How to Give Garden Containers a Lift

When I first went looking for light weight garden containers to set up my vegetable garden, I specifically looked for pots that were square. I wanted to use Square Foot Gardening methods without needing to use geometry! But since my garden is in the public area of a condo, I wanted to make sure the pots were also attractive and problem free. Therefore, I looked for planters that had “feet”. I wanted to prevent stains and rotting of the deck beneath the pots.

Both Home Depot and Lowe’s had plastic pots that fulfilled all of my requirements, but I preferred the appearance of the ones at Lowe’s, as well as their higher stance. I knew that I wouldn’t have to bend over so far when I was tending to my veggies with the taller containers. After setting everything up, I discovered that the feet didn’t lift the pots high enough for clearance of the standard plastic saucers sold everywhere. Rats! I needed about a half inch more lift for the saucers to fit without squishing them. I looked pretty much everywhere before I settled on square rubber coasters sold to place under a bed frame. I didn’t like them much, but I couldn’t find anything else that would do the trick. That is, until this weekend!

I went looking for another tomato transplant Sunday. The one I planted early this year was stunted by our lousy weather. While I was out and about, I strolled throughout the entire garden center of each place I visited. After all, you never know what gem you might discover…like Pot Toes. I could not believe what I saw. Sure, I have a few sets of ceramic “feet” to lift up various potted plants around my home, but these things are genius! They aren’t heavy or clunky. They are sold in small packets of six or twelve. I bought two packs of twelve, and went back yesterday for two more after I discovered they are stackable! Wonderful. Compact, sturdy, strong and best of all, easy to use! They are plastic and come in several colors. I would have preferred brown, like the deck where my garden is located, but the dark gray looks just fine under the speckled white and gray planter boxes in my garden.

I found mine at Green Thumb Nursery which is a small chain in Southern California. I remember shopping at one of their nurseries in the San Fernando Valley when I was little. There’s one only four minutes from my house now. I love going there. The people are very nice and knowledgeable. I looked online to see where else Pot Toes are sold, but couldn’t find them at any of the big box stores or large nursery chains. The parent company is Gardenrite, in Vancouver, Canada. But, if you don’t have a Green Thumb near you, they are also available on Amazon. Just type in Pot Toes. But before you do, go to the Gardenrite web site and take a really good look,  http://www.gardenrite.com/

I tossed out the ugly bed frame coasters I was using, and all my pots are standing on their tippy toes now. They look better and are easier to move. There is more air movement under the pots which is healthier for the plants. Best of all, the plastic saucers fit underneath without being squished. No squish equals no leaks, no stains, no muss, and no fuss. Easy. A product after my own heart.

Until next time,

Elizabeth

Summer Squash Hates June Gloom!

Zucchini doesn’t like it much better. This picture was taken late last month, when we actually had some sun during the day. My summer veggies were happy then, me too. In order to move my vegetables to follow the sun as it travels across the sky each day, I was planning on putting wheels under each container. My zucchini is in a round pot which I already had before I started my garden this past January, and it’s on a dolly with wheels. I have been relocating it each afternoon for the last week or so. It’s happier in the sun than it was in the shade. The powdery mildew that has been attacking it, and my summer squash, seems to be backing off some. I think it has helped that I don’t let the infected leaves stay on the plant. I have been removing the worst of them, and putting them in a paper sack before throwing them in the trash.

Wednesday, when I was walking toward the other end of the three-story, twenty-four unit condo complex where I live, I noticed that the breezeway on the other end of the building was in full sun. That was a surprise. This area is the mirror image of where my garden is located, and faces north. Evidently, as the sun has moved to a position higher in the sky as we approach summer, this part of the building receives more sun. It makes sense. I should have figured this out earlier, but it never occurred to me to look.

This is good news, not great news, but pretty good nonetheless. It will save me both time and money. I still want to go visit several nurseries and home improvement stores, as soon as the sun comes out. (Some people window shop at the mall. I do it in garden stores.) I want to pot another tomato plant to make up for the slow growth of the one I already have. This means I’ll need another “deck box”, a bag of playground sand and some more Garden Time potting soil from Lowe’s. But I won’t need six sets of wheels! I already have a hand truck and a couple of bungee cords. I’ll slide the edge of the hand truck under a potted deck box and secure it with two long bungee cords. This way, it will stay in place while I take it on the short ride to the other end of my building.

