Patio of Pots: 2012

Container Garden Update #3

Contrary to my last update, the weather lately has been great. Nice full sun in the afternoon and temperatures climbing into the eighties. Not bad at all. So, it's time to enjoy some sunny photos before another round of showers moves in.

The mints have been growing great! We've been taking full advantage of this early herb. There
are a couple additions to the garden; a yellow onion that sprouted from a produce bag and the catnip
I've been growing inside for cat. (She's been enjoying her mint too :)

Life was looking up this week for the battered broccoli raab plants. These poor fellas have
endured an exceptionally gusty spring.

The onions have gotten off to a nice start with the change to some warmer weather.
Wind or no wind, onions will grow. They've been a pleasure thus far.

Terrible shot. Oh well, at
least you can see the cabbage, swiss chard and beet seed coming up!
There will be more on these soon. . .

Ah, the first bit of blanching! I've been rather surprised by the quick regrowth
of the store bought leeks.

Available Sunlight - Strong Indirect from 1pm - 3pm. Full sun 3pm - 7:50pm.
Weekly Weather - Cooler early in the week (4/16), moving to warmer weather reaching 86°F yesterday! Highs come in with a nine day average of 71°, with lows steady at 44°.
Current Planting - Flowering Kale, Yellow Rock Onions, Garlic, Swiss chard, Bull's Blood Beets, assorted Cabbage, Little Gem Romaine Lettuce, Broccoli Raab, Leeks, Orange Mint, Lime Mint, Lemon Balm and Catnip.

Natural Control of Aphids

Half way through April and the pests begin! Okay, so I'm not in the least bit thrilled about the notion of some organisms a fraction of my size eating all my precious garden veg, but that's life. Simply put, the truth is that no gardener possesses a pest exemption card, not even myself! So, what's the first pest of the season? Well, it looks as if the aphids have made an early appearance. Setting up shop on the flowering kale plant, the aphid infestation was able to reach numbers of a small stronghold, but they were no match for this gardener. To help you in your own battle against these small insects, I'll be dedicating this post to cover my most trusted technique for the natural control of aphids.

When people think of container gardens, they tend to spend a lot of time focused on plants like tomatoes, peppers and herbs. While these plants may be the contending favorites, there's plenty of other great, and more reasonable, crops to garden with! One of my personal favorites that's highly underused in the container garden are leeks. These large members of the onion family have growth habits well suited for containers, and even if you don't have time to sprout seeds, leeks can still be grown! In this post, I'll explain two different ways of how to grow leeks, as well as cover the basics of growing leeks in containers.

A garden is all about sharing, so to make things equal around our place, Catnip is a must. While the dry and dusty bagged leaves will get ol' Nilla by, she much prefers her greens fresh! Who can blame her? Well, to keep the fuzzball satisfied with her own euphoric goodness, it's more than handy to have a live and ready catmint plant. In this post, I'll explain proper catmint plant care including seed germination, plant requirements and growing in containers. Even though I'll be using catnip as my example, the same process may be applied to virtually every mint species you wish to grow from seed!

Container Garden Update #2

It's been a tough April so far. The old saying, "April showers bring May flowers", is in full gear. While the moisture is welcomed, the wind, cloud cover, and drastic temperature swings leave one with much to be desired. Here's another full garden update in photos:

Finished up the second planter stand this week!

Lime Mint and Garlic Sprouts. The effects
of strong gusts from the wind are evident.

The young Broccoli Raab plants have been the hardest
hit by the wind. They've suffered broken leaves, and
have spent much of the 4/13 weekend indoors.

The onions are still just coming up, so they're doing
just fine! At least one crop hasn't had the wind tear
though it.

It's really not much more than the last update. The weather has been pretty unforgiving, and with the late afternoon cloud cover, available sunlight has not been sufficient for new plantings. On positive note, I've got a ton of lettuce and carrot seeds that are sprouting indoors! Pending the weather, look for them in this coming week.

