You don’t need a big backyard to have a vegetable garden. If you don’t have an area around your home to plant vegetables, consider container gardening. You can grow many delicious vegetables or herbs in containers in very little space. You can use a window sill, deck, patio, or porch.  All you need is sunlight and rich soil.

If this is your first year for a garden you will need to choose your site.

Sunlight:

Choose a site that gets a lot of sunlight. You will want at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day.  Although 8-10 hours is much better.

Close to Home:

Pick a site that is close to your house. Having a site close to your house will be easier for you to water, weed, and keep critters out.

Soil:

Loose, well drained, and rich soil is what you will need to have a successful garden. Adding organic matter will improve clay or sandy soil.  

Water:

You will want to locate your garden near water. The closer to the spigot or other water source, the more chances of you watering your garden often.

Avoid low spots, like at the bottom of a hill. These areas will stay cooler longer and water may pool in the area. 

If you are planting your garden on the same site as last season, remove all dead plant material. Add organic matter and turn the soil. Don’t forget to rotate the crops from last season. This will avoid soil borne diseases and maintain a good soil balance.

For container gardening, you can use almost any type of container. The size of your container will depend on the vegetable that you will be growing and also the spot that you have for your container to be placed. If you are looking to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, you could use a 5 gallon container. Remember your container will need drainage holes and about 1 inch of gravel on the bottom to help with drainage.

Because the roots of your trees are above ground, they will be exposed to colder temperatures than trees that are growing in the ground. Containers are exposed to air on all four sides, and also the top and bottom. You will need to keep the soil temperatures in the pots above freezing.

If you can, move the containers to a protected area. If you can’t move them, follow these steps:

• Group your potted trees and plants together
• Thoroughly water the plants (do not feed)
• Construct a protective cage around each plant from the pot to the top of the tree/plant using chicken wire or similar material
• Fill each cage fully with straw, mulch, wood chips, or shredded leaves
• Wrap each insulated plant/tree with burlap from top to bottom

In the spring, be sure to wait until there is no further threat of frost before gently unwrapping each plant/tree.

For more information about protecting trees in winter, please click here to visit: Gurney’s Seed and Nursery.

Have a question for our garden experts? Click here and use our handy contact form to ask anything about growing and caring for plants, trees, shrubs, gardens and more.

You need to watch your cucumbers when you grow them. They can suffer from various ailments that you can prevent and cure.

• First up is the cucumber beetle. These little pests, in addition to eating the leaves, can carry the bacteria responsible for bacterial wilt. The best way to stop them is to control them. Insecticides, covers for the cucumbers, and wilt resistance cucumber plants are all great solutions.
• Next up is the cucumber mosaic virus and the tobacco mosaic virus. These viruses can cause the leaves of the cucumbers plants to become deformed and turn yellow. The fruits can also become discolored and misshapen.

The cucumber mosaic virus can be spread by aphids (tiny insects) and other infected plants. If you find an infected plant, pull it up and destroy it immediately, before other plants catch it.

The tobacco mosaic virus is spread by smoking near the plants or by touching the plants after smoking. It can be prevented by washing your hands. Both of these viruses are incurable. Again, the only thing you can do is to pull up he plants and destroy them.

• Another cucumber sickness is misshapen or deformed fruit. Don’t worry its not a virus or an inscect this time, it usually means too much fertilizer or too little water.

If you have hollow cucumbers then you need to fertilize the cucumbers more. Another good thing to do would be to keep the soil moist around the plants. The hollow cucumbers are still safe to eat, but they may be a little bitter.

If your cucumbers are bent, like in a c-shape, you might want to water them. This is usually caused by hot dry conditions. It happens more in the late summer, though. It is also helpful to mulch the ground and add compost to it.

• The final cucumber calamity for today is powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungus that spreads across the leaves of a plant a drains them of nutrients, sometimes killing the plant. It causes the leaves to turn brown and yellow and can kill the fruit.

The best treatment is to pick off the dying leaves and fruit and discarding them. Do not use these discarded leaves for compost, as they will infect other plants. Increase air circulation around the plant and keep it well watered and fertilized.

These tips and helpful hints will help you on your way to a cornucopia of fresh, delicious cucumbers!

Have a tip for growing cucumbers or your favorite fruit or vegetable? Click here to tell us all about it!

