There are many ways to make use of a sunny window, balcony or porch to grow vegetables. Unfortunately, I have only a few small windows. That leaves me with the outdoors. I can grow anything I want here, as long as it's in a container. Over the past few years I have experimented with container gardening and found that things grow amazingly well. This year I will be experimenting with gardening vertically in containers.
Another part to this experiment is to use as much recycled materials as possible. Pots can be expensive and take up a lot of room. See my seed starter pots and soda bottle towers below.
I've also made a drastic change from gardening in the short growing season of New England to the baking heat of Texas. This year will be a learning curve. I did start a few seeds on the counter using my cardboard tube seed starter pots.
I'll be posting updates as things happen. I've been waiting for a few seedlings to start so I could take pictures.
Updated March 19, 2013
Updated April 7, 2013
Comments
Great ideas. Thanks!
Some great ideas you have here. I also use toilet rolls for seed germination but leave them whole as I use them mainly for carrot seeds. I also don't fold in the bottoms but stand them in a used takeaway container. If the seed raising mix is wet and you lift them out gently when you are planting them, you'll find that the mix doesn't fall out the bottom. I also use takeaway coffee cups mainly for beetroot seeds. As the seeds I use have a fairly high germination rate I only put one seed in each container and if some don't germinate I can always put in another seed for future planting. Makes for less waste and no need to thin out.
What a great idea! I've used cloth grocery bags that had holes in them. My plants love them.
My employer sends me materials in rhino bags, envelopes made of a kind of plastic. Rather than thow them away after opening, I sometimes use them as plant pots.
Thanks. I've seen the shoes and boots. Really neat!
I've planted in old kitchen pots, shoes & boots, and old tires, but hadn't heard of any of these ideas. Love these!
Yes, you have to almost garden in the shade down here. I have my mini garden on the north east side so it doesn't get full afternoon sun. Hot climate gardening is a learning curve for me too.
I love these alternative ways of gardening. I too have limited space and weird growing seasons (AZ) than what I'm used to. May have to give some of these a try when it cools down here.
Great ideas for tucking into spare corners. Good for you.
I love all these ideas for recycling. Still finishing up renovations on my house and getting ready to start in on the yard. Will keep these things in mind.