A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Back deck vegetable gardens

We have lots of wildlife around and cannot grow veggies in the traditional way. I would like to do some pots on the back deck. Does anyone have any suggestions for doing that. I have tomato seedlings started and just bought a pack of sugar snap peas. Would love to know what you all have had success with grown in pots and how you went about it.

Serenity

Hi Serenity,
I'm a container gardener-you can grow just about anything really.
Herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, peas, strawberries, blackberries, citrus trees, I have it all.
My best advice is good potting soil, good quality plant foods, and pots/containers that are large enough for the plant.
For tomatoes stick to those labeled determinate if you can-if not, you'll still get a crop but not very much fruit.
Two great advantages about container gardening-you can cover the plants with large trash bags against frost, and weeds are few and far between.

Thank you. What does determinate mean? I will have to check my packet. Have you had any luck with the upside down hangers or the hanging veggie baskets. I have heard of people using large hanging baskets to put vineing plants in but I can't seem to find a how to anywhere.

Serenity

Here's a picture of my container for my peas..

I've never done the upside down containers.
There were some posts about them, I think.
Determinate tomatoes stay smaller than indeterminates, and fruit approximately all at once whereas indeterminates last all summer and into fall and are much bigger. Supposedly anyway-my tomatoes never seem to obey the rules !
Reading the plant tags should tell you whether a plant is determinate or not. seed catalogs will always specify.
Hopefully one of the tomato experts here will jump in for you-and correct me if needed !

PattyS has done the upside down tomatoes..
I'll give her a jingle and see if she's still got
her pictures...

Njoyit has done the upside down tomatoes too!

And one other but I am on brain scramble right now as
to whoooooooooo...

I'm doing the upside down thing with some bathroom trash cans I got at the dollar store! I just drilled some holes in them and hung them with cord.

You all have such great ideas. I am anxious to get started. Thanks for the pictures. That helps a lot. I just bought a contraption for hanging tomatoes. It would have never occured to me to make it simple and use a trash can. I can see that I am going to learn a lot form all of you. It is nice that you all live as close as the computer away. I hope I can come up with somethng useful to share with you.
Weezie, thanks to you and your husband I solved the cookie problem. I just didn't know how to get back to you to let you know.
Serenity

Heyyyyyyyyy, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry glad to help..
I know what it's like to be not getting stuff
workin' right..
So, any little bit of a helpin' hand that I can lend
is good to know...I helped...

Hi Serenity,

I've been doing container gardening for a few years now and have really enjoyed it. I've stayed mostly with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach and cuccumbers. This year I plan on trying cauliflower and green onions.

I tried the upside down tomatoes last year and had great results. There were some great posts and pics on the forum that helped me out a lot. I used cherry tomaotes because of space and they produced a lot. This year I'll stick to only grape tomatoes...they taste better to me.

Good luck!

Shawn

Shawn, I like the grape tomatoes too.
Which cucumber did you grow?
I'm thinking about trying one in a half barrel.

Hi Shawn
I will try the grape tomatoes. I think they taste better also. What did you use to grow spinach in. How deep does the container have to be. After looking at Weezie and Angus's pictures I realize I have to start thinking a little more outside the box.
They were great ideas in nontraditional containers. My back deck may look a little odd this year but I am hoping for some good results. Last year we put in a serenity garden, thus the name. If all of these ideas work for the vegetables I may have to change my name next year to Tow Mater like the Cars movie. Thanks for your help.

Serenity

Hi,

I have ordered all my seeds from Park's seeds. I use their cucumber alibi and the cupid tomato seeds. The cucumbers are small, I guess most folks use them for pickling, but they are great in salads and for dipping. Some that got hidden grew really big, but the taste was still great. I can not say enough about the grape tomatoes, no cracking issues and they keep producing. They are real firm and taste amazing.

The containers I used for the spinach were about 2 ft X 2 ft and 8 inches deep. I planted the spinach as a companion with my tomatoes, but I assume they would do fine in a smaller container. The spinach only grew well in the spring and fall. I tried a crop during the summer, figuring the shade from the tomatoes would keep it cool, but it didn't work too good.

One thing I have noticed is that you must water more often with the containers, especially with the smaller ones. I watered everday during the summer after work, so it became a routine.

Everyone that saw the upside down tomatoes I did thought I was nuts until they saw how well they did. You can also plant something on top. I used some ornamental peppers last year, but am thinking about some flowers this year to help attract bees.

The front of the house was full of containers so it made it tough to walk from the gate to the front door, but with all the vegies I was able to get from this small area it was well worth it.

Good luck!!

Shawn

Thanks, Shawn-I'm going to try cukes too, and spinach.

Deborah,
If you remind me, I have pictures of my
cuke trellis's too, to give you one type
of an idea if you want to grow them up wards too..

I'd love to see them !
I didn't realize that cucumbers can be trellised.

Oh yeah, anything that has tendrils
*the little things sent out to twirl around something,
has the ability to "climb".. like peas, cuke's, acorn squash,
pumpkins (if there's something able to support the fruit),
birdhouse gourds, etc.)

Let me see, I know I have one, but I don't think I have the other way.. *I did it two different was*

One was an arch, from short side to short side of my raised bed.
The other was with two stakes, straight up and down..

Here's the arch...

See those twirly things?
Those are the tendrils...

Here's another one, this one is the acorns,
but it will give you a general idea of the two
stakes and fencing concept though...

Hi Weezie
It looks like you have a dream garden. The pictures are great.
Serenity

Hi Shawn
I just found my Park's seed catalog today. I will order the types you recomended. I will let you know later this summer how it all goes. Thanks

Serenity

Wow, Weezie, how much space do you have-that looks like alot of property !
Yes, I know what you mean by tendrils. Just never thought of trellising anything but peas, sweetpeas, etc.
Cool idea ! Thanks for posting the photos too.

I keep tellin' everyone it's that camera..
I can take pictures of just certain things,
and it exclude's the clutter mess on either side of it..

I have a disaster in the happenin'!!!
Behind in everything...
but someday I will be caught up..

I call that my "Back~40"...
Where I am standing for my garden, I am on my mom's
property.. *we have house's right next door to each other...*
(My garden is actually on her property...Which is really her garden... we built for her but she has just stuck to her
flowers now and some tomatoes in a 5 gallon pail I made for her..
[and 2 cinderblock ones too for 8 tomatoes and another cinder block one for 12 cucumbers and 12 peas..]
and lettuce under it all..)

So, between the two, there's alot of room.
(my yard is filled with kid stuff.. and her's is wide open
in the back..lot's wide open room..
*If you've ever seen the pea bucket one, that's her back yard*