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Can I grow these in pots?

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 12:14 pm
by huntr_danny
(wasnt sure were to put this topic)

well I'm going to grow a few fruits ( on late spring?)

I have no grass to plant them ( well a little, but the soil is very dirty)

I was wondering what fruit plants can I grow in pots/containers?

are these fine?

strawberry
blueberries
mint herbs
Tomatoes
(maybe grapes)
chili

are these fine to grow in pots?

thanks

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:22 pm
by huntr_danny
anyone? :d

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:44 pm
by PunkRotten
Mostly yes, but it depends on the pot sizes.

I am growing Strawberries in pots and they are doing pretty good. At the very minimum they need 6 inches of depth. Try not to crowd them too much either. Blueberries I hear are better to grow in pots. A 3-5 gallon is a good size. If you pick varieties that stay on the smaller side you might be able to keep them in these pot sizes indefinitely. Mint will work too in pots, in fact people rather grow them in pots to keep them contained. They are very invasive when they get going. A good wide and deep pot will be nice for mint. 12 inches deep minimum. They will get root bound in the 1st season, so divide the mint each season.

Tomatoes, a 5 gallon minimum for dwarf varieties. All other indeterminate varieties need 10 gallon and up minimum. No info on the grapes maybe someone else can help you there. But for peppers I grow a lot in pots. Minimum pot size is 3 gallons, but 5 would be better. Just know that some of these plants will grow in stuff smaller but the yield in fruit will be tiny, if any fruit at all. When I was a noobie I planted tomatoes in like 2-3 gallon pots. What I got was a short plant about 2 feet and just a few tomatoes. So bigger is always better.

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 9:03 pm
by JONA878
If you try the Blueberries then you need soil that is very low in Ph.
They will not do very well at all in normal level soils.

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 9:54 pm
by rainbowgardener
" the soil is very dirty" :) I sort of thought it was in the nature of soil to be dirty ?

You said "late spring." but you are in LA, zone 10 with very hot dry summers. Your best planting time is NOW (like actually last month). I think Punk is in zone 10, with you, so can maybe say more about planting times.

But you need to look for heat resistant tomato varieties (they usually have names like SunMaster, Solar Flare, etc,). Buy well started transplants from a good nursery (not a big box) and get them planted right away. Peppers too. For you strawberries would actually have been better planted in Dec-Jan, but you can still give them a try. Blueberries, be sure you get the Southern highbush varieties. Northern blueberries need more cold in the winter than you have.

Tomatoes & peppers in containers in your climate will need to be watered every day, maybe twice a day in heat of summer. Since all that watering means you will be flushing nutrients out of the soil, they will also need to be fertilized regularly. They will benefit from some protection from hot afternoon sun. But the point of getting them started now is that you can expect fruit production to slow down or stop in the heat of summer. If you have cared for them really well, they will pick up again when it cools down. Otherwise you might need to start over with new plants in Aug/Sept.

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 5:57 am
by tomc
Grape as bonsai can be maintained in pots, as fruiting plants, no. The needed feet are too big.

Well maybe if you have a horse trough...

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 6:35 am
by imafan26
Try citrus trees. They take to pots well and there are dwarf varieties.
Figs do well too and will produce figs even on a small plant.

Other things that do well in pots if they are big enough are tomatoes, eggplant, kale, cucumbers and peppers. ( 5 to 18 gallon pots)

If you are considering small pots of 1 gallon or less, window boxes, bowls, or small plant towers, then, think about herbs, lettuce, and other shallow rooted plants.

You also need to consider how much light you get. If your grass is getting enough light to grow then you should have enough to plant almost everything.

If you are putting the pots somewhere else you will need to get at least 6 hours of sun and pots need more water than plants in the ground.

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:24 am
by PunkRotten
I forgot to mention that. Since I am in the same zone as you pretty much, make sure your tomatoes and peppers get some shade during the day. Afternoon shade for a few hours is ideal. My plants grew better this way.

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:56 am
by imafan26
Mint should always be confined. Pots are great for them. Just remember to divide them when they look really good. If you wait too long, the roots will go around the container and the plant will choke itself.

Chilies do fine in containers. I like 5 gallon containers mainly because they don't like to dry out. The shorter lived ones do ok in 2 gallon containers. They are moderate feeders.

strawberries do o.k. in pots but like to be on the ground better. That way their runners have somewhere to root.

I live in Hawaii, not blueberry country although there is supposedly a warm tolerant blueberry a friend of mine is attempting to grow.

I grow indeterminate tomatoes in 19 gallon self watering containers. They are heavy feeders and need a lot of water when they set. I don't have problems with BER with self watering containers and I do not add lime to the containers.