No space? No problem! This week, Ben takes us step by step through the process of making a BIG impact in a small space. Grow an abundant container garden and have fun repurposing old objects. Fear not! You’ll have tasty pickings in no time!
Binge watch these videos! Swat up and get more bang for your buck!
🌱 X 🤓 = 💰💰💰
Want to 10X your plants? See:
https://youtu.be/03TDLCVrSRM
Make your own potting mix:
https://youtu.be/00_HiIAFjK0
Want to grow successful seedlings?
https://youtu.be/8Du4IxzJgaA
https://youtu.be/FFWWRzP6xoU
Grow more in the same space:
https://youtu.be/MzGd3SCD7b0
No raised beds? Grow in straw bales!
https://youtu.be/qxaRo49-ios
See how much you can grow in a family garden
https://youtu.be/z6rIY3Sco4I
If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
https://www.GrowVeg.com
https://gardenplanner.almanac.com
https://gardenplanner.motherearthnews…
and many more…
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If you’ve noticed any pests or beneficial insects in your garden lately please report them to us at https://BigBugHunt.com
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Thank you Ben, I found that really useful. I also have just a balcony, smaller than your friend's, and as well as lots of perennial and annual flowers I also grow two tubs of runner beans in the summer along with tomatoes and potatoes, plus perennial chives and rosemary. I didn't think I could grow peas or carrots because of the lack of space but seeing yours in smallish containers is something I'll try this year. I love the container you have for the spring onions, and I have a space for that size so I'll give those a go too. As for the potatoes, I accidentally 'did a Martian' by chucking old potatoes into a tub for compost and now I get some come up every year, lol. My weirdest container was when I grew some Mother-in-Law's Tongue in a crock teapot. The plant got so big it kept falling over and I had to break the teapot to get it out and repot it! 🙂
I'm a big fan of containers. For the past 14 years I've found I get good results for all types of veg by using large plastic pots (bucket-sized) as miniature raised beds.
All I do is cut several 1" diameter drainage holes in the SIDES of the pots, level with the base, then plunge the container into a well-prepared garden bed a depth of 4 inches.
Fill with compost, plant your veg, and you have the benefit of a (slightly) raised bed which will water itself to some extent. It needn't look untidy, either. If you arrange a 'raft' of even-sized pots – say, 21 of them in a block 7 wide and 3 deep and spaced as needed (6" between them is probably enough) – the result looks quite smart.
It works especially well for tomatoes, sweetcorn, beans, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, and spuds.
You can still water as usual, but I'm based in the grey and soggy north of England, so the soil is generally moist enough. Please note that the pots shouldn't have any extra drainage crocks in the bottom; it's important that there's direct contact between the container compost and the garden soil.
I must admit that I don't insist on only using food-grade containers. I'll use anything, including the cheapest, grottiest plastic buckets. I'm not fanatical about green issues, nor am I neurotic about my health. I make my own compost to save cash, and if I can grow cheap food as well, I'm happy. 🙂
I have subscribed to your channel years auto but I am seeing this episode for the first time.
Can you tell me why peat is not hood for container gardening? I bought vs bag of peat to help replenish the soil in my yard which had flowering plants growing for years. I now want to plant vegetables.
Brilliant. Clear, concise, lots of great tips. Many thanks. I'm just starting a container garden and this is what I needed.
Thanks!
Potatoes in an asda plastic shopping bag 🤷♀️
Used 4 pairs of old blue jeans. Tied at the ankles and then tied with rope at waistline put all pairs on a “T” post for a laundry line. Had cucumbers growing out of 2 on one post and loofah gourds growing out of the other2 pairs on the opposite post. Probably would have made funny conversation pieces if the plants hadn’t covered them so nicely. Lol.
I’ve grown mint in an old toilet. Didn’t want it getting into the garden and it likes to be damp. Works well!! Definitely a talking point
As a extremely experienced gardener who is still learning, have been experimenting with making compost in 40 litre plus rubbish bins, but you need 4 not three, one for mixing in a small area. Should have been tipping/turning it weekly/monthly. Living in a climate that is summer hot, pots need watering daily, but are perfect for growing autumn to spring.
Strangest container so far – some old embroidered cowboy boots – they were too pretty to throw out so I now grow marigolds in them 😆
Please think of covering your face while handling perlite
I love your analogy to baking a cake! I also love that you are encouraging people that dont have a lot of space!
I'm using old top bar bee hives there are no longer suitable for my bees.
can you grow cauliflower in a pot?
The weirdest container we use year over year is an approx 1m diameter wide round cotton candy machine.
I liked the garden compost arm chair 😂
I bought 2.5 and 3 barrel laundry hampers, lined them with plastic, and grew potatoes.
What about using saucers under the pots in the Summer to help keep plants watered? (For those of us who live in more arid climates that rarely get rain in the Summer.)
I suppose it's not that weird but I have grown plants in lots of broken or chipped teapots and tea cups 😅 you know, the kind that are just too cute to toss. I like using them as bird feeders and houses too
I have the glass top of a blender with its plastic bottom sleeve (no blades) that I use for small trailing plants. The mechanical part of the blender broke. It actually looks kind of cute with pebbles in the bottom, plus the handle is nice!
great video – I am enjoying your style. It is very refreshing and I am learning as well.!! I grow squash pumpkins, tomatoes, zucchini, chiles, peppers, peas, and a large variety of herbs. My herbs self sow into strange places, such as cracks in sidewalk, old tires laying around, and thanks to my local birds even in our rain gutters! thanks for all your info and garden planning!
👍👍 Eugene Oregon
It is a mazing now much you can grow in a small space. my mum does all her growing in pots and does so well. which i awesome. Ive grown my potatoes for years in grow bags. I do think the one draw back is that its hard to keep pots watered. they do try out a lot. also can be very expensive to feel large pots. I then to fill some of the pot with wood chips or twigs leave etc, this make you use less compost BUT it also mean you retain more water in the decaying organic matter.
Last year my tomatoes ended up living half their lifetime in recycled milk jugs. Lol. Not that odd, but funny. I needed to start working the garden but the garden wasn't ready for them. So I used our native Iowa soil and transplanted them at about 3 feet tall (had to do a little pruning to keep them manageable) and they all lived. Hahaha. I just cut the jugs off and stuck them in as-is without bothering the roots. They each gained about a foot of growth in like a week. I think because it was the same soil there was virtually no adjustment time. They just suddenly had more space.
Weirdest thing I've grown in is maybe plastic bags of raised bed soil. Rented a place where i wasn't allowed to do anything with the yard, so I didn't mess with their raised beds and just put bags of soil in the raised beds, cut a big slash in them, and planted some seeds. They couldn't do anything because I wasn't technically breaking the rules! Lolololol.