With the little bit of sunshine we had this past weekend my gardening bug has already bitten me. I was out on the patio prepping some of my containers.
I cleared out my long, shallow plastic container (approximately 24″ x 5″ x 8″) that held my Parisian Ball carrots, similar to this little round variety. They grew pretty well last year, but took a long time to mature, so I thought I would try something else early in the year. I still have the opportunity to start carrots later in the season so that they grow into the winter time. I have been collecting eggshells all winter as a soil amendment, so I added a few scoops of crushed shells to the existing soil. I think this will help lighten the soil up a bit as well. In this I’ve planted Toy Choy (baby bok choy) seeds, as they only need a shallow container and cool temperatures. These miniature Asian veggies should mature in 4-6 weeks (barring any unseasonable snowfalls).
I’ve also got a large, round plastic pot (approximately 24″ in diameter, 24″ tall) which held my miniature watermelon last year. I had a bit of a mis-hap and snipped the main stem when I was trying to cut back the leaves, so I can’t report how well it could have fared in a pot. Generally I know that watermelons are not ideal for pots, but I thought it may work if I had just one plant with really good compost. This year I am going to try growing one Butternut squash plant and train it up a trellis or obelisk. It’s a bit of a risk for several reasons (less than ideal sunlight, chance of powdery mildew, squash plants spread like crazy), but I’ll keep the vine trimmed and leaves tidy, and hope for the best. It is still about 6 weeks before I need to plant my squash seeds, so I have amended the soil again with eggshells and planted some Buckwheat seeds as a quick growing cover crop. These should hopefully start sprouting in a week. I’ll turn them under in about 4-5 weeks to create some ‘green manure’ in the container.
Aside from that, I am also thinking of trying to grow some dwarf bush peas in a small container, so I have moved the snapdragons that have been calling my 12″ round container home for the last several years. No soil amendment yet though. As well, my Crocosmia have been popping up out of the soil for a couple of weeks now, but I’m not sure if my pink Calla lily or my Butterfly bush survived the winter, as I’ve seen no signs of life yet. On the other hand, my Columbine has been growing like mad since early February! Generally I keep these flowers around for attracting bees and beneficial insects that may have no other reason to visit my neck of the woods.
