Hi!
Is it possible to do square foot gardening in container? I don't have the money to build new planters (I so wish I did) and our soil here is really not that great, so I'm looking for ways to work around these two issues!
Thanks!
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firstimegardener
- Cool Member
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:07 pm
You can certainly garden successfully in containers. It wouldn't be the classic Square Foot gardening that is done in beds 4' on a side, but the principles are very similar.
I think one of the most critical differences would be drainage. When gardening in containers, it is vital that you use a very fast-draining growing medium. In a traditional garden, or even in a raised bed, excess water has a lot of space to escape, but in a container, it can only drain out the holes in the bottom. If the soil doesn't drain fast enough, it will lead to root rot, which will kill your plants. Whether you use a commercial growing medium that you buy in bags, or whether you mix your own, rapid drainage is vital.
In the thread linked below, I offered links to a couple of Extension Service articles that I thought had good information for folks who were interested in getting started with gardening in containers. Perhaps you will find the information of use, too.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33521
I think one of the most critical differences would be drainage. When gardening in containers, it is vital that you use a very fast-draining growing medium. In a traditional garden, or even in a raised bed, excess water has a lot of space to escape, but in a container, it can only drain out the holes in the bottom. If the soil doesn't drain fast enough, it will lead to root rot, which will kill your plants. Whether you use a commercial growing medium that you buy in bags, or whether you mix your own, rapid drainage is vital.
In the thread linked below, I offered links to a couple of Extension Service articles that I thought had good information for folks who were interested in getting started with gardening in containers. Perhaps you will find the information of use, too.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33521
Last edited by Kisal on Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I was thinking of using a wood frame like furing strips one foot square and staple cardboard to the bottom. I would punch small holes in the cardboard for the roots to go deeper into the soil under the container. If your ground is bad just put a few inches of dirt over it and set the container on top!
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I made a few of these boxes a week ago and they seem to work fine but when moving them to their final garden area from a greenhouse or indoor area always put a solid piece of wood under the box then slide it off so the cardboard does not break! I think it will work great!
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I made a few of these boxes a week ago and they seem to work fine but when moving them to their final garden area from a greenhouse or indoor area always put a solid piece of wood under the box then slide it off so the cardboard does not break! I think it will work great!
firstimegardener, being on the Sound up there, is your soil sandy, or is it clayey, like what I have here in the Willamette Valley?
Once you decide what plants you want to grow, you'll know what sizes of containers you need. Almost anything can be used as a container, even sturdy plastic bags. Many people use those big plastic storage tubs. I often see the 10 gallon and larger sizes on sale in my area 2 for $7.
But many times, you can find free containers. I always encourage people to establish a good relationship with the local, independent nurseries and garden stores near where they live. Many times, such places have given me their extra containers and even nursery flats, just because I visit their stores frequently. I don't have a lot to spend, but I might pick up a few packets of seeds, or a small shrub, or something similar.
And as I taught my son when he was growing up, if you see something you'd like to have, never hesitate to ask for it. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll be told "No", in which case you'll be no worse off than you were to begin with.
Once you decide what plants you want to grow, you'll know what sizes of containers you need. Almost anything can be used as a container, even sturdy plastic bags. Many people use those big plastic storage tubs. I often see the 10 gallon and larger sizes on sale in my area 2 for $7.
But many times, you can find free containers. I always encourage people to establish a good relationship with the local, independent nurseries and garden stores near where they live. Many times, such places have given me their extra containers and even nursery flats, just because I visit their stores frequently. I don't have a lot to spend, but I might pick up a few packets of seeds, or a small shrub, or something similar.
And as I taught my son when he was growing up, if you see something you'd like to have, never hesitate to ask for it. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll be told "No", in which case you'll be no worse off than you were to begin with.
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firstimegardener
- Cool Member
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:07 pm
It's clay...nasty yucky concrete really. It sucks!
I've been looking for containers. Craigslist sometimes has them, as does free cycle . I love free cycle. My FIL is a proud dumpster diver and finds so much stuff that he "drags home" (mother in laws words!) that he's kept me supplied with some stuff so far. Heck, for a while when we first got married, much of our furniture in our home were from his "saw this while I was driving around" adventures!
Are you getting all this rain?? I can't even begin to till the one small garden area I have until it dries out a little!
Bobberman
That sounds like a good idea...maybe hubby needs a project....
I've been looking for containers. Craigslist sometimes has them, as does free cycle . I love free cycle. My FIL is a proud dumpster diver and finds so much stuff that he "drags home" (mother in laws words!) that he's kept me supplied with some stuff so far. Heck, for a while when we first got married, much of our furniture in our home were from his "saw this while I was driving around" adventures!
Are you getting all this rain?? I can't even begin to till the one small garden area I have until it dries out a little!
Bobberman
That sounds like a good idea...maybe hubby needs a project....
Yep, it's wet today! 
It was fairly nice for the past 3 or so days, but now, we're having the thunderboomers typical of our spring season.
One of the things I like about gardening in containers is that I can pull them back under the eaves, where they're protected from the worst of the rain. The soil warms up faster, too.
The clay in my yard is an odd, almost silvery color, and when wet, sticks like glue to a shovel. I made the mistake when I first bought this house of trying to amend the soil in parts of my yard by adding sand. I now have cement in those areas!
Live and learn, I guess.
It was fairly nice for the past 3 or so days, but now, we're having the thunderboomers typical of our spring season.One of the things I like about gardening in containers is that I can pull them back under the eaves, where they're protected from the worst of the rain. The soil warms up faster, too.
The clay in my yard is an odd, almost silvery color, and when wet, sticks like glue to a shovel. I made the mistake when I first bought this house of trying to amend the soil in parts of my yard by adding sand. I now have cement in those areas!
Live and learn, I guess.
One thing I learned the hard way is to watch where you put your containers and what you fertilise them with.
My containers were set up on a tiled balcony and unbeknownst to me the tiles hadn’t been properly sealed during construction so overflow from fertilising with liquid seaweed and fishmeal etc. ended up leaving some nasty stains on the tiles when it came to packing everything up.
Man alive it took some heavy duty elbow grease to get my security deposit for the apartment back…
My containers were set up on a tiled balcony and unbeknownst to me the tiles hadn’t been properly sealed during construction so overflow from fertilising with liquid seaweed and fishmeal etc. ended up leaving some nasty stains on the tiles when it came to packing everything up.
Man alive it took some heavy duty elbow grease to get my security deposit for the apartment back…