Container Gardening: Chapter 1
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Today, I repotted all my baby plants in the container to go outside and actually have the whole thing set up. Hooray! It was a super easy project to do, but it was one of those things that could have been done much more efficiently had I really thought it all out ahead of time. But I don't think you CAN think everything out perfectly the first time you start a project. And I'll know a lot more next year!
The first thing I had to do was make a rather large hole in the bottom of a plastic pot. I took it to Discount Building Materials, the best place ever for both the stuff you need AND the information you need to utilize it properly. It was not at all busy when I went in, and someone asked if I needed help. I said, "I need an S-hook and something to cut a hole in this," and held up the pot. Some other guy said, "All you need is a hole in it?" "Yes." "I bet we can just run it through the doorknob machine. Is a hole the size of a doorknob okay?" "Yeah, I think that will be fine." What I read said I needed a 3" hole, but all they could make was a 1.5" hole. I figured it was fine, so I got a hole cut in my pot, and a pair of S-hooks for $1.43.
Next step, line pot with mulch screen, making sure to cut a hole so the tomato can go through.
I VERY CAREFULLY threaded the tomato through that hole and hung up the pot so I could work on it. I almost dropped the whole thing and smashed the plant several times before I found a place to hang the thing that was sturdy. Oops! I'd forgotten to buy a shepherd's hook. Anyway, I got it stabilized. Everything I've read says you absolutely, under no circumstances evereverever disturb a tomato's roots when you transplant it or it will have a really hard time recovering from transplant shock. So it looked like this before I put soil on top.
I am using an 18-quart pot with about a 24" opening at the top. Here is the tomato just after I added all the soil.
Then I transplanted all the herbs into the top of the pot and watered the whole thing a lot. Probably more water than the herbs wanted--especially the ruffles basil which had been in bad potting soil and was soaked. But the tomato is the main event here, and it needed lotsa water.
The cats were wildly entertained. This has been the best day of their lives, I think, because they got to plaaaaay with all sorts of cool stuff!
The sun was not very strong today, but those herbs just can't take an entire day of sun. After I went and bought the shepherd's hook and Jake helped me get it into the ground, I just took an old sheet, made a hole, and covered the entire thing.
INAPPROPRIATE!!! I cannot leave that in my yard! But what about the herbs? They'll burn up! Oh my God, this plant hanger just has a shitty knot at the top! That won't make it through windy evenings, especially when the tomato gains at least 10 lbs. when it makes fruit!
Another trip to Wal-Mart, some extender chains, more S-hooks, fabric, and velcro fasteners, I made this vast improvement.
It is still kind of funny-looking, I know. This was a what-can-I-do-right-now solution to my "Why would someone hang a Klan hood in their yard?" problem. Everything in that pot could die within a week for all I know. I'm hoping it will all live, but until it proves that it's going to remain alive, I am not going to work on the decor. At that point, I will need an idea and a plan. So, creative/crafty people: I need suggestions for how to shade my herbs on that there rig. I have another yard of the same material, which I think has a cute-old-lady charm about it. I would be willing to put in the time to sew something, or at least hem the one I've got. Or use some kind of fun buttons to close it up instead of the velcro. Ideas plz! I have used all mine up for a little while!
Today, I repotted all my baby plants in the container to go outside and actually have the whole thing set up. Hooray! It was a super easy project to do, but it was one of those things that could have been done much more efficiently had I really thought it all out ahead of time. But I don't think you CAN think everything out perfectly the first time you start a project. And I'll know a lot more next year!
The first thing I had to do was make a rather large hole in the bottom of a plastic pot. I took it to Discount Building Materials, the best place ever for both the stuff you need AND the information you need to utilize it properly. It was not at all busy when I went in, and someone asked if I needed help. I said, "I need an S-hook and something to cut a hole in this," and held up the pot. Some other guy said, "All you need is a hole in it?" "Yes." "I bet we can just run it through the doorknob machine. Is a hole the size of a doorknob okay?" "Yeah, I think that will be fine." What I read said I needed a 3" hole, but all they could make was a 1.5" hole. I figured it was fine, so I got a hole cut in my pot, and a pair of S-hooks for $1.43.
Next step, line pot with mulch screen, making sure to cut a hole so the tomato can go through.
I VERY CAREFULLY threaded the tomato through that hole and hung up the pot so I could work on it. I almost dropped the whole thing and smashed the plant several times before I found a place to hang the thing that was sturdy. Oops! I'd forgotten to buy a shepherd's hook. Anyway, I got it stabilized. Everything I've read says you absolutely, under no circumstances evereverever disturb a tomato's roots when you transplant it or it will have a really hard time recovering from transplant shock. So it looked like this before I put soil on top.
I am using an 18-quart pot with about a 24" opening at the top. Here is the tomato just after I added all the soil.
Then I transplanted all the herbs into the top of the pot and watered the whole thing a lot. Probably more water than the herbs wanted--especially the ruffles basil which had been in bad potting soil and was soaked. But the tomato is the main event here, and it needed lotsa water.
The cats were wildly entertained. This has been the best day of their lives, I think, because they got to plaaaaay with all sorts of cool stuff!
The sun was not very strong today, but those herbs just can't take an entire day of sun. After I went and bought the shepherd's hook and Jake helped me get it into the ground, I just took an old sheet, made a hole, and covered the entire thing.
INAPPROPRIATE!!! I cannot leave that in my yard! But what about the herbs? They'll burn up! Oh my God, this plant hanger just has a shitty knot at the top! That won't make it through windy evenings, especially when the tomato gains at least 10 lbs. when it makes fruit!
Another trip to Wal-Mart, some extender chains, more S-hooks, fabric, and velcro fasteners, I made this vast improvement.
It is still kind of funny-looking, I know. This was a what-can-I-do-right-now solution to my "Why would someone hang a Klan hood in their yard?" problem. Everything in that pot could die within a week for all I know. I'm hoping it will all live, but until it proves that it's going to remain alive, I am not going to work on the decor. At that point, I will need an idea and a plan. So, creative/crafty people: I need suggestions for how to shade my herbs on that there rig. I have another yard of the same material, which I think has a cute-old-lady charm about it. I would be willing to put in the time to sew something, or at least hem the one I've got. Or use some kind of fun buttons to close it up instead of the velcro. Ideas plz! I have used all mine up for a little while!