A while back, Silent Earth mentioned not having much room to produce vegetables. I decided to see just what I could grow simply by using planters on a small piece of the patio in the back garden.
I have planted vegetables that give more than once, by that I mean plants that you can crop continuously or that have a reasonable harvest period.
The veg I chose for the test were some cut and come again mixed salad leaves, Pak Choi, though traditionally not considered in this way, once you harvest the main head, if you leave the root in the ground, it will very quickly sprout more leaves. Mangetout Peas, Spinach and the only one hit veg: Spring Onions.
The three planters I have had for some years and are generally used for cukes or Oca but as I had no plans to grow either this year, it seemed like a good idea to see just how much I can harvest. The bags are about 2'6" diameter and maybe 12" deep. There is about 25L potting compost in each, but you could just as easily use a mix of soil and homemade compost or manure.
The secret to growing in planters is to make sure they are well watered and fed.
So here they are, doing quite well I think.
This first one I divided in three and 1 quarter has salad leaves, the other Spring onions and the other half has Pak Choi.
This second planter has Spinach.
The final one below has Mangetout Peas
This experiment also shows the different germination times and how the plants develop at different speed as all these planters were sown on the same day.
I have planted vegetables that give more than once, by that I mean plants that you can crop continuously or that have a reasonable harvest period.
The veg I chose for the test were some cut and come again mixed salad leaves, Pak Choi, though traditionally not considered in this way, once you harvest the main head, if you leave the root in the ground, it will very quickly sprout more leaves. Mangetout Peas, Spinach and the only one hit veg: Spring Onions.
The three planters I have had for some years and are generally used for cukes or Oca but as I had no plans to grow either this year, it seemed like a good idea to see just how much I can harvest. The bags are about 2'6" diameter and maybe 12" deep. There is about 25L potting compost in each, but you could just as easily use a mix of soil and homemade compost or manure.
The secret to growing in planters is to make sure they are well watered and fed.
So here they are, doing quite well I think.
This first one I divided in three and 1 quarter has salad leaves, the other Spring onions and the other half has Pak Choi.
This second planter has Spinach.
The final one below has Mangetout Peas
This experiment also shows the different germination times and how the plants develop at different speed as all these planters were sown on the same day.
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