Living in the northeast region of America means one thing: insane weather. We can see snow in May, or have a heat wave in October; you never really know what to expect outdoors when you live in New England. The wonky weather can really put a damper on growing your own food, or at least throw a few wrenches into the plan.
Spring was delayed this year, as my winter scrooge status stretched from November through May. Despite the Farmer’s Almanac projecting May 1st as the last frost date for my region, some nights in May plunged to 30-degrees making planting outside near impossible. Instead of being transplanted outdoors, my seedling plants stayed under grow lights until mid-May, desperate for real sun and growth.
Originally, the plan was to transplant outdoors directly into raised beds. Unfortunately, that plan is delayed indefinitely because I share a backyard. (My fingers are still crossed the raised beds will be built before the end of the grow season!) With my plants eager for soil and depth, I changed gears and began to research growing your own food in containers.
There have been several challenges with plants outgrowing their containers, and a quick peek at my bank account shows way too many garden center transactions as I’ve boomeranged back and forth to meet the needs of my plants. When plants outgrow their containers, they can become rootbound, their growth can become stunted, or they can just wilt and die. How’s that for uplifting?!
But somehow, miraculously, my plants are still slowly growing and thriving. I’d like to think this is partly due to the little chats I have while watering and fertilizing them. “Look at those vines, you sassy thang!”
In my first garden post, I shared the array of seeds that were started indoors in March: “three varieties of lettuce, along with tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, bell peppers, and cabbage.”
As of today…
Lettuce \\ Two varieties were overtaken by mushroom spores after I up-potted them outside on a windy day. My heirloom variety, Little Gem, is still growing slowly but surely.
Tomatoes \\ Oh my, rootbound! My fingers are crossed that a raised bed will be in their future soon. If not, I have a crafty project in mind to give these plant babes the room they need to grow. They’re still thriving, but their growth has slowed dramatically.
Peppers \\ After two months of doing a whole lot of nothing (above the soil), my pepper plants are starting to show signs of growth. New leaves are sprouting and their stems are stretching for the glorious sun.
Broccoli + Cabbage \\ Not a fan of container gardening.
Bell Peppers \\ Well, they are alive. Does that count? The bell pepper plants have been hanging around with an eyebrow raised, demanding deeper soil. In the meantime, I think they’ve formed a strike against growing or changing in any way.
After the fear of frost passed, I started a few other seeds outdoors: squash, cucumbers, melon, chives, basil, and lavender. The squash and melon dashed out first in the race, giving promising signs of growth and beauty. Sadly, they’ve succumbed to the same anti-container-gardening pattern that my bell peppers have.
The herbs are growing strong, the lavender is fragrant and lovely, and my cucumbers? My pride and joy. I love watching their vines grow and flowers blossom as they learn how to climb a trellis.
So, the verdict on container gardening at this point? Nay if you have room for a different grow set-up, yay if you research which seeds grow best in containers.
Do you have a garden?
What type of gardening are you interested in?