Current Garden Specifics -

Available Sunlight - Strong indirect from 1pm-3:20pm, Full Sun from 3:20pm - Sunset (7:40pm). ***Due to afternoon cloud cover this last week, there were many occasions where the garden received only a couple hours of filtered sunlight. A rather poor week for Photosynthesis!
Weekly Weather - Mild early in the week, shifting to cloud cover, wind and rain later into the weekend. Highs averaging 64°F, with lows averaging 37°F. Close to freeze #2, but only came down to 34°F.
Current Planting - No new changes. Carrots, lettuce & leeks on the way!

How to Grow Broccoli Raab in Containers

Although identified by different names depending on your location, Broccoli Raab, Broccoli Rabe and Rapini all refer to one species of the Mustard Family. Scientifically classified as Brassica rapa, Broccoli Raab is characterized by its serrated leaf growth and small broccoli-like florets. The pungent leaves and flavorsome florets are a well known staple in Italian cuisine, and for most, are considered a delicacy. Having never tried the flavors of this cool season crop, I figured it was about time! In this post, I'll discuss how to grow Broccoli Raab in containers.

How to Prune Mint for Cuttings

Since it's Monday, lets get things kicked off this week by talking a little about Mint. I'm going to skip out on growing mint, because honestly, it's just too easy. Instead, I'm going to focus on how to prune mint, especially in regards to taking cuttings for rooting. In this guide, I'll demonstrate how to prune and effectively clone mint plants.

Step 1 - Select Your Mint Plant
In my case, I've decided to take cuttings from my Orange Mint plant. Scraggly new growth that has been allowed to stretch a little is what you are looking for when pruning mint for cuttings. These lanky sprouts will easily root to create new mint plants.

Orange Mint Plant.

Step 2 - Taking Cuttings
With a sharp blade, cut the prospective mint cuttings at an angle below a node. Ideally, this node should be one third of the way down from the top of the mint branch. Leaving foliage on the bottom will promote new growth on the mother plant.

Picture depicting proper position for taking mint cuttings.

Step 3 - Prepare Mint Cutting
Once you have made your cut, you will need to clean up your cutting my removing foliage from the bottom nodes. Since these nodes will be submerged in water for rooting, the leaves are removed so they don't rot.

Mint cutting with lower foliage removed.

Step 4 - Rooting Mint Cuttings
Mint cuttings placed into a jar of water will easily take root within a week's time. Just fill a glass up and submerge the exposed nodes. The roots will soon grow and stretch out from these nodes. Personally, I like to fill a bowl up with hydroton to root my cuttings. It holds them in place well and is very easy to fill with water. For your cuttings to root, place in an area with strong indirect light or under low power grow lights. I've had the best luck rooting mint cuttings in an indoor environment with temperatures in the 60-70°F range and humidity over 50%.

Mint cuttings rooting in hydroton.

Step 5 - Plant Rooted Mint Cutting
In a short period of time (normally 7-10 days), your mint cuttings submerged in water will sprout and grow roots long enough for planting. I usually wait for the roots to reach one to one and a half inches long before I pot them. To begin growing your new mint plants, fill a container with well draining potting soil, poke a hole in the middle, place in your cutting and water in well. Be sure to keep the cutting moist while they grab a hold of growing in the soil.

Rooted mint cutting ready to be potted.

That about does it! With five minutes of labor and a week's worth of patience, you too can prune mint to increase the number of plants for your landscaping needs.

Container Garden Update #1

Alright, it's finally Friday! Whew, has it been busy lately or what? At the end of a crazy week, it's always nice to sit back and have a look at some garden pictures. So, without further ado, here's the most recent photos of the beginnings to my Patio of Pots:

Top Left: Flowering Kale. Top Right: Garlic Sprouts. On the wooden stand from
back to front: Yellow Rock Onions, Lime Mint, Orange Mint, Broccoli Raab
and Lemon Balm.

Closeup of life from the Lemon Balm.

It's only a couple photos, but where's the suspense when the whole patio is shown at once? Plus, the garden is still in its "chick" stage, as I like to call it. It's small now, but like the fast growing chick, it'll soon be a large and productive hen!