The chaos began in the middle of May, once the garden was tilled, the fence installed, and the plants purchased.  They seemed harmless and cute at the time, but when we put them in to the soil they started their growth. The six cucumbers grew slowly at first, and then they started to climb the small section of wire fence we placed between two posts. Before long we had a large lump spreading across the ground, getting bigger everyday. While weeding the garden I pushed aside some of the leaves and found a flower. The plants were starting to make cucumbers! Over the next few days I would look at them and see more flowers and more leaves. Their growth accelerated. Little lumps started to form behind the flowers; they were what we had been working for the entire time: Cucumbers!

When the cucumbers reach their full size (or you get hungry), gently pull them off the vine. If you let them hang on the vine, the plant will make seeds and stop making cucumbers.  When you pick them, have a bucket of cold water by to dunk them in. It cools them down. Make sure the bucket is large though because for every ten feet of cucumbers plants, you will generally get twelve pounds of cucumbers. Cucumbers can be refrigerated for about two weeks in plastic bags.

Cucumbers are great for any gardener, first timer or experienced. They produce a lot, which is very satisfying and are well worth the money for the plants.

Want to grow your own cucumbers? Here are some great links to get you started:

Bush Pickle Hybrid Pickling Cucumber

Sweet Success Hybrid Slicing Cucumber

Salad Bush Hybrid Slicing Cucumber

The best time for planning your vegetable garden would be in late winter. But it’s not too late to plan it now. If this is your first vegetable garden, start small and simple. Start with a few of your favorite vegetables than expand later as you gain more skill and confidence.

Click on the pictures to find out more information about growing these delicious vegetables…yes you can grow these and more!

Here are 4 Simple Steps to Start Your Vegetable Garden:

1. Choosing your location

Look for an open area that will receive six to eight hours of full sun each day. (most vegetables love sun. Leafy vegetables will tolerate part to light shade.)

Your location should be near a water source. Since watering is a key factor in a successful crop you may want your garden close to an outside faucet or have a garden hose long enough to reach all the areas of your garden.

Choose a location close to your house. In this way, you can watch your garden grow, watch for unwanted critters and have easy access to all those fresh vegetables you will be growing.

If you don’t have a yard or a good spot in your yard, many vegetables can grow just fine in containers. We recommend getting large, deep pots for this purpose. Or, you can build a raised bed structure on a porch or patio using timbers or bricks, or buy a weather-proof pre-made raised vegetable garden.”

2. Setting up your garden

You have many different options to how you would like to set up your garden.

You can set up rows of crops separated by two to three foot wide paths between the rows. This is one of the easiest layouts for your first vegetable garden.

Plant your vegetables close together in beds which is called intensive gardening. If you have limited garden space you will harvest the most produce possible by intensive gardening.

Plant vegetables in a raised bed. A raised bed is an enclosed area made of wood boards, cinder blocks, bricks or landscape timbers. Raised beds sit on top of the ground and are filled with soil and organic matter. They are usually six to twelve inches deep and are narrow enough so you don’t have to step into the bed in order to reach your plants.

You may want to draw a map of your garden size and shape and sketch out where each vegetable will be planted.

3. Choosing your vegetables

If you are a beginner gardener choose vegetables that you like to eat and are easy to grow. Some vegetables that are easy to grow are tomatos, beans, cucumbers, peas, summer squash, and radish.

Choose vegetables to fit the space that you have available in your garden. Some vegetables require little space and others need a lot of room. You can find this information on the tab on the container of the seedlings you purchase or on the packet of seeds.

4. How much of each vegetable to plant

If you are planting seedlings check the tab on the container to determine the average yield for each plant. This will help you in purchasing the right amount of vegetable plants for your garden.

If you’re starting with greenhouse saplings, a good rule of thumb is to give each little plant 2-3 inches of space all around. Again, some vegetables will require more room, so ask when you buy your plants or check the label.

Here are some popular tomato varieties, Click on the pictures to learn more about them:

Some basics to know prior to planting your dwarf citrus trees:

Temperature: Citrus plants thrive in temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees

Placement: Citrus light and need sun, but not too much. Outside they prefer southern or western exposure; inside you should place them near a sunny window or under “grow lights“.

Soil: Citrus trees and plants need an acidic soil. Some signs that your soil is off include leaves turning yellow, indicating that the soil needs more acid.

Maintain the acidity of the soil by dissolving 1/2 teaspoon of magnesium sulfate (aka: epsom salt) into 1 quart water. Use this formula once every 2-3 months. Also, every 3 months, feed your citrus trees with an acidic fertilizer.

