A ripe strawberry growing at the community garden plot. Yum!

Strawberries are ripe at my community garden plot. This week I harvested about 1 1/2 pounds along with several bunches of radishes, a huge head of leaf lettuce, and a few baby potatoes. The strawberry plants had been on in the patio garden, but despite growing quite happily there, produced very few actual berries. It was just too shady for them. So I moved them to the sunny community garden and decided to focus on herbs and greens on the patio.

The patio garden is under the shade of some lovely douglas fir trees, and so only gets sun early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Most edible plants are annuals that need full sun or close to it. However, plants that are grown for their edible leaves are the most likely to do well in partial shade. For example, in areas with hot summers it works well to grow lettuce and other salad greens under some shade to prevent bolting. (Lettuce, of course, prefers cool weather and will “bolt” or go to seed quickly in the heat of summer. This means that the lettuce leaves get bitter. Shade and lots of water can help a bit with this if you want to grow lettuce in August.

Red leaf lettuce and garden cress growing in a container on the patio.

As you can see, my garden is having the opposite problem. Even leafy plants like this red lettuce and garden cress are becoming “leggy” because of lack of light. They also grow much more slowly on the shaded patio than they would in a sunny spot. Still, I have gotten several salads from the patio this spring, despite the cool and rainy weather. Rather than harvesting the entire head of lettuce, I cut off the largest individual leaves and let the plant continue growing. There really is nothing to be done about legginess other than moving the plant to a sunnier spot. Still, the leaves will grow, if somewhat slowly. To speed things up, I’m doing my best to provide plenty of nutrients by watering weekly with fertilizer.

What challenges are you facing in your garden this year? How are you handling them? I want to hear from other gardeners!

photo credit: hardworkinghippy

Here in the Williamette Valley temperatures are still below normal. I lost some basil to dampening off. When conditions are cold and damp they stress tiny seedlings and promote the growth of fungus. If this happens seedlings will suddenly just fall over and die. So sad.

So here are four things to do to prevent dampening off.

1. Clean your containers. Recycling old containers is very environmentally friendly, but without a good cleaning they can harbor diseases. Before reusing your containers, wash them with very hot water and a biodegradable soap. If you still have trouble, you can mix a small amount of bleach in to help sterilize things.

2. Sterilize your seed starting mix. If you are reusing old potting mix it also could be hiding diseases. Commercial mixes aren’t always sterile either. You can bake your potting soil in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. However this process does involve a smell that some might not enjoy. Another option is to cook your seed starting mix in the microwave. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes until steaming. Allow to cool.

3. Provide ventilation. Seeds need to stay moist in order to germinate, but there can be too much of a good thing. Providing a little fan for your seedlings can help them grow strong and stocky as well.

4. Avoid overwatering. You don’t need to water unless you see the top of the soil is starting to get dry, especially once the seeds have germinated. I find that even tiny seedlings without their first “true leaves” often have roots going right down to the bottom of the container.

Truthfully most of the time I find I can just buy some seed starting mix, pop it in a container, water, add seeds, water again, and presto! Baby plants! However, if you are starting seeds when it is cold and wet, dampening off can be a problem. Depending on what seeds you are starting, you might need to provide a seedling heating mat to avoid stressing your little darlings. In general, the more ideal the conditions, the less you have to worry. So give them lots of warmth and light too!

Hopefully warm, sunny weather will be on the way soon and we can forget all about the dreaded dampening off.

Technorati Tags: choosing garden containers, climate change, container gardening, Patio Gardening, seed starting, vegetable gardening

photo credit: Muffet

I had a busy weekend, so didn’t get to the community garden plot to start planting out warm weather crops today. Instead I puttered around my patio garden. Since my garden is mostly under the high shade of some douglas firs, I have given up on growing any sun loving crops. The strawberries have been replanted in the CG plot, making space for lots of greens and herbs.

This week I harvested one salad and tonight we had stirfry with chinese broccoli. I replanted those spaces with arugula and calendula. I have a batch of seedlings growing, including some chard, dill, and lettuce. Today I planted more seeds: asian greens, Italian parsley, cilantro, simpson curly green lettuce, rouge d’hiver lettuce, and speckled trout romaine.

I also planted a fuschia in a hanging basket and hung it up outside the back door. It makes me happy.

I have been enjoying patio garden. I planted a bunch of strawberries. They haven’t produced a lot of large berries, but the plants are attractive and they seem to be doing well in the high shade under the doug firs. I also planted some herbs and greens. In general the herbs are doing well. The sage seems to not be getting enough light. I have lots of oregano, chives, parsley, cilantro, thyme, lemon balm, mint, and rosemary. My attempts to grow vegetables though has been largely thwarted. I have managed a little lettuce, but it hasn’t looked healthy. The chard has been looking good, but I can’t produce much, even with us two of us.