Current Garden Specifics -

Available Sunlight : Strong indirect from 1pm-3:30pm, Full Sun from 3:30pm - Sunset (7:30pm)
Weekly Weather : Freeze early in the week. Followed by daily highs averaging 67°F and lows averaging 39°F.
Current Plantings : Flowering Kale, Garlic, Yellow Rock Onions, Lime Mint, Orange Mint, Lemon Balm and Broccoli Raab (currently hardening off).

Plans for the Weekend -

Finalize and finish planter stands.
Setup grow beds for cole crops and radishes.
Prepare container for carrots.

Take care and enjoy the spring weather!

Growing Vegetables from Seed Indoors

Bare Patio April 2-3. Spring
Freeze #1.

A scorching eighty two degrees to welcome April, only to be followed by a couple of dreary days with temperatures plunging to the mid thirties and accompanied by an inch of snow. What a typical Colorado spring! Okay, so the unusually warm temperatures and lack of moisture throughout March was a bit odd, but an early spring freeze is nothing new. Which brings us to an important topic for discussion, growing vegetables from seed indoors. Any sort of variable spring weather can seriously hamper gardening from seed outdoors, so bypass the troubles and start your seeds inside! In this post, I'll be covering the basics of starting vegetables indoors, as well as introducing you to my own seed mania.

Why start vegetable seeds indoors?

When circumstances call for gardening in small spaces, starting seeds indoors is a great way to boost productivity and overall plant vigor. Whether you're transplanting your veggies to a few raised garden beds, or a container garden like mine, starting seeds indoors can benefit in these ways:

Controlled Environment - Seeds started outdoors are left to the elements. Cloud cover can reduce light, an arid wind can dry soil quickly, a sharp temperature swing can bring freezes, etc. All of these conditions can cause less than optimal settings for seed germination. Small gardening spaces rely on extremely well cared for crops in order to receive abundant harvests, so exposing your seeds and young plants to nature's will just isn't reasonable. Indoors, a personalized and stable environment can be created and tailored to the exact needs of the garden plants you're trying to sprout!
Elimination of Pests - Insects and garden pests love to munch and sometimes devour entire seedlings. Even if your seedlings are not lost to insects, the chance of spreading disease is increased due to the elevated levels of plant stress. Start veggie seeds indoors and never fear. With a sterile potting soil mix, the chances of running into any pest problems are extremely minimal.
Increased Productivity - Since you're in control of the environment, indoor seeds can be started much earlier than when they would normally be sown outdoors. By the time it's recommended to start sowing the seed, you'll already have healthy young plants ready for transplanting. This helps the small gardener focus on achieving greater yields from a smaller number of plants.

How to Start Vegetable Seed Indoors -

There's infinite ways that you can choose to germinate vegetable seed indoors. Each technique or piece of equipment used or not used will be specific to each gardener's needs. While techniques will vary, influences such as the ones listed below will always need special consideration:

Seed Trays are perfect for
germinating large numbers of
seed.

Light - Be it natural sunlight, or artificial grow lighting, seedlings and young plants generally need a whole lot of it. Depending on your desired amount of plants to grow, a south facing windowsill may be the solution, while gardeners seeking increased plantings may want to invest in vegetative specific grow lights.
Temperature & Moisture - Gardeners will find that germination rates increase as temperature and moisture levels reach a stable and consistent range. The vast majority of vegetable seeds will germinate comfortably with ambient room temperatures of 70°F. Seeds need consistent moisture in the soil for germination. While the gardener can supply moisture by misting the soil multiple times daily, a humidity dome can serve as a much more feasible way to keep moisture levels steady.
Space - Seeds don't stay small forever! It's important to account for your vegetables' growing size as they mature. Besides their growing physical size, you'll also have to think about the roots! As plants get bigger, transplanting into larger containers will be necessary. Make sure the equipment and area you're working in can accommodate your ambitions.

