Editor's note: Today, The Tri-City News launches a new column, Living Green, aimed at providing practical information on the many simple ways individuals can be environmentally responsible in their everyday lives. Columnist Melissa Chaun of Port Moody is an ecologist with a passion for all things sustainable. Having began her environmental career in the U.S., she returned to B.C., where she completed a certificate in Sustainable Community Development. She volunteers on various city committees and is currently co-ordinating the monthly meetings for Tri-City Greendrinks.
Do you have a green thumb? Would you like to but think gardening is solely for people who live on large, lush properties?
Container gardening allows you to enjoy homegrown, nutritious vegetables when space may be an issue. It can alleviate poor soil conditions and disease, and a variety of containers can be used, from half-barrels to aluminum drums, tubs to wooden boxes and hanging baskets.
Here are a few things to consider before you become a gardener:
SUNLIGHT
Vegetables such as fruit-bearing tomatoes, peppers or bush cucumbers grow best in full sunlight (six to eight hours a day). Leafy crops like kale and lettuce can tolerate more shade than root vegetables such as beets and kohlrabi.
The key is that containers can be re-positioned to maximize light exposure.
SOIL & FOOD
Potting soil - not from your garden - with added manure (e.g., mushroom) is recommended. Sea Soil (not the version that contains peat moss due to its destructive extraction from peat bogs), complemented with bone-meal and compost/manure provide essential nutrients for plant growth. Watering with organic kelp fertilizer and/or aged, very diluted urine also helps to augment crop yield.
WATER IN & OUT
Containers can dry out quickly and some potting mixes can be difficult to rehydrate once dried out. Frequent watering (daily, alternate days) and mulching with grass clippings or coconut fibre guarantee happy vegetables.
For very sunny exposures, doubling up containers with a layer of grass clippings in between them slows dehydration, as does securing a saucer lined with moss or coconut fibre to the bottom of hanging baskets.
For drainage, coarse gravel (larger than an inch in diameter) or shards from broken clay/pottery pots can be used. Re-using styrofoam (whether packing peanuts or cut up pieces) does not add extra weight to larger containers but caution must be taken to prevent environmental contamination. Depending on container size, one to two inches can improve drainage - and you have to have drain holes.
WHAT VEGGIES?
Almost any vegetable can grow in a container but check for varieties developed specifically for container gardens or have a "bush habit." In this region, early germination and a 60- to 70-day growing season are important.
Most vegetables can be seeded directly into a container. Starting plants early inside (using clear plastic bags filled with air and tied like mini greenhouses, together with fibre pots) and moving them outside as weather permits helps to start crops early.
Remember, however, to "harden" the plants against the cold and wind by placing them in protected areas and bringing them back indoors at night for several days. When transplanting, carefully cut the bottom of the fibre pots to facilitate root growth.
DISEASE & PESTS
Plants are more susceptible to disease when stressed by lack of water and/or nutrients. Weeds and insects are easier to control in containers. Spraying with diluted dish soap can be effective combatting aphids while Row Cover, a white, film-like cloth, protects against egg-laying and sap-sucking insects.
PLANT & PICK
Seed packets provide directions on when and how to plant, and when to harvest. The key is that vegetables should be enjoyed at their peak of maturity, when their full flavour has developed.
Now, no matter how small or large your garden is, enjoy the fruits - and vegetables - of your labour.
