Thrifty Container Gardening

By Mavericksmrs (Guest Post)

I live in Central Texas and have a neighbor who raises cattle. I kept seeing these 10 gal tubs in his pasture. I finally asked him about them and learned that these are minerals that look alot like black tar that the cattle lick to supplement their diet. He has used the old ones for years as water tubs, they are thin, lightweight and last for years. I have grown cucs, tomatoes, peppers and melons, squash and green beans. Drain holes and added old hay before putting in soil, worked like a charm!

By

cschuess

has anyone grown vegetables all year in containers...I wanted to plant lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers in containers and grow them this winter in my attic. It's chilly there but the sun is great. There's nothing better than fresh vegetables. Would love to be able to do this...any suggestions would be appreciated.

By

cschuess

has anyone grown vegetables all year in containers...I wanted to plant lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and cucumbers in containers and grow them this winter in my attic. It's chilly there but the sun is great. There's nothing better than fresh vegetables. Would love to be able to do this...any suggestions would be appreciated.

By jean (Guest Post)

Since my container garden is on the front of my house because it gets more sunlight there, I thought it would look better if all the containers were the same. I bought dollar store waste baskets, drilled holes in the bottoms, used packing peanuts for drainage, and filled with soil. I have grown tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and herbs like sage, basil, mint, parsley and chives. This was my 5th year using these containers.

By teritreehugger (Guest Post)

There is a recycling program in our city, so the gardenning centers tosses used pots in bins. When I go grocery shopping i raid the bin in that store's gardenning center. I've bought few pots. Keep worms in a bin and feed them vegetable kitchen waste. Next spring you will have a nice (and free) bucket of amazing compost. I too am grateful to all who offered their advice. There are some great ideas here.

By

ludlow3

I have a lot of shells from previous beach trips (my kids loved to collect when they were little). I have used them in the bottom of containers for drainage.

By amyw (Guest Post)

I used paint buckets with holes drilled in the botton for the second year in a row and absolutely love the results. I have had tomatos all summer (the ones the squirells dont get first) and they work great!

By

Meari

I read somewhere instead of using stones in the bottom, to use packing peanuts. They are much lighter!

By (Guest Post)

Freecycle.org. You can request for items there. I got a container through it for gardening.

By

dunbarppl

HI :)

Alot of people in this area use drywall mud or industrial paint buckets... wash them very well and poke holes in the bottom for drainage... fill 1/4 of the way with stones or something to allow good drainage... plant 1 tomato plant per bucket or 2 pepper plants... cucumbers and zucchini have also been planted this way :)