We love to share with you all what we are learning as we go about our successes and some failures. We like to get out ahead of you so that we can help you not make some of the same mistakes that we have made. This is the study of how are containers have been producing, and what we are going to have to do to get them back on track.
26 Comments
Happy FriYay eve y’all. ❤ it’s already triple digits in the high desert. Thank good for my shade cloth.
Do potatoes grow better in the ground or a container? I'm new to gardening. My mother says potatoes will be little in a container.
Good morning QUESTION Do you sell Online
What resources did you use to learn about regenerative farming? Thanks
Thank you have a blessed day ❤
I agree with Greg. I’ve only ever used epsom salt, organic egg shells, coffee grounds, fish emulsion, compost and milk in my containers. I have found that you’re 100% correct with the tomatoes. I grow everything in containers in the high desert! I’m planning on dumping all my soil this fall. ❤
I have been using the commercial fertilizers for years but I would love to get to where you guys are with the living soil approach. Keep up the good work and thanks for passing on what you have learned so far.
Greg is right the commercial fertilizers is literally Meth for plants. It gives a quick boost of energy while killing your (plants) body long term as well as destroying your soils by all the salts it adds to it. I only use it on my seed starting in the winter only because my organic fertilizer is way to stinky to use indoors.
Where do you sell at? I would love to buy some of your produce. Thank you.
Thanks for the info, Jill. This was my second year to use the wicking tubs. I emptied all the dirt out last year, cleared out the roots, and stored it over the winter. This year I amended that soil with, bone meal, blood meal, Black Kow fertilizer, and Pete moss. So far things are looking good and producing well. But I will definitely keep in mind what you have said for the next growing season when I prepare my tubs. Stay safe in the heat.
Maybe I'm missing something on tomatoes and container growing. I'm not having a problem using the same soil with organic fertilizers for my tomatoes to grow. I just keep the tomatoes well fed with fish fertilizer.
Good morning Jill!!👋 Hey Miss Bear we see you girl. Wow, looks like the jungle has been tamed! Yes, to having "living soil". My pots are dormant during the heat of summer (deck garden) but will be re-energizing them in September and hoping to add shade cloth. For now the heat is definitely ON so stay safe out there, whew!🥵
Dump your container soil in the Chicken run. The girls will eat all the bugs over the months and the next year you could add the soil to the garden. I also add some to my big worm bin. I’m dirt poor (lol) and keep all the dirt.
Well, it'd sure be helpful to know what that commercial fertilizer is that you keep hinting about as being bad. I only use fish and kelp emulsion.
Excited to see what you end up using in your containers. I think I need to redo mine also. Thank you for the info!
Put my shade cloth over my small container raised bed garden.
Thanks Jill for the info.
Remember y'all to Pray, Plan Prep
The biggest lesson I've learned in container gardening is that each watering washes your nutrition from the soil. Think about it: if a plant is in the ground and it rains, any nutrition might be washed deeper into the soil. But the roots can still grow and reach it.
In a pot, the nutrition gets washed out of reach from the roots. So now, every other watering I use a DILUTED compost tea, or manure tea. If I am trying to force plant growth, then DILUTED fish fertilizer, etc. Having good soil alone in container gardening is not enough, IMHO
We have only container gardens and raised beds because we have such a heavy clay soil here in Denton county. I read a book years ago that gave a ratio of 1/3 organic soil, 1/3 free range organic manure, 1/3 organic peat moss, and an equal amount of vermiculite or perlite. We mix it together and only use Dr. Earth vegetable fertilizer every other week. At the end of the season we go through the beds and remove all the roots, add another bag of manure whether it be cow or from our chickens (we collect it each week), add a thick layer of leaves and literally let it rot all winter. In the spring we go in with a heaping helping of compost (breaking down yard rubbish along with coffee grinds and vegetable pieces from our rolling compost) and mix it together. That’s what we’ve found regenerates the soil. Unfortunately we also had the same problems you did initially and we had to come up with a new way of doing it. The small tubs that you grow in we have also. Those get dumped every year and all roots removed. We only end up using a third of the soil. We then add manure, peat moss, and compost. If the mix needs vermiculite or perlite we add that also. I personally prefer vermiculite but it’s getting quite expensive.
I can’t thank you enough for this video! I opted out of a garden this year because it was more than I could handle especially after the past two years of doing the wicking tubs and so much work into them and barely any production. Not giving up though going to figure out how to do a fall garden in the ground the buckets are just so hard for one female to deal with in the water in the bottom is gross and I have a mold allergy I believe I would prefer to dig in the ground than be wrapped around the unsightly stinking bucket with ants dominating the drain hole. But I do also question my garden because I’m surrounded by big farms that I’m sure spray glyphosate.
It's the same in east tx this morning. Gonna be bad hot/humid this weekend.
That soil from the containers would great worm food. I empty my containers in a shady area and throw some composting worms in it and let them go to town on it. They convert it to some really good castings. Especially all of those roots.
OK…..you got my little brain cranking here…. Super info. Thanks so much. I plant in the ground but have a desire to do a raised bed waist high planter….lol…can't think of the real name of those things. But—none-the-less, it would be a container. Hmmmm..
Alright….what I think I am hearing you say….maybe….dump the container each season—not just take off and replace the top half.
BUT we can take what is dumped and rejuvenate it to be used in the future??? Sort of re-cycling. I already have in mind a recycle area that I could take that used soil and bring it back up to speed. I will watch the video again to see if I am way out in left field. I do use some of the synthetic fertilizer right now but would prefer to get away from that. Working on the chicken litter to use and garden scraps. Also have red wigglers to pitch in and help me.
I really am thankful for you guys sharing the ups and downs of getting a firm handle on successful methods AND other folks comments. This channel challenges us all to dive in and study, experiment and share. Tell Pops I'm baking some bread machine bread today. Hope it's not too addictive. Love you guys. Jesus bless.
Y’all be careful in that heat; those temperatures are brutal! Replace your electrolytes. ❤
Don't use Peat Moss in growing your food's. There is so much information on how this soil affects your health. I know personally!! Grow Peat Free when it comes to food.🤠🪴
If I could make a suggestion…take all of the soil from your tubs and put it down over an already tilled area….kind of like a new garden plot….mixthat soil into the ground (till)…add garden lime, chicken manure, new potting soil, ect….let it sit and do not grown anything in that area for a year(next spring)…pick weeds as the come up …keep it as if you are about to plant…then in the spring till it up a tad then dig and fill your tubs and put it on the beds you have everywhere. Almost like a compost pile but easier to turn….it'll be beautiful next spring ❤❤❤
Hi Jill. Have a look at Supersoil which is produced in Ireland. The Youtubers here in the UK love it including me.