Help with container gardening

[sau418]

My DD 3.5 really wants to have a garden this year... She has been asking to do this since we moved to our new house 6 months ago. Obviously she is going to require a ton of help but I want to do this with her. I do not want to do anything big, hopefully a few veggies and maybe a container with flowers.

What is easy to grow and take care of? I am clueless but will take any help that is offered.

 

[badblackpug]

Tomatoes and peppers of all varieties. I grow them in pots on my porch every year.

 

[java]

I had success with Tomatoes - although I don't know that I would start from seed again that was a bit of a pain and made me late with my tomatoes.

Peppers - hot little ones did great on my deck too.

This year I am thinking of trying eggplant. I may move it down into the yard this year.

I enjoyed it last year- oh and those were some delicious tomatoes.

 

[dizneechic]

Grow what she will eat first and foremost. This way she can enjoy the "fruits of her labor" and you both can enjoy the whole process start to finish. Easier things we have grown in containers (which is now a 4' x 12' vertical garden):
Bush Beans (they don't need to climb as tall)
Cherry Tomatoes (again, stay more compact, easier for kids to eat and a tad sweeter)
Strawberries (these will sprout off babies too and you'll have more plants for next year)
Snap Peas (although these like to get tall)
Lettuce (great for shaded areas)

One of my kids favorite items to grow though (after strawberries) is cukes! Not only because they love them, but they are super prickly when you pick them and then the prickers wash off and they look like store ones. Pick them in the morning or evening for them to be at their best, not when they are hot or they taste mushy. NOTHING beats the taste of a cuke right out of the garden!

 

[PixiePlanner]

We plant a garden every year- have since DS11 was 2. Tomatoes, either grape or cherry, are great as well as cukes and green beans. DS & DD help with everything from tilling, to planting, to watering, to picking and yes finally, to eating. Carrots and radishes have not worked as our soil has too much clay. We started strawberries 2yrs ago but the birds bother them so I am not sure if we will keep them for much longer.

Good luck.

 

[kinntj]

We are doing 2 small container gardens this year too. They have to be kept on a table, so the dogs won't pee on them. My mom said leaf lettuce is super easy and good when it's fresh. I agree with fresh picked cukes too. YUM!

 

[sau418]

Thanks for all the great ideas!!

How big should the containers be? Should I start these from seeds or go to a nursery to get seedlings?

DD is a great eater and I do want to do somethings she will love, cukes are big hits in our house as are grape tomato's. We are part of a CSA (community supported aggriculture) so we get alot of lettuces and herbs through that.

 

[katlas&kids]

www.squarefootgardening.com Did this last year above ground. To many bunnies! Set large pieces of recycled wood on top of plastic storage containers. Used pallets as the frame. got some good stuff in small amounts, but found out I need to make it deeper. Can do table top ones the site says.

good luck!

 

[java]

Thanks for all the great ideas!!

How big should the containers be? Should I start these from seeds or go to a nursery to get seedlings?

DD is a great eater and I do want to do somethings she will love, cukes are big hits in our house as are grape tomato's. We are part of a CSA (community supported aggriculture) so we get alot of lettuces and herbs through that.

I started from seed last year and it was a lot of work. Plus I misjudged and ended up having tomatoes very late in the season.
For me I would start with Seedlings if I were to do it again.
and the peppers same thing.
Do you have a farmers market near you? you can get nice variety of seedlings usually there. That's where I get mine.

OH and do herbs!! They are very forgiving and save $$. Rosemary, basil, thyme and sage are all ones I have had success growing!

 

[5stljayhawks]

Ahh gardening... I have riped out half my roses and plan to remove the rest of them for more space so I can garden more with my kids.

First off, you want to look at the space you have or want to use. How much sun does it get, is there a water source, can you keep tools handy, oh yah got deer? Take that space and multiple by 50%. Really, maybe 100%.

Next, go to the libary and get all the book you can handle, there are books specifically on container gardening, stop by borders or barnes and noble, thumb through the discount isle and garden section. By spring you will have an idea.

Take a piece of paper, grid paper works best and lay out your garden. You can visit home depot/ lowes or other est and see what kind of pots are available. I made my own out of cedar 1"x6"X10'. with 1x2 on the bottoms to raise off the ground. This is an easy project.

Then give it a try, by seedlings, little more but much easier to get going. Make sure you by good potting soil, compost. I would also recomend planting flowers, such as geraniums(sp)

 

[sasywtch]

I would have the biggest strawberry, come out the next day and the birds ate half of it. I made a cube to fit over the strawberries out of old wood, stapled chicken wire on the sides and top. It was about 2 foot high so the birdies couldn't get their beaks in. When I wanted to go pick the strawberries, I just lifted it up. Didn't have one half eaten strawberry last year. I did the hanging tomato plants but I put in cherry tomatoes so they wouldn't be heavy and used a 5 gallon plastic bucket, drilled holes on the side and used rope to hang it up. I got more cherry tomatoes from those 2 than the ones in the ground. My kids even through their teens years liked the lemon cucumbers and they're easy to grow. Rosemary is good as it attacks the bees needed. I do a lot of hiking with a gardening partner and we found the bees really like the blue flower plants.

We plant a garden every year- have since DS11 was 2. Tomatoes, either grape or cherry, are great as well as cukes and green beans. DS & DD help with everything from tilling, to planting, to watering, to picking and yes finally, to eating. Carrots and radishes have not worked as our soil has too much clay. We started strawberries 2yrs ago but the birds bother them so I am not sure if we will keep them for much longer.

Good luck.