Watering: Citrus trees like water so keep the soil moist, but not saturated. Test the wetness of the soil by poking down into it with your finger about 3 inches. If the soil is dry tothat depth, water the tree.

Pot Size: Matters! To save on excessive re-potting, start even small plants in a 10-15 gallon pot, this will accomodate a tree for growth up to 8 feet or so. Don’t go much bigger than that or your “dwarf” tree might grow larger than intended. Since citrus trees have shallow root systems, a wider pot will always be better than a deeper pot. Make sure the pot has good drainage.

Planting: Start by layering stones on the bottom of the pot – this will greatly aid drainage. Then use potting soil mixed with perlite*, being sure to cover only up to the top of the root ball, then finish with peat moss.

Re-Potting: Should be done every 3 years or so.

*Perlite: A light and porous substance that helps root development by allowing for better drainage. Natural volcanic rock that is heat expanded to increase soil porosity. Perlite provides aeration and drainage retaining and holding substantial amounts of water and later release it as needed, it is sterile and free from diseases. Encourages strong root development. Has a neutral pH

*Peat Moss. : An additive to improve soil texture. Increases water-holding capacity. Provides natural organic matter to help improve all soils. A soil conditioner used to loosen soil, add organic matter, and improve moisture retention. Enhances a soil’s ability to store and release nutrients. Can be mixed into potting soil to help reduce the impact of over watering.

My next post will talk more about growing citrus, especially dwarf citrus, trees on your patio in pots. We’ll cover ongoing care and pruning.

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Even though I live in a condo, I’m an avid gardener. I have my little front garden and my little back garden. This year I am concentrating on the back garden and patio.

I’ve always love the idea of planting trees. So I set out to find what sort of trees would make sense for my limited space. The answer: citrus trees. That idea really took root, so to speak. Citrus trees grow easily in containers, and while they do need to be taken indoors for the winter months, they emit the sweetest smells and add tender landscaping to your living areas.My next goal was to find out just what type of trees I wanted and of course, who had the best deal. I may be a gardener, but I’m also a bargain hunter. Plus I wanted quality plantings. I’ve had some bad experiences before, so I needed to do some citrus tree due diligence.Here’s some of the information I found about types of trees, quality of bulbs and plants, and naturally, guarantees:

Gurney’s Seed and Nursery offers a “dwarf citrus collection” which consists of 3 trees: lime, lemon and orange. The cost is about $40, which isn’t too bad as you can often also get discounts for spending at least $40 or other internet special incentives. Here’s the guarantee offered by Gurney’s – “We want you to be satisfied. If you’re not happy with one of our products, we’ll replace it, give you a credit or refund your money for the full amount of your purchase price. All nursery stock, trees and plants are guaranteed for as long as you garden. All seeds and merchandise are guaranteed for one full year.”

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery has a bunch of really exotic dwarf fruit trees. While I was sort of stuck on sticking with citrus, I’m already thinking about what I can add to my collection for next season: dwarf fig, dwarf pomegranate, dwarf banana, guava pineapple and even a coffee plant! I do love coffee… And, Henry Field’s Guarantee:“Henry Field wrote the guarantee we still honor today: “Your money’s worth or your money back.” If not completely satisfied, you will get new merchandise, a credit or a refund for the full purchase price–whichever you prefer. We honor this guarantee on plants and nursery stock for as long as you garden. Seeds and merchandise are guaranteed for one year.”

Spring Hill Nursey also had a citrus tree trio, which included dwarf Meyer Lemon, dwarf Navel Orange, and a dwarf Lime. Each costs about $19.99, but again with internet specials, first-time buyer specials and other incentives, you could probably get that price down. Spring Hill’s Lifetime Guarantee: “No-Risk Gardening for You – We guarantee all of our plants to be true to name and to reach you in perfect and healthy condition. If, for any reason, you aren’t pleased with any plant upon receipt, after planting or once it grows, just contact Spring Hill anytime–no time limit–for as long as you garden. No need to return any plant. We will refund every cent you paid for that plant or send a replacement without charge–whichever you prefer.”

Overall, I’ve got to say the choice was a hard one. But I knew I wanted and I just made a choice. Honestly, I could have gone with any of the above suppliers and gotten a great deal on the trees, a iron-clad guarantee, and beautiful plantings. I’ll keep everyone posted as to how my patio citrus trees progress. I know I won’t have fruit for a couple of years, but that’s ok because when my trees do bare fruit, I’ll know I raised them myself!

In my next post, I’ll talk about how to plant and cultivate patio citrus trees.