I won’t be moving all of my containers though. The carrots and broccoli (yes, I am still harvesting a few side shoots every so often) are still happy where they are. Keeping them near my front door will remind me to walk to the other end of the building to water the other four pots each morning. Out of sight out of mind is really true. I believe that gardens need to be as close to the front or back door as possible. If you can see them from the kitchen window, that’s even better.

Decades ago the belief was that gardens belong far away from the house. I guess people thought they were unattractive. My garden was at the rear of my half acre yard. This isn’t as much land as people have who live in the countryside, but for a suburb in Southern California, it was unusually large. It was a bit of an uphill hike to reach my garden, although the garden itself was flat. In the summer, when the temperature hit the low hundreds, it wasn’t as much fun going up there to check things out. The garden was huge, but watering was easy. I used drip irrigation and would again, if I wasn’t living in a condo and gardening in six or seven large pots. With half of my garden being on one end of the building, and the other half on the other end, I’m going to buy another white five gallon paint bucket and little plastic “feet” to raise it off the surface of the walkway. This way, I will only have to carry water every other week. There is no faucet on either end of this building above ground level, so I fill up the container in my garden from my kitchen sink once a week using a plastic pitcher. With two buckets, the water will last twice as long.

This makes watering convenient. Having the water waiting there for me has a second benefit. The chlorine evaporates. This is better for the plants. I also happen to have a second plastic cup from CPK. This is what I use to actually move the water from the bucket to the plants. These cups are small enough to fit my hand (I’m a small woman), and big enough to water each pot with just one dip into the bucket. They came home with my grandsons one day when we went for pizza. Sure, I could buy something fancy, but why? I leave the cup in the bucket. It’s plastic and doesn’t deteriorate. I never have to go looking for it. Using them to water my plants is easy.

I am hoping that my summer vegetables will be much happier at the other end of my building. The short walk to water them each morning shouldn’t be problem. I can use the exercise. Maybe the powdery mildew won’t do so much damage with more sunshine on my plants. I guess I should have used my eyes instead of just my brain to try to solve the sun movement dilemma. If you no longer have the sun you once had, look around. It has to have gone somewhere. Maybe it hasn’t moved very far. With having our vegetable plants in pots, moving our garden is an option others don’t have. But remember, look first. It’s easier.

Until next time,

Elizabeth

School's Out for Summer

Today is the first day of my summer vacation. Summer is the second best part of being a teacher. (The best part is the look on the students’ faces when they finally “get it”). We have about as many days off each year as the average employee in the rest of the world. The main difference is that they receive the time off with pay. Teachers in California are not paid for any holidays (legal or otherwise) or vacations. Didn’t know that, did you?

But we do get the time. Lovely. We save during the school year so we can pay our bills and do things during the summer. One of the things on my list this summer is to spend more time in my garden. It will be no where near the five hours per week of the average gardener in America. What takes them so long? They must still be gardening the hard way, trenching, removing rocks, pulling weeds, fertilizing. Not me. I prefer the easy way. This summer, I’m going to make my easy condo garden even easier. I’m going make it mobile.

I have noticed that as the seasons have changed, my south facing garden isn’t receiving full sun for as many hours as it did in winter and early spring. As the sun has risen in the sky, the sunlight is coming from a more direct angle overhead. The cover over the breezeway where I placed my garden is now shading it for part of midday. Bummer. It was nice having this protection when it was raining like crazy a few weeks ago. But now, I need to move my pots a bit so they receive direct sunlight into the afternoon hours. Simple solution. Wheels!

This week I’m going to visit several stores and look for something ready made that won’t break the bank. I know the nursery nearby has a wonderful round saucer with heavy duty wheels. I bought one for a large clay pot containing some of my geraniums and a Mandevilla. It’s great, but a little pricey. I need six for my vegetable garden pots. If I can’t find anything sturdy and reasonable, I’ll make my own. I’ve been thinking about this for a week or two, and I have a plan.

