"Christine Dabney" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:42:44 GMT, "brooklyn1"
> > wrote:
>
>
>>I understand. What you're saying is you're not capable of a whole lot of
>>gardening. Being handicapped as you describe you'd do better with
>>container
>>gardening. I had a great uncle, long gone, who was handicapped but loved
>>to
>>garden, he did miniature gardening, entire landscapes, trees, bushes,
>>moss,
>>ponds, streams of bits of mirror, etc. in tiny bottles, bottle caps,
>>toothpaste caps, and even smaller, most required a magnifying glass to see
>>the detail. They ran a two page article in the Sunday NY Mirror magazine
>>section all about him... his entire garden of over a hundred plants
>>occupied
>>his tiny apartment kitchen window.. he liked to plant seeds from fruit
>>he'd
>>eat; apple. pear, citrus... most of his tiny gardens didn't last very long
>>but he always had new ones.
>>
>
> I have seen some portable "raised" beds, and some that are designed
> for people such as me. I would love to be able to do more than
> container gardening, if I could.
>
> I keep an eye out on the net for solutions...like maybe the whiskey
> barrel type of thing. Or big enough planters.
>
> Just wondering how well squashes, and regular (not small or cherry
> tomatoes) grow in that sort of container. I would love to have good
> tomatoes, as well as a source of squash and squash blossoms....
>
> I hope vegetable gardening really takes off bigtime in this day and
> age and economy. Maybe folks will finally discover how good some
> vegetables taste when they are ripe and freshly harvested.
>
> Christine
> --
Years ago, (40) before large pots were generally available, I'd buy really
large waste paper baskets for gardening on my deck (drill holes in bottom
for drainage). You can grow full size tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, green
onions, herbs, eggplant, potatoes, strawberries, squash (summer or
winter) -- I can't think of all the stuff that I have grown in containers
over the years. Whiskey barrels are nice, but get really heavy and take a
lot of soil to fill. They do become a semi-permanent installation. If you
choose pots, try to get pots that have a light-colored exterior to reflect
the heat of the sun so that plant roots don't become overheated. I like
pots that I or my husband can move around. That way I can shift something
to get more sun if needed. I always have a potted garden that is a
collection of various height and width pots. My pot garden can be 6' x 8'
and forms its own micro-climate. I often have little frogs or lizards
living in among the pots. The pots are fun to tend. If you have the space
for it, try it. you can make your potted garden fit your needs. Look in
seed catalogs for plants designed for pots, but I have used full-sized
eggplant, peppers and tomatoes (if using full-sized tomatoes, look for
'determinate' varieties and be sure to cage or stake, although there are
tomatoes meant for pots.) Experiment -- it's fun. I do have a regular
garden, but I never have enough sun space to try all the things I want.
Besides, potted vegetables can be very pretty. Mix with flowers you always
wanted to try. I've trained geraniums to a stake to over 6' high. Don't
limit yourself, because pots mean that you can baby stuff. Have fun!
Janet