Home made container gardening with crazy yields

OK. So there are these things called EarthBoxes. They're brilliant. My buddy Tim turned me on to them. I'd been doing tomatoes in pots (echos of my apartment-living days in NYC). Once I switched to these babies, I was AMAZED at the yields. I'm talking 12' high heirloom plants, grown organically. Crazy yields.

Downside - they're expensive.

So I started making my own.

Another day - I'll show you how to make the big 20 gallon tubs that I use a lot for bigger plants (cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers).

But here is how to make the little ones I use for herbs.

Mid April Update

First serious rain of the season Monday night. Thunder & lightning and everything, including a lightning strike on a house just five blocks away!

Luckily with the rain, the garden is looking good.

First daffodil blossom of the season...

The thrice-moved Peony is starting to break ground...

The mystery bush (dare I say Mighty Boosh?) is flowering...

Rhubarb is coming up...

More importantly, the herbs are coming along nicely in the front-porch/green-house...

Cucumbers and zucchini seedlings coming along beautifully. I'll transplant into home-made earth boxes soon....

Tristan and I were so excited to see the first strawberry blossom...

Then we noticed another plant with FOUR blossoms...

More to come soon on how to build your own earth boxes for less than $10 each.

Hoop houses for salad tables

So yesterday - after only 6 days since planting!?! - my rapini and arugula started to hit the underside of the old windows acting as cold-frame covers.

I bumped into my neighbor Jack, who told me he'd rigged a hoop-house over his salad table. He showed me what he did, gave me some of his wood-strips and plastic sheeting.

And now we have the Salad Table Mach Two.

Low and behold how easy it is to cover. Jack and I intend to leave our hoop-house structures up all season. Come the warm weather, we might cover with mesh for a bit of shade. Come fall - I'll put the plastic back on to give us a few more weeks (or maybe even months - we'll see how it works) of fresh and essentially free greens.

Here is how to build the hoop-house frame...

Here is what it looks like the the plastic cover on top...

Salad Table 101 Redux (and expanded)

Sorry this took a few days. It's been one hell of a busy week. Now... all about salad tables.

I first learned about the salad table in the NY Times on May 10, 2007. They were invented by this genius named Jon Traunfeld at the U of MD Cooperative Extension.

They are basically waist-height growing tables. Easy on the back to plant and maintain (and harvest of course). Also - they're relatively light-weight (although Megan grumbles whenever I ask her to help me move one of them - grumbles reside in a few weeks when we start to harvest our lovely little lettuces and leaves!) so they can be moved according to light and temperature. I start mine in full sun. Come the first big heat wave of June every year, I move them into the shade. Come the fall, back into the sun.

I built my first one the day after I read the article about them. Click here for the instructions on how to make one.

They take about four hours for one person to make. Less time after you've made your first. You can get the materials at your local big box or mom & pop hardware store. Then buy seeds, potting soil, and some Osmocote (a slow-release fertilizer). Mix some of your organic compost into the potting soil for best results. And sprinkle the Osmocote on top for slow-release of fertilizer throughout the summer.

Two tricks I've learned to crazily improve the growth of your seedlings:
1: lay some old wooden storm windows over the tables after planting in early Spring - they'll act like mini-cold-frames: amplifying the sun and retaining heat & moisture at night
2: cut a yard-strength clear garbage bag down the sides to make a long piece of transparent plastic - lay this over them and secure the two ends with short pieces of wood - has the same effect as the glass window route

Here is a video about how easy it is to seed them...

Here is a video on their portability and making simple cold-frames for them...

First signs of life!

Those of you who know me might have commented once or twice over the years that I can be a wee bit prone to hyperbole. But trust the video on this one.

I planted these seeds on Monday. They've had a home-made cold frame laid over them of old wooden windows I found in the alley two summers ago. And now, on Thursday, we've got seedlings sprouting up!!!

What a crazy week!

Tuesday, I planted the rest of the first salad table. It now has arugula, rapini, and bright lights swiss chard.

Wednesday, I planted salad table number two. Baby romaine, butter-crunch head lettuce, and spinach.

On Wednesday, Megan shot this mini video of what to do once you've made your salad table (instructions to come once I've got more time - I promise!).

Don't you love the falling shovel at the end? HAD to leave that in!

Most videos to follow...