I have more Smart Pots than just the ones I’ve set aside for the comparison study (and sent to Debra), so I’ve been looking for different things I could try. One of the things they are supposedly good for is growing potatoes. With that in mind, I bought a ‘French Fingerling’ potato seedling at the nursery, because that was the only way to get just one potato plant. All the seed potatoes were sold in bags of ten.

However, according to the Smart Pot website, you can grow 3 potato plants in a 10 gallon Smart Pot, so I need two more seedlings. Whoops. Word on the street is that Adriana has an extra seed potato, so maybe I can arrange a swap of some sort.

Here is what Smart Pot says to do to grow potatoes in one of their pots:

1. Cut seed potatoes into chunks having at least 2 eyes each. Each piece should be about 1.5-2 inches long. Allow the pieces to dry and callous over, about 2 days. Whole seed potatoes can be planted if they are small.
2. Use rich, loamy soil that is slightly acidic (the goal is a pH of 6.0).
3. Plant the seed potatoes when the soil has reached a minimum of 45 degrees F.
4. Fill the Smart Pot container about 1/3 full with a 50/50 mixture of garden soil and compost.
5. Plant one seed potato for each 3 gallons of Smart Pot container. For the #15 container, for example, plant 5 seed potatoes. For the #10 container, plant 3 or 4 seed potatoes. Place the seed potatoes evenly in the container.
6. Water the soil thoroughly. It should be moist but not soggy.
7. Soon, you will see little stems pop through the soil. Mound up more soil/compost mix, but do not to cover the leaves. The leaves need sun and air exposure.
8. As the potatoes continue growing, continue adding soil/compost mix until you reach the top of the Smart Pot container.
9. As summer ends and autumn nears, the potato leaves and stems will begin to turn yellow. Timing will vary somewhat depending on the potato variety and your temperature zone.
10. When the foliage has died back and the weather is cooler, stop all watering about 2 weeks prior to harvest. The leaves and stems will turn almost completely yellow. You are ready to harvest.

If you’re using something other than a Smart Pot, I’m sure you could still follow these instructions. I’ve heard of people using a plastic garbage bag with holes punches in the bottom. The benefit of the Smart Pot is supposed to be that the fabric sides of the pot are permeable and allows the soil to stay aerated.

Check back in a few hours. I’m going to plant my potato seedling according to these instructions this morning and I’ll post pictures when I’m done.

Last week my master gardener class was on “integrated pest management,” as you could probably tell from the #MGtips tweets I posted to my Twitter account. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the use of all suitable pest control methods in a compatible manner that minimizes adverse effects on the environment. While IPM sometimes advocates the use of chemical sprays by home gardeners, usually it is only as a last resort. Done properly, IPM practices can often prevent serious pest infestations in the first place, negating the need for any kind of post-occurrence treatment, chemical or organic.

Choose the Right Plant

Often times when you’re buying seeds or plants, you’ll see a plant that is listed as resistant to certain diseases or pests. This means that the plant exhibits less pest damage than other similar plants in similar growing conditions. Or it might mean that the plant can sustain high amounts of pest damage without dying. In both situations, you won’t need to use as many pest-control counter measures to keep that plant healthy.

Another thing to think about is whether the plant is really well-suited to your climate and your particular balcony. Growing full-sun plants in partial shade, or growing desert plants in high humidity areas can lead to problems. Weak plants give off signs to pests to come on in and stay awhile. And plants that evolved in one type of climate may not be able to fend off the pests or diseases in drastically different climate. Also, beneficial insects the plant relied on in it’s home turf may not exist in the new environment.

Don’t Grow the Same Thing in the Same Spot Year After Year

If you don’t throw out your potting soil after the growing season is over, or if you have access in an in-ground garden plot, switch things up each year. Many pests have become specialists and only attack specific plants. If you plant tomatoes, for example, in the same spot year after year, the pests that attack tomatoes will build up in that spot and make it more difficult to successfully grow tomatoes there. This rule applies to all plants in the same family. So if you grew a tomato in your planter last year, you shouldn’t grow tomatoes, eggplants, or potatoes in that planter this year.