Once the basics are looked after, the overall process of how to start veggie seeds indoors is relatively pretty straightforward. For the majority of vegetables out there, all the germination process requires is for you to plant at the recommended depth, maintain consistent moisture and transplant the seedlings to larger pots as needed. Not too bad, huh?

When to Start Seeds Indoors -

Part of increasing the productivity of your small garden is knowing when to plant specific vegetable seeds indoors. You'll want your transplants to be healthy and strong, so it's important to get the timing correct! Starting seeds too early can lead to stunted growth and fruits even before you transplant outdoors, while starting too late can produce underdeveloped and reduced yields. For best results, plan to plant your vegetables indoors as following:

8-10 Weeks before Average Last Frost - Onions, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage and Leeks.
6-8 Weeks before Average Last Frost - Eggplant, Peppers and Tomatoes
4-6 Weeks before Average Last Frost - Cantalope, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Winter Squash and Watermelons.

My Indoor Seed Setup -

Seeing something is always a great way to grasp a concept, so to help guide you through your own indoor seed starting setup, here's the basic features of my own:

My indoor garden and seed
station. It's cat approved!

High Output T5 Fluorescent Grow light. This four foot, four bulb system produces 218watts of lighting power and is efficient at covering an area of eight square feet.
70 Watt High Pressure Sodium Grow Light. This unit I actually picked up on eBay for $20 as an extra in a landscaping job, and couldn't be more happy with its performance. A small but powerful light, I use it for larger growing seedlings.
707 Organic Potting Soil. I go back and forth a little bit between potting soils, but I recently found a great deal on the Roots Organic 707 potting soil, so that's what I've been using.
Homemade Compost. Amended into the 707 Organic potting soil is my own homemade compost. With a half and half mixture, I'm able to stretch soil much further.
Plastic Containers - I've purchased a 72 plant seed starter with humidity dome to provide my initial phase of the seed germination. Once the seedlings are ready for transplant, anything from yogurt cups to old plastic planters are used! Just be sure you check and verify the safety of the number grade plastic you choose to use.

What's growing right now? Well, here you are: Poblano Peppers, Orange Bell Peppers, Lemon Balm, Orange Mint, Lime Mint, Broccoli, Basil and a whole host of Chamomile, Dill and Heirloom Tomato sprouts. Even an Avocado pit is starting to come to life!

Final Word - Growing Seeds Indoors

The benefits are great, and the risks small. Why not give growing vegetables from seed indoors a try? I'm sure that you'll be more than pleased come harvest time! Take care.

DIY Composting Bin

Whomever told you that household composting could only be completed with the use of expensive rotating bins or a specialized indoor composter really has their head in the dirt! Sure, I suppose a hand crank can greatly ease labor and the newest probiotic mix may slightly speed composting time, but is it all worth it? Some will disagree, but in my own opinion, none of the fancy frills are needed for composting. After all, why spend an insane amount of cash on a specialized unit, when a cheap DIY composting bin will produce the same great end result? To drive my point home, this post will focus on my own very inexpensive diy compost bins. By discussing their ease of use, efficiency and productivity, you'll easily gain a grasp on how much diy composting bins can do for you!

Storage Tubs for Composting -

30 Gallon Diy Compost Bin.

Normally, when you hear the phrase 'do it yourself', you're expecting to build or create something, but that's really not the case here. I much apologize to those crafty folks out there, but I've found that plastic storage bins tend to be the best suitors for indoor composting. To meet my own composting needs, I've acquired two thirty gallon storage bins for the process. At a price of $2.99 each, their portability, size and mess-free qualities cannot be beat! For your convenience, I've placed together a short Q&A to help assist you in choosing the right compost bin:

