Michigan Gardening - Week 5

Taking container gardening to another level.

This is my garden after 5 weeks. In this time I have learned that it's best for some types of seeds to be planted in containers to start, verses directly in the ground. (Green Beans, Carrots, Green Onion, tomato, pepper, and cilantro are some of those.) The black containers in the picture below are about 6-8 inches deep. I decided to use them to help me better regulate weeds and prevent the ground mole/vole from doing any damage to my young plants. But they needed some holes to allow for proper water drainage.

Thank goodness for my husband's power tools!
I placed about 6 of these holes throughout the bottom of the container. All containers after this I drilled hole with just the drill bit, but placed about 20. These holes seemed just a bit too big for my liking.

Then I dug a hole about 4-5 inches deep and placed the containers in the ground. Not necessary, but they look nicer this way.


There are green beans in the small container, tomato plants in front of them not in containers... Then squash and two containers of onions. The two large containers farthest away are buried in the ground about half way.

I believe this system is going to work well for now. I am not sure once the plants start getting bigger... I guess we'll wait and see.



(Staggered) Growing Green Beans & Carrots

My (round 2) green bean plants on Friday Morning...

And this is what they looked like (Sunday) tonight.

Planted about 10 days ago

Carrots planted about 20 days ago.

Yesterday I had a few flower buds on one of the tomato plants I bought. Of the two I purchase, it is the first and only one to have flowers so far. The plants is about a foot and a half tall.

Also, I now have only one cilantro plant (the other 2 died). It has sprouted one very small 'cilantro leaf'. I am hoping it survives. I love cilantro and use it often... but it might be cheaper just to buy it with the luck I am having trying to grow it.

Carrots have taken of like crazy! (After about 21 days they finally made an appearence in my first container, after about 10 day in the second container.) I am sure I will have to transplant them in the next few weeks.

I am now working on getting some asparagus seeds started. The seeds are soaking for at least 24 house before I start them.

I spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend. I actually meant to start my painting, but did not get to it. May sometime this week I can get it started, after my final exam for school is done, of course.