Updates

Yesterday, I transplanted all the zucchini sprouts into their own, individual pots.  I ended up with 14 potted zucchini plants.  One of them had gotten large enough that I probably should've done the transplant sooner, as I ended up breaking some of its roots.  We'll see if it survives.  

And last night, I left all the zukes and the carrots out.  I think we're past all chances of freezing now.  They're sheltered under the eaves on the deck because I knew it was going to rain all night and all day today.  I don't think they're old enough to handle that much extra water.  Anyway, I went out and checked on them this morning and they all seem to be doing fine.

I had a dream last night wherein my mother was asking me if I was ever going to transplant the tomatoes.  Umm, yah.  I do plan to do that soon.  But I need more dirt.

The lettuce seeds I planted on the 22nd starting showing sprouts yesterday.  5 days from planting to sprouting.  Yay.  The new carrot seeds haven't made an appearance yet.  But they're outside now, too, so maybe that will encourage them to poke their heads up.

Part of me wants to plant some other stuff.  Spinach maybe.  I do love me some fresh spinach.  Potatoes?  Strawberries?  We'll see.  This is already a lot of work, so I may not get too far afield of what I've already done.

If you could plant anything you wanted, what would you plant?  What are some of your favorite fresh produces?  

The Containers

If you looked at my pics, you'll notice a variety of containers in my garden.  Right now, there are ice cream containers, and chip containers, and egg crates, and coffee cans and... well, of course, there are actual plant pots.  

Any container will do as long as it's mostly watertight.  You don't want to use anything cardboard, because the water will ruin them lickety-split.  (When means no oatmeal containers.  Bummer.)  The reason I say mostly watertight, is because you still need them all to be able to drain or your poor plants will drown and rot.  

Thus, at the bottom of each of the MacGyver'd containers, I've cut holes to let the water out.  Basically, I used a box cutter to make Xs.  I was going to use the drill with an auger bit, but the damn drill needed charging and I was irritated, so I took the containers into the garage and stabbed them to death.  The extra liquid drains out fine, but I don't lose any of the dirt like I sometimes do with the actual plant pots.

The actual plant pots, by the way, were acquired from every plant I've ever bought for the yard.  And I've planted a lot of stuff in my outside gardens, so I have loads of those things.  (Good thing I'm such a pack rat.)  If you're not a pack rat like me, you really are going to need to either buy containers or use household things to make your garden.  I'm cheap, so buying containers was not happening for me.  

The ice cream buckets... Yeah, I eat a LOT of ice cream, so I already had tons of those.  (Pack rat, remember.)  I still have several I haven't used yet.  Those will all be lettuces.  The chip containers are carrots.  The egg cartons are for starter seedlings - lettuce and tomatoes.  The coffee can has carrots in it, too.  Anything tall will have carrots in it.  Oh, and I totally forgot about the juice cartons.  Those are Tampico Punch - where I cut the tops off.  They're tall, so they work.  And yes, they have holes in the bottoms, too.

Like I said, anything will work.  You do have to consider what kind of vegetable you're planting in each, though.  The zucchinis are in actual pots - low to the ground with plenty of stability so when they go to vine, they won't tip themselves over.  The tomatoes will also be in similar pots - low and stable - so when they get tall, they won't tip over.  Lettuce needs to be in a big enough container to accommodate the size of the adult plant.  And like I said, carrots have to be in a tall enough pot to fit the length of a full grown carrots.  The carrots seeds I bought are supposed to produce 7-8" carrots, so the containers have to be at least that tall.  Don't want mutant carrots.

Sure, I couldn't spent a ton on real pots.  :shrug:  It's just not my style.  The only thing in a store bought pot - one not purchased with a plant already inside - are the baby cedars.  And I had the pot in the garage for years.  I think it used to have a Christmas cactus in it that I transplanted after I bought it.  It died.  Long live the cedars.

What about you?  What kinds of pot ideas would you have if you were going to create a container garden the MacGyver way?  

Container Update - All Pics

Here's the container garden today, taking in the lovely sun.  They'll go back into the garage this evening and stay there through the next few rainy days.  

It doesn't look like much now, but it's going along.  

Update - No Pics

No pictures today because I'm tired and I'm lazy.

I just finished transplanting 6 zucchini plants as a test.  Each one has its own pot now.  If they go well, I'll transplant the others.  They all look good and the root bases for each was deep and plentiful, so fingers crossed.

I tried transplanting the lettuce into separate pots.  This did not go well.  The little lettuces have intertwined their little roots, so if I pull one to plant, they all go.  I may just eat those as seedlings.  I have started another egg carton with lettuce seeds.  We'll see how the next batch go.

I'm terrified to try transplanting the tomatoes yet.  When they get a little bigger, we'll give it a whirl.  And if it screws up, I have more seeds.  

I also planted more carrot seeds.  Three seeds in each Lays Stax plastic tube.  Four tubes set into an ice cream carton for easy transport.

Everything is out on the deck catching some rays now.  They'll all go back in the garage overnight again.  Soon, they'll be put outside and left there.

If nothing else, this is a good way to channel my frustrations with the world.  This I can control.  Well, almost.  Heh.

(PS.  I ate another little lettuce seedling.  Yum.)

Winter Weather Advisory

It's April 19th and we're under a freakin' Winter Weather Advisory for tomorrow afternoon.  It's not supposed to be this cold this late in the season for this far south.  Blerg.

I had hoped to start moving the plants outside.  Lucky for me, I didn't start the process yet and my entire vegetable garden is still in the garage.  It won't be warm in there, but it will remain above freezing.  

I still need to start repotting some of the plants, but that will have to wait until I have more room, which means until after the freeze is over.  

Fingers crossed the flowering plants I have in my outside gardens survive the snap.  One year we had a snap that killed all the blossoms on our redbud tree. That sucked.  This year the redbud is about done blooming, but it has loads of baby leaves.  

Mother Nature is definitely drunk.

Container Garden Update w/ Pics

 Hello again.  I've got the plants out getting some sun right now, so I thought I'd share some pictures of the gang.

Here they all are...

Here's a closer pic of the zukes, the cedars, the tomatoes, and the lettuces...

Here's a closer pic of another zuke and the carrots...

Now that the lettuce is getting multiple leaves, I need to separate them again.  And plant a new round of lettuces.  The carrots are in desperate need of thinning, but I think I might leave these and see what happens.  Meanwhile, I bought another pack of carrot seeds and plan to plant those more judiciously.  Maybe take Janet's suggestion and use a salt shaker.  

I now have at least ten tiny tomato sprouts.  Those are in the egg crate and they'll need to get a bit bigger before I transplant them.  I also have about seven zucchini plants.  Woohoo.  Zukes galore.  I can't wait.  

I feel like a mad scientist.  And I want to plant more stuff!  Bwa ha ha.

Update

I now have 5 tomato seedlings standing about an inch high, and 3 zucchini seedlings just barely poking out of the soil.  The lettuce is growing right along.  The main carrot pots look fine and more than ready to be thinned.  

The transplanted carrots look like hell, though.  

I have been playing with the idea of NOT thinning all the carrot pots.  You know, just to see what happens.  Will I end up with a bunch of small carrots?  Will they just not grow?  Stay tuned.