There are lots of blogs and articles online the discuss growing vegetables in small spaces, but  frankly I doubt whether it’s really possible to grow much on an apartment balcony or patio. I think a patio is a great place to grow some herbs to enrich your boring menu, but I don’t think you can harvest much in such as smal space. Also, even larger containers require a lot more work than the same amount of actual garden soil.  You have to water and fertilize a lot more and the soil costs a lot more. Has anyone else had luck growing one thing or another on a patio?

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, patio garden

photo credit: mahalie

Instead, I took advantage of the seed swamp happening on the other side of the cafeteria and went home with a nice mix of herb, flower, and vegetable seeds. When I got home I sorted through my box of old seeds and made myself a promise to plant all those old seeds this year. I have quite a collection of seeds of various ages going back about ten years.

Take note gardeners! This is not good practice. Seeds that are a year or two old are generally still viable, but the older seeds get, the less likely they are to sprout. Some types of seeds, like corn, age quite rapidly. I tend to be tempted to buy more seeds than I have time or energy to plant. Also, seed packets generally hold many more seeds than a home gardener would need in one year.

Saturday evening I planted something like ten different types of old seeds, figuring I would just experient and see what sprouts. I set my little plastic pots on the windowsill of my office and next to the sliding glass door were they could get some sun. Most of what I planted will take 10-20 days to sprout, but I woke up to find my first seedlings this morning!

Some of the seeds in my collection are from packets, some are seeds I collected from my own garden, and some are seeds I collected in my wanderings. When I see a flower I like somewhere going to seed I stick a few seed pods in my pocket to take home. My seedlings came from a plastic bag marked “unknown flower.” Also not good gardening practice! I’m excited to see what they turn out to be. When they get some real leaves I will try posting a photo and we can play name that plant.

Technorati Tags: seed collecting, seed saving, seed starting, seed swap

I’m waiting for March and warmer temperatures before planting my patio garden. When it’s warm enough I will begin planting culinary herbs, greens, and edible flowers. I’m also putting in an application for a community garden plot. The community garden plot will be where I grow the majority of our vegetable for the year. Here in Eugene, there is a lottery for community garden spaces, so wish me luck.

Little did I know that in a few hours I would discover squirrels digging in my newly planted containers! So now the question is what to do about the squirrels. Mammals can do a lot of damage to a garden, both through digging and by eating newly planted seedlings. Now if we manage to get our patio door latch fixed so that we can let the cats in and out easily they could guard my patio plantings. But the cats sleep at least 12 hours a day, so that isn’t a complete solution.

Since I’m mainly gardening in containers I don’t have to worry about groundhogs and moles like many gardeners do. (The solution there is to dig down into your soil, lay down some sort of gardening fence, like chicken wire, underground and then place the soil on top. Imagine making an underground cage for the roots of your plants so that the digging animals can’t get inside.)

For rabbits, squirrels, and mice or rats, which can all be garden pests, I would advocate protective coverings for your new plantings. There is nothing tastier than newly sprouted seedlings and mammals know that. Essentially, you need to make a cage above ground for your plants. The problem with this is it’s not very attractive. The other alternative is to fence your entire garden, but building a squirrel proof fence is a lot of work! My grandparents regularly put out poison and traps for rats and moles, but I can’t imagine trapping for squirrels. Anyway, once you start down that road you will have to continue, periodically to maintain your traps or put out more poison because new individual animals will move into the area around your garden, replacing those you kill. I kind of enjoy watching the squirrel hop around on the lawn, so I’m not planning to kill them. I would rather limit their access to my delicacies.

Technorati Tags: container gardening, Patio Gardening, pests, squirrels

photo credit: tillwe

I’m still getting my patio garden set up and arranged, but one of the first things I bought to plant was some herbs. Herbs make me happy. They are beautiful, they like to grow in pots, and they then I don’t spend a bunch of money when I need some fresh herbs for cooking. I don’t know about you but I always feel like it’s such a waste to buy fresh herbs from the store. A small bunch of herbs costs $1-$1.50. I use a few springs and then the rest rots in my fridge, it’s such a waste. A small herb plant only costs $2-3 dollars and you can continue to pick sprigs off it almost year round here in Eugene.

Here are a few of my favorite perennial herbs for a patio…

The picture above is Thyme, which, like many Mediterranean herbs likes hot, dry conditions. Below are kitchen sage, oregano, and rosemary. All these herbs would enjoy a nice spot next to a sunny, warm wall.

