Container Gardening Update, End of September

I've been eating cherry tomatoes every day for a few weeks now.  The plant that produces the most fruits is the one in the indoor 5-gallon bucket described in a previous post.  The biggest problem indoors is positioning the bucket/plant so that the 8-10 foot high vine can grow and still get sun from the window.  So far, so good.  The plant grows up the window, winds over the curtain rod, and heads back down.  :)

The "bush" (determinate growth) tomato plants are looking good, but producing very few fruits.  None of them are in 5-gallon buckets; the largest container is a 2.5-gallon bucket.  So again, it looks as though five gallons is the minimum size container for tomatoes...unless, like me, you don't really care if you get only a few fruits at a time from the plant.

The strawberries were raised from seed, and frankly, I didn't expect to get fruit this year.  [There's no need to bury the tiny seeds when planting; watering buries them sufficiently.]  To my surprise, they are fruiting...not yet ready to eat, but on their way.  Most of the plants are in an old cat litter box/tray/whatever it's called.  There are no drainage holes punched in the bottom, so I have to be very careful with watering.  A few plants are in much smaller containers (e.g., a large Miracle Whip jar with the narrowing top cut off) with holes in the bottom and a catch basin for drainage.  All the plants are thriving on the back porch.  They'll be moved inside in a few days because of upcoming freezing nights.

The garlic plants are looking great, and are in a variety of containers on the back porch.  Primarily they are in the small dog food bags described in a previous post.  The drainage catch basin (secondary containment) is the bottom half of a gallon milk jug...that can be cut using ordinary scissors.  Use any knife with a sharp point to make a starting slit in the side of the jug.  The 3.5 pound dog food bag appears to be the perfect height/depth for planting and raising garlic.  Harvesting & curing garlic is explained in numerous video clips on YouTube.  Mine aren't yet ready to harvest.

The basil grows well in almost any size container, and indoors or outdoors.  I raise it strictly for its aromatic quality...I don't cook at all, but love the smell of the plant.  My basil plants are both indoors and on the back porch, and they're all doing great.

The spearmint plants are growing, but slowly.  They are in a wide variety of containers on the back porch...soon to be moved indoors.

Still eating sunberries...what an easy plant to raise.  Just remember---if the berries are still a shiny purple, they're poisonous and shouldn't be eaten.  Once the fruit has a dull purple color, it's ready to eat.

Still have a total of 50+/- containers...believe me, it's great fun!  My next post here will be about composting...am using a formula that should produce spectacular compost in a pile in the backyard.

Happy Container Gardening, and Be Well

Cherry Tomatoes Have Arrived, an Update

I've been eating sunberries for some time now (they grow like weeds), and about a week ago the first cherry tomatoes (the fruits) arrived.  They're not yet big enough to eat, but it won't be long.  The best ones are on a plant in a 5-gallon bucket that has a half banana and coffee grounds buried about halfway down in the soil.  That half banana includes the skin, but it wasn't cut up or crushed.  I also lightly sprayed the surface of the soil once a week, starting when the plant was about three feet high, with a solution of greatly diluted white vinegar---about 20 parts water to one part vinegar.  That was done to:  control some tiny, little bitty black flies (a tad bigger than a gnat) that appeared on the soil & the plant; and, to acidify the soil just a bit.  It seemed to work on both counts.

Most of my other tomatoes are on the back porch (a long, open, covered structure with a railing made of 2 X 4s), but several have remained indoors in my "sun room"...including the plant in the 5-gallon bucket.  It has never been outside, is not under any special lights, and was the first one to fruit.  As an experiment, that particular 5-gal bucket had no drainage holes punched in the bottom.  I was very careful with watering... and it worked out fine.  [Probably dumb luck.]

The garlic, strawberries, basil, and spearmint---all in much smaller containers---are coming along very well.  Half are on the back porch, and half in the "sun room" (which only has direct sunlight about four hours per day).  With all the plants, the container total is a little over fifty.

I tried to post a photo here of the cherries, but the Tech Whiz Kids who designed the editing template for this venue don't know how to give directions to a No-Tech guy.  :)  I just couldn't make out how to do it.  There is part of a photo at the top of my YouTube Channel page.  It shows one cluster of five fruits out of a total (so far) of four clusters.  That's all I could fit in the available space.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottHaley12
They look great; have a gander.

Happy Trails, and Be Well

Aspirin, Sunberries, Container Gardening, & More

Here's my response to an organic small farmer friend in CA regarding aspirin.  He was pointing out that salicylic acid is a plant hormone and that aspirin has a different chemical formula.

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Re:  aspirin---

Technically, you're correct.  Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid.  Nevertheless, the plant hormone and aspirin have the same anti-inflammatory & analgesic properties.  Willow bark extract has been used for a couple thousand yrs for headache & other pain relief.  I didn't want to go into detail on the chemistry.  You can see why by reading this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin

Too much, too time-consuming to explain all that. 

Re: light---

I have enough plants to experiment, and I love to experiment.  Plus, I don't care if the tomatoes are great producers; I have enough that if they produce any, I'll be tickled.  I don't can, & am not interested in learning that.  Can tomatoes be frozen without flash-freezing?  Even if they become "mush" when thawed out, can't that be eaten???  I don't know...any thoughts?  [I haven't Googled the question yet.] 

So far, the other plants are doing fairly well--- garlic, strawberries, spearmint, and sunberries (wonderberries).  Am already eating sunberries.  They grow like weeds, & haven't yet been outside; however, even though they are a good-looking plant, I wouldn't recommend raising them.  The berries are small, fragile, & have an almost bland taste.  [Articles I read after tasting the first one say the same about those raised outside.]  In addition, if you eat the berries too soon, they're poisonous.

You & Dixie are right about the light, but I'm giving this a try regardless.

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Bottom line:  the active ingredient in aspirin is salicylic acid, the plant hormone.  It was first extracted from willow bark in a laboratory in 1763 (if memory serves me correctly).  It was then put into the medication, aspirin.  I imagine nowadays it's synthesized in a lab.  The conventional wisdom is:  if you push one tab down into the soil of your plant containers and give that spot a watering, it will help your plants in both root development & disease resistance.  [Some people say:  put the aspirin in the bottom of the new hole when transplanting.  That might be too close to the plant/roots.] 

p.s.  Yes, you can freeze tomatoes (even whole tomatoes) without flash-freezing.  Use them later for sauce or soup.

Happy Trails, and Be Well