How large of a compost bin do I need? When it comes down to it, you can go as large as you like, but the same cannot be said moving the other way. Small containers tend to be much more inefficient at breaking down materials due to the fact that there's simply not enough contained mass to retain and promote proper compost heating. For best results, plan to compost in containers with a volume larger than 25 gallons.
Do I need multiple compost bins? It's really your preference, but having two containers to compost in is much easier than just one! When you're mixing your compost bin, it's a whole lot easier just to move the compost from bin to bin, rather than to reach in and mix each container from the bottom up by hand.
Does there need to be holes in the bottom for ventilation? If you're looking to compost indoors like myself, I would highly recommend against drilling holes in the bottom of your composting container. Air circulation would be increased, but so would the mess on your floor. Instead of ventilation holes, maximize oxygen levels by turning the compost often.
Will my indoor compost stink? Should I buy a container with a lid? As long as the proper ratio of browns and greens are achieved in your compost mixture, it will never smell foul. A rank smelling compost can be tied directly to an abundance of moisture or too much green material. In either case, a lid won't do much to subdue the smell. Instead, lids may come in handy for holding in compost heat and keeping pests out, but are not required for the composting process.

Ease of Use -

Alright, I'll admit that the diy indoor compost system isn't completely maintenance free, but what's an hour a week going to hurt? Following my basic methods of composting laid out in my last post, Benefits of Composting, here's how my weekly schedule looks for compost maintenance:

Two Week old Compost with recent
addition of new organics.

Monday - Turn compost & add water. (10 Minutes)
Tuesday - Turn compost. (5 Minutes)
Wednesday - Turn compost & add molasses water. (10 Minutes)
Thursday - Turn compost. (5 Minutes)
Friday - Turn compost & mix in week's accumulation of organic scraps. Add shredded paper and water to match. (15 Minutes)
Saturday - Turn compost. (5 Minutes)
Sunday - Turn compost and add water if needed. (10 Minutes)

Heck, if you're feeling a little under the weather, turn the compost pile every other day. It'll be fine, and you can save yourself some time.

Efficiency -

Since the initial start up of an indoor diy compost bin, the garbage thrown away by my household has drastically reduced. With two people in the apartment, an average of two 13 gallon sized trash bags were thrown out a week. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but multiply that by the number of weeks in a year, and what you'll get is a ballpark figure of 105 bags! Positively, composting organic wastes and household paper products has reduced the number of bags destined for the dump down to one bag every two and a half weeks. Doing the same math we did before, the number of bags thrown out a year drops to 21! That's an 80% reduction in garbage and an 80% gain in your own personal efficiency! Here's an idea of what I was throwing out before that's now valuable compost fuel:

Receipts, Bills, Bank Statements, Junk Mail & Shredded Paper
Toilet Paper Rolls, Paper Bags, Corrugated Cardboard & Cardboard Product Packaging
Kitchen Scraps
Coffee Grounds & Filters

Productivity -

One and a half month old compost.
Cool and ready for use.

Keeping up with maintenance and turning the compost bin daily, I can produce a good amount of compost in a short amount of time. In fact, for the spring season, I've really outdone myself and produced a total of 90 gallons of compost in the last couple months. That's pretty dang good, but I must admit, a bit of the weight came from my free horse manure source! On average, expect a household family of four to produce 30 gallons of compost a month. With a few months of collection, you'll have plenty to amend your garden soils for a boost in fertility.

Final Word - DIY Composting Bins

I suppose there's not really much to say in conclusion about a DIY composting bin. I think 90 gallons of compost for $6 with an extreme garbage reduction says it all . . . don't you?

Benefits to Composting

There’s no better way to kick off the gardening season than to start up a compost pile. With benefits as a soil conditioner, natural fertilizer and its ability to be made into nutritious teas for garden plants, it’s fairly obvious to see that utilizing compost can greatly enhance the efficiency of your household practices. Don’t be fooled though, the benefits to composting go long beyond the gain of your garden. These benefits carry over into the bigger picture, helping to promote a brighter future for environments worldwide. Reduction of organics in landfills, pollution control and renewing the earth’s topsoil are just a few of the incentives offered by the simple practice of composting. Seriously, must I say much more to convince you that composting is a worthwhile task? Get ready to discover benefits of composting and how you can start today.

