you’d like to grow, you need to pick the correct container.  Let’s face it, there are a lot of them out there to choose from.  If you are limited in storage space, you may want to purchase biodegradable pots.  These are made from recycled paper and cardboard and generally last one season.  At the end of the season, you just put it with your yard waste and you’re done.  Plastic containers are getting more economical and they can be decorative as well, not to mention that you should be able to get many years of use out of them.  Just be sure to purchase one that is recyclable, and look for one that has a water reservoir, if watering daily is a problem for you!  There are many other types out there.  Just do your research to determine, which is best for you and your area.

Soil is important for any plant.  In containers, you want to make sure you are using a peat-like based soil with extra wetting agent and slow release fertilizer added.  This will give your new plants a great start on their root growth.  Add your plants, paying attention to the space each requires.  Don’t be afraid to mix and match plants in a container.  There are many edible flowers that can be added for season long color.  For example, in a salad container you can start with a cherry tomato plant and add some lettuce, chives, and nasturtiums!  Nasturtium flowers taste like pepper and add lots of color to a salad.

Once your container is planted, don’t forget to water as needed and be sure to fertilize weekly.  Since the roots are not in the ground, they can’t get what they need naturally.

There are many benefits of container gardening.  The container can be moved around as needed, and how convenient is it - to be able to just step outside your door to pick fresh vegetables!

Know what you grow!  By growing and harvesting your own vegetables, you can be sure of what and where they’ve come from.  Dig in!

Karl Eckert is the owner of Eckert’s Greenhouse, Sterling Heights, Michigan.  He is a fourth generation distributor and grower of vegetable plants in the metro Detroit area.  He is also proud of his many programs, such as SEED to FEED and loves educating children on recycling and gardening.  He proudly uses recyclable biodegradable pots for his plants, uses beneficial bugs, and carries and uses earth friendly products.