Although these are shown planted individually, you can also plant herbs in large pots mixed with other herbs and flowers. I like to grow a tall herb with a trailing flower like nasturtiums or a trailing herb like thyme with an upright flower like geranium or marigolds.

photo credit: The County Clerk

photo credit: yashima

photo credit: ceejayoz

Technorati Tags: edible landscaping, Growing Herbs, kitchen garden, kitchen herbs, Patio Gardening, Small Garden Design

photo credit: dawnzy58

Many people think of fall as the time to put your garden to bed or take a break from gardening, but fall is a great time to get a head start on your spring garden. Part of sustainable landscaping is planning your garden work so that it is personally sustainable for you. Getting a jump on your landscaping in the fall will save you a bunch of time in the spring when you will have more gardening tasks than time to do them.

If you want a winter vegetable garden, it might be kind of late, depending on your location. In many mild climates winter vegetables are planted in August and September for harvesting during the winter. I’m planting on a few winter greens on my patio, especially fast growing ones like mustard, chard, various chinese greens, and my favorite – arugula.

Things to plant now for your sustainable landscape:

• Bulbs – Tulips, daffodils, irises, crocuses. Bulbs can provide interest in your garden when other things aren’t blooming. Plant under trees or around roses.
• Garlic, onions, shallots – You can plant garlic, onions, and shallots in the spring, but you will get larger harvests next summer if you start them now.
• Shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs – Lots of nurseries are having sales right now, so it’s a good time to find deals on shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs. Just make sure that you have time to get your new babies settled in their beds before a hard frost. Planting in the fall allows plants to get their roots settled and growing a little over the fall and winter and get a jump-start on the spring.
• Covercrops – Leaving your garden beds bare all winter exposes your valuable soil to erosion. The last thing you want is for your topsoil to wash away. Cover crops help add nutrients to your soil as well as holding it in place throughout winter rains and snows.

Technorati Tags: bulbs, cover crops, fall gardening, Organic Vegetable Gardening

photo credit: la fattina

This fall I’m starting a brand new patio garden at my new home in Eugene. One of my first steps was acquiring some nice containers. My patio does have some soil around the edges, but it’s fairly shady and the soil is filled with tree roots, so I’m focusing on planting in containers for now.

Plants in containers are much more susceptible to overheating, lack of water, or drying winds than plants in your garden beds. In order to be successful in growing plants in containers you need to choose your containers carefully. Here are six common mistakes gardeners make when choosing containers for their patio garden:

• Terra Cotta – Most gardeners love the look of terra cotta. The problem with terra cotta containers is that they lose moisture rather quickly. The biggest danger for plants living in containers on a patio is uneven moisture. Most plants need damp roots and will die if you let them dry out frequently. If your patio is very damp and shady terra cotta may be a good choice.
• Dark Colored Containers – In sunny weather dark colored plastic, metal, or wooden containers can heat up quickly damaging you plants’ roots.
• Containers with No Drainage – It’s fun to recycle vintage containers for planting, but you can’t plant directly into a container without making sure it has some sort of hole in the bottom so that excess water can drain out. Plants breath through their roots, they need oxygen. If you over-water a container without drainage you could drown your plants.
• Containers that are Too Small – Small containers can’t hold much soil and so dry out quickly. In dry or windy weather you can water in the morning and the soil in a small container may be dry again in a couple of hours.
• Recycling Containers Without Sterilizing – In healthy garden beds the microorganisms in the soil help fight off plant diseases, but potting soil from your local nursery is sterile. Containers that you buy new from a nursery shouldn’t be carrying any plant diseases but if you get containers used you should always wash them with soap and water and then rinse with a diluted mixture of a little hydrogen peroxide and a lot water. This treatment should kill anything nasty that could be lingering from old plantings.
• Forgetting to get saucers or pot feet – Pot saucers are important for small containers, without them water will run straight through your potting soil and might not soak in. For larger containers pot feet can be used to keep your pots off the surface of your patio. All your containers need something to keep them off the surface of your patio because otherwise you risk permanently damage or staining.

I have been frequenting garage sales and have managed to acquire several attractive, barely used containers for my patio garden. The smallest containers I use are at least six inches tall and wide and mostly I like much larger containers. Besides being easier to care for large containers allow me to group different plants together to create attractive displays. Normally I’m not a big advocate of using plastic, but I don’t feel bad about saving nice plastic containers that might otherwise go to a landfill. You can also get attractive wooden containers or biodegradable containers made from corn. I haven’t tried the new biodegradable containers yet, but I’m hoping that they will be a durable, attractive alternative to terra cotta and plastic. What are your favorite containers? Do you buy your garden containers new or up-cycle them?

Technorati Tags: choosing garden containers, container gardening, organic gardening, Patio Gardening