Benefits to Composting :

Soil Conditioner - Seasoned soil needs to be rejuvenated to maintain vitality. Compost, when amended directly into top soil, adds essential organic matter and boosts available nutrients. Besides providing a boost in soil fertility, compost also increases soil aeration, moisture retention and resistance to compaction.
Natural Fertilizer - Compost is more than just a soil amendment. For heavy feeding plants and vegetables, fertilizing with homemade compost teas will be more than sufficient. These homemade liquid nutrient solutions are easy to prepare and eliminate the need for costly commercial fertilizers.
Renewal of Topsoil - Every time a new batch of compost is worked into the ground, the earth becomes a little more foliage friendly. By adding compost to your garden soil, you're adding to the available organic matter, and thus building an excellent base for future plant growth.
Pollution Control - Millions of pounds of leaves, kitchen scraps and otherwise wasteful organics end up in landfills every year. When organic matter meets its fate in landfills, the anaerobic processes take foot and break down the materials inefficiently, thus creating large amounts of methane gas. When organic materials are composted properly, the oxygen rich processes break down the materials more efficiently and produce very little, if any methane.
Reduction in Soil Pollution - A healthy and thriving compost supports essential bacteria good at breaking down harmful pesticides and toxins. Compost is efficient at breaking down most pesticides into harmless compounds and also binding heavy metals into insoluble forms.

How to Start Composting :

When it comes down to the actual process of composting, there are endless methods that can be utilized. Since I garden with containers on my apartment porch, a small scale compost system is all I need. In fact, a small scale composting system is really all that most households will need for their organic wastes. Below you'll find instructions for how to successfully maintain a healthy and odorless indoor compost.

Materials Needed -

Large container (No less than 25 gallon capacity)
Kitchen Scraps
Leaves or shredded paper
Potting Soil

Basic Composting Process -

Layer the bottom of your container with a few inches of leaves or shredded paper.
To the layer of shredded paper, add finely chopped kitchen scraps until you have a week's worth of accumulation.
Add a couple handfuls of soil to the paper/scrap mixture and mix well. I find that adding soil helps establish beneficial bacteria colonies faster.
Complete the process on a weekly basis until your container is full. (Shouldn't take longer than a month)
Once the container has reached half capacity, mix the compost daily.
Depending on how fast you're adding organic matter to your compost, you may have ready to use compost within a month's time.

Keys for Success -

Working large batches creates compost faster. Sure you can add scraps to your compost daily, but adding a weeks accumulation will create more energy and compost heat. Food all at once breaks down faster than small additions.
Avoid odors by maintaining correct balances. A stinky compost is directly tied to having too much nitrogen (kitchen scraps) present in the system. To solve the problem, add more shredded paper or leaves. A healthy compost should maintain levels of 25 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen.
Maintain correct moisture levels. When compost is squeezed, the mixture should not drip off any excess water, but also not crumble when released. The compost will stay put in clumps if the moisture level is just right. An overly wet compost can also become smelly due to anaerobic conditions.
Turn Daily. Once your container is half full with materials for composting, turning the mixture daily will ensure that the compost is properly heating and breaking down organic materials. Turning daily also replenishes oxygen and helps speed the overall composting time.

I realize that there's still plenty more that could be said about composting, but for now, we'll just stick with the basics. Maybe, just maybe, I've convinced you to have a look into home composting and the benefits that you, the environment and your garden can all enjoy.

A Container Gardening Blog

Nestled near the majestic Rocky Mountains at the mild altitude of 6,000 feet above sea level, a gardening climate like no other is ready for use. This unique setting offers a very temperate climate, low humidity, an average 300 days of sunshine yearly, and all the comforts of agricultural zone 6a. Sounds like a great place to get dirty and sow your seeds, right? Well sure, it all sounds wonderful until you account for the fact that you'll be confined to a small west-facing apartment with absolutely no in-ground garden access. Would you still be up for the challenge of creating a bountiful vegetable garden? You might be hesitant, but I'm going head first! In my first attempt at a container gardening blog, I'll be sharing as much know-how as I can about this unique gardening style. Check out the specifics of my gardening area below, and keep checking back for more progress and info!

Garden Specifics -