Using 2hdpe plastic pot for vegetable garden

[drainey0]

Is it safe to grow vegetables or fruit in a number 2 hdpe plastic pot has anyone had any problems with this... Also what's a good depth to do to do organic vegetable growing in should the pot be wide and deep or can it just be deep say 2' deep? I have limited space so I must be able to move theplant around. Thank you in advance.

[Meatburner]

drainey0, what are 2hdpe pots? Growing organically has nothing to do with pot size. Out of curiousity, (sp), why would you think, or heard somewhere, that pot size would have anything to do with being organic or not? Just asking.

[Allyn]

Yes, 2 hdpe plastic is okay. 1, 2, 4, and 5 (as I understand it) are okay.

[applestar]

I think the width vs depth will depend on the kind of vegetable plant. To some extent, lack of depth can be compensated with width and lack of width with depth, but when you start talking 2 feet, I believe some plants that are shallow-rooted and prefer their feeder roots to stay near the surface will suffer. Similarly, you can generalize that a plants roots range at least as wide as the drip line of the plant itself, so you force all those roots to stay within the confines of a narrow diameter.

Also, some plants grow roots way deeper than 2 feet.

[told2b]

drainey0, what are 2hdpe pots? Growing organically has nothing to do with pot size. Out of curiousity, (sp), why would you think, or heard somewhere, that pot size would have anything to do with being organic or not? Just asking.

high density polyethylene

[Susan W]

I think most of the plastic pots are fine, well hope so as I use many! As for size, width and depth important. The wider and deeper, more the temps and moisture are moderated, and you can work on building a 'living soil'.
Don't forget to put a few worms in the pots! In the heat of summer they need the cooler and moist depths. Also have them where they can drain. Mine are up on pallets.

[drainey0]

yea i was asking about the 2hdpe plastic cause i heard some where that it is possible for the soil to leach chemicals out of plastic.......... and i asked about depth cause i want these theses plants to grow well............. i was thinking about using Lowes 5 gallon buckets they sell them for about 3 dollars a bucket i think they would make good pots.

[MichaelC]

I mostly grow in the ground, but I have used 5 gallon buckets, for broccoli and now for carrots (I just started them). You mention portability - just to let you know, they're pretty darned heavy, especially when well watered. I was able to lug them around my backyard, but it was hard work.

If you want to use buckets and fancy a bit of DIY, you might consider making them into self-irrigating planters. Look up "two bucket sip" for information on that. I'm using them for my carrots once I get them assembled.

[drainey0]

thanks ill look that up...... so just to be clear does anyone see using plastic 2hdpe type buckets as planting vegetables in.

[drainey0]

Also does anyone know of a guide to show what different seedlings look like I mixed up my tomato, bell peppers, and jalapeno and cant tell the difference between the 3.

[applestar]

If you post pics, we can tell you which ones are peppers and which ones are tomatoes, or you can look in one of the seeds started threads. Mine are pretty picture heavy. But basically, tomato seedlings have fuzz and pepper seedlings usually don't.

But it's impossible to tell jalapeños from bell peppers as seedlings since they are the same species. Depending on the bell pepper variety, it might be possible to tell as the plants get older, but you will definitely be able to tell by the fruit shape.

You might want to read this thread regarding the buckets -- Subject: Free/Inexpensive Container Ideas

[Mr green]

Its not so simple. Quote from this article: http://modernsurvivalblog.com/preps/saf ... and-drink/

"All food grade buckets are made of HDPE #2 (high density polyethylene),
but not all HDPE #2 buckets are food grade.

Buckets that are not food grade may out-gas and leach into the container, as well as into the contents held within the container.

HDPE #2 buckets that are not food grade may have been manufactured with a non-food-grade “mold release agent”.

In some processes, a mold release agent is what is used to help get the newly shaped plastic off of the hard mold that it was shaped from during the manufacturing process. Without the release agent, the new plastic shape will likely stick to the mold. Some mold release agents enable much faster production than others, but may be toxic to your health if later used with food."

[Taiji]

This year I noticed my jalapenos came up much faster than my bell peppers and are growing much faster. Don't know if that means anything or not, probably not! Both sets of seeds were from last year. Both growing mediums are the same.

But, for this year at least, I can tell one from the other because of that!

[applestar]

I like getting previously used ones -- I prefer pickle buckets because they are easier to clean. I think grease/oils can bond to the plastic. I try to "weather" ones that I don't know are food-grade. Not entirely sure if that helps or not, but it makes me feel better than to use new buckets that smell like plastic.

[drainey0]

http://imgur.com/Mslhh5e

[drainey0]

those are my seedlings

[applestar]

Pretty sure I have them right -- like I said, tomatoes are fuzzy ...but not quite easy to see in the photo.

Cucurbit = cucumber, squash, pumpkin...etc.

[drainey0]

OK thanks also i was wondering it is really necessary to have tomatos spaced every 2 feet im looking at the seed packets and it saying that is whatyou should do the spacing as same for cucumber and the zucchini and peppers.

[Mr green]

Depends if your growing determinate or indeterminate tomatoes, the last one you can put alot closer to eachother, while the first one wants abit more space since they grow like a bush compared to like a wine as the indeterminate ones.