Looking to start some horseradish, potatoes, garlic,ect. in containers. I was considering using a kids pool and five gallon buckets. Does anyone have any ideas for containers or advice on growing in containers. How big of a container would not need watering? I have never grown anything in containers and any advice will help. Thanks
Ground soil is mostly clay and rock. Location does not have access to water. Water is an acre away and would need pumped uphill. Does anyone know if rain collectors would supply enough?
The fabric containers do great with a loose soil that holds enough water for your needs. You want something pretty deep so like a 20 gallon would be the smallest but they make larger ones that go wider like a kiddie pool. I see alot of people cut holes in them so they can grow out the sides and have good results, I don’t do this as I alternate my veggies in containers.
3 or 5 gallon containers…,or larger .and if you can’t water in summer, then make sure you have shade.
(And some clay or something in the planting mix that retains water to some extent.)
(Caution, some things die of too much water…but garlic and horseradish should not. Nor sweet potatoes.)
If you’re truly unable to water at all…then you’ll need to say your prayers for rain on a simi-regular basis!!
I don’t want to discourage you, but trying to grow in containers with no water source (but rain) is probably going to be an uphill battle unless it doesn’t get very hot where you are and it rains pretty regularly. That said, if I were you, I’d probably use 5 gallon buckets, drill drainage holes in the bottom and line it with about 6 inches of untreated wood chip mulch. I would also top mulch anything I planted with another 2-3 inches of untreated wood chip mulch. This will help with moisture. Lastly, I would follow @BlueBerry’s advise and say your prayers for rain on a semi-regular basis.
I thought if the container were big enough it would hold moisture. How often would they need watered? I was going to use potting soil mixed with wood chips. The water is an acre away, but I may be able to get another pump to get it there if I have to.
I wouldn’t recommend you mixing the wood chips in with the potting soil unless they have been aged for 2-3 years, in which case the chips should be broken down to a near soil like consistency. Very few plants grow well in a soil/wood chip mix in my experience (and we have done a lot of experiments with wood chips on our permaculture farm).
The mulch is old. It ranges from chips to dirt like you said. I was thinking the chips would help hold moisture. You recommend not using it? When its hot and not much rain, about how often should they be watered? The soil would be coming from lowes or such. Would you recommend potting soil or something else? Sorry for all the questions, but I know absolutely nothing about container gardening. Thanks.
I grow in all kinds of containers from plastic to wood and things in between. I have used potting soil in my mixes before, but I don’t like it. It’s too heavy for containers, in my opinion. When I grow in containers, my go to growing medium mix is:
40 percent sifted compost (wood chip or manure based that we make from manure/hay from our animals)
40 percent peat
20 % perlite
That said, if I didn’t have access to water regularly, I would probably change my formula to
1/3 compost
1/3 peat
1/3 perlite
As far as how often the containers need watering, that just depends on your rain fall and how hot it gets. Growing in plastic containers, using mulch in the bottom and on top and the peat and perlite in your growing medium should really help to conserve moisture. One thing that I would NEVER do is to leave the plants with no mulch on top, so if you can’t follow any of the other advise I gave, please follow that piece.
Summer of 2018 I got by without watering way over 100 containers…and lost nearly none.
(We had plenty rain, and containers were mostly in shaded areas).
Fall 2019…lost about 6 trees and a few miscellaneous plants in late August and in Sept.
Had nearly no rain from July 15th through first week of October…and had to haul water to over half my containers where no wells or city water or the like were available.
(Would have lost lots of trees if not for watering twice per week…no matter if pint sized container or 7 gallon container…you lose more of the bigger plants if you don’t water than the little ones actually).
Many years I get by without watering ….(we average near 50 inches rainfall at my locations).
<And had over 75 inches in 2018.>
I have to water containers probably a average of 100 times minimum in the summer just for things to live. My container strawberries need winter water as well.