My pots are square. I’ll buy some lumber at the nearby lumber yard and have an employee cut the wood into squares slightly larger than my pots. If I drill a hole in the middle, about the size needed for a door knob, this would allow for drainage. I’ve seen the same sturdy wheels that are on the saucer I bought earlier at Lowe’s. I didn’t check out the price, but I will. A little paint, a few screws and the garden will be mobile. If the pots are too light weight to stay put when I push them around, I’ll add a little trim on the top edge, but for now, I'm looking for ready made. That’s easier, and that’s the way I like it.

Okay, you are probably a little curious why I have pictures of my grandsons, Mike and Nick, on the top of today’s blog. Each summer we take little “field trips” and a week long vacation together. The point of these trips is to create wonderful childhood memories for the boys. That’s my role, as I see it, in their lives. Sure I spoil them like grandparents should, but I’m a teacher at heart. So each of our trips is planned around what they are going to study the next school year. When we are taking these trips, it’s all fun. When school resumes, and the teacher begins the lesson on California missions, marine life, plant husbandry, etc., their summertime experiences make the lessons relevant and easier to absorb.

The photo above was taken last summer at Cabrillo National Monument, the light house just north of San Diego. We spent the week in San Diego doing all the things you would expect, visiting the lighthouse, the zoo, Sea World, the Maritime Museum and a huge battleship. Coincidently (or not), everything they saw and enjoyed related to something they studied this year in school. This summer, we are going to visit a few public gardens together. Since they helped plant my garden, they think this is cool. But our big trip? Zion or Yosemite. Can you guess what’s on their curriculum for next fall? Geology, geography and maps.

Until next time,

Elizabeth

The Dirt on Dirt

One of the most important parts of the garden is the soil. Living in a condo, and gardening in containers means the native soil in the area doesn’t matter. It can be red clay or full of rocks and the effect on your garden is zero. I buy Garden Time garden soil in bags at Lowe’s. But this blog is being read throughout the U.S. and in several other countries, and I don’t know if this mix is available everywhere my blog is being read.

In case you can’t buy this specific garden soil, I’m going to give you the dirt on dirt. Mel Bartholomew developed a simple formula that eliminates many of the messy parts of gardening. With this mix, you don’t have to dig out rocks, pull weeds or add fertilizer. When I started my garden earlier this year, I had some of this soil left over. One of my older pots with a flowering vine and two geraniums was a little low on soil. I planted this pot a few years earlier, using another type of potting mix. Since the soil had compacted over time, (This doesn’t happen with Mel’s Mix), I used my leftover soil to top it off. I was surprised and pleased with the results. In just a few days, the geraniums gave me more flowers than they had in three years. They haven’t stopped since. The compliments from my neighbors haven’t stopped either.

If you live in an apartment or condo, and you are going to make the formula yourself, I suggest you use a clean trash can lined with a plastic bag as a “mixing bowl”. Alternate putting in the three ingredients using a large plastic bowl as a scoop and mix as you would when cooking. This way, you won’t make a mess. You will need peat moss, coarse vermiculite and blended compost (compost from five different sources, to give you a range of nutrients). Mix these in equal parts, but don’t measure by weight. Eyeball it by volume. How much you will need depends upon the size and number of containers you plan on planting. The bags I buy contain two cubic feet of mix. I used one bag for two pots. My pots are fifteen inches square and eighteen inches tall.

Drill a small hole in the bottom of each container. Place a piece of panty hose over the hole. Drainage hole filters are sold in nurseries, but why spend the money? Old panty hose work just fine. Scoop sand to fill the bottom third of each pot before filling with your fresh, homemade garden soil mix. The sand allows for proper drainage, and the screen you created or bought keeps the sand from leaking out. You won’t have weeds, since the mix doesn’t contain weed seeds. You won’t need fertilizer, since the compost provides everything your plants will need. Watering is easier too, because the vermiculite retains moisture, while the mix allows for easy drainage of excess water. Just add plants or seeds, and all the "dirty work" is done.

The name of this blog is Easy Condo Gardening. I don’t do complicated. If Garden Time garden soil (Mel’s Mix) is available at a home improvement store or nursery near you, go for it. The steps are simpler if you buy it by the bag. Open, scoop, then plant. What could be easier?

Until next time,

Elizabeth