Use the Proper Amount of Water and Fertilizer

Watering and feeding your plants nothing more and nothing less than they want will produce a healthy plant. And healthy plants are less attractive to pests. But using too much compost, for example, can provide ideal breeding grounds for millipedes and pill bugs. And if you don’t water your plant enough, its leaves will turn yellow. Yellow leaves work like homing beacons for pests. Too much water or fertilizer during a time when the plant is normally dormant can cause fresh growth during a time of year when the plant doesn’t have good natural defenses.

Plant and Harvest At the Right Time

Sowing your seeds and planting your plants at the right time can prevent the seeds/plants from being exposed to pests at a vulnerable stage of development. For example, if you sow bean seeds outside when the soil temperature is too cold for them to germinate then the seeds have to sit in the soil until things warm up. This waiting period increases the possibility that a maggot will discover the seeds and have a bean feast.

Preventative “Devices”

You can use all sorts of simple devices to keep pests from getting on your plant, such as collars to keep cutworms away, or fine netting to prevent beetles from landing on your plant and birds from eating its fruits. Reflective mulches can also be used to deter some pests, like whitefly. You can also trap bugs before they get to your plant. Many people place shallow dishes of stale beer amongst their plants to attract and kill snails and slugs.

I want to start this post off by saying that there is no way that Target should replace the need for a “real” garden center. It’s not possible for a generalist to do a specialist’s job as good as the specialist. Know what I’m saying?

Now that I’ve got that guilt off my chest, I really have to take my hat off to Target for the strides they’ve made in their garden section. I think it’s a great place for a busy person to grab a few things while also picking up a gallon of milk and a package of socks. I also saw decent quality  tools, pots, ornaments and furniture at reasonable prices. And their plants, well there’s room for improvement there, but you can get some good deals on interesting plants at Target too.

Seed Starting

This is the area of Target’s garden section that first caught my eye. Target carries a line of eco-friendly seed starting products from Burpee. I saw biodegradable fiber pots (both single pots and ones formed into six packs) and seed starting trays made out of a biodegradable plastic made from corn. This is definitely a move in the right direction for both Burpee and Target. Though I was disappointed that these products were right next to a whole bunch of Scott’s and Miracle Grow products. The disconnect was pretty strange.

Of course, Target also carries plenty of seeds, both from Burpee, and a line created especially for Target under the Sean Conway brand. I don’t have any experience with the Sean Conway seeds, but I’ve had good success with Burpee.

Containers

I was also really impressed with Target’s selection of pots. It was by no means “huge” but they had many different attractive options in several different styles, from modern to ethnic to traditional. Glazed, terracotta, metal, plastic, etc. They were all at very reasonable prices. I don’t think I saw a pot for more than $50, and that was a large glazed pot that would cost $20 more somewhere else. I should also point out that Target had several nice looking hanging baskets and I was happy to see they were lined with coir, which is more environmentally sustainable than peat moss.

Tools, Ornaments & Lighting

I saw lots of options for container gardeners in this department. Target has tons of solar powered lights in all sorts of different styles that you can buy one at a time. They also had plenty of small statues, fake mushrooms, funny little gnomes, and the like, perfect for nestling in a pot.I also spotted a few water fountains and bird baths. Target also carries a line of tools from Fiskars which looked solid, but obviously at the $12.99 price point you’re not going to be handing the pruners down to your grandchildren. They had gloves and garden clogs too.

Plants

I saved the plants for last because I think this part of the garden section still needs to most work. Target has done a great job improving the diversity of plants they offer, and I really appreciate that they offer a large number of drought tolerant plants in their Southern California stores. But some of the offerings are just gimmicks, like the seed kit above. No one can grow roma tomatoes and basil plants in a small windowbox-shaped pot. I hope these sort of items aren’t good sellers.

And while I understand that you can’t offer plants at great prices and still afford to hire first rate horticulturists, a little training on proper watering would go a long way. Every time I’ve walked through this department I’ve seen plants that are dying because of either too much or too little water. I’ve also seen plants that have been there for awhile that would look a million times better if someone would just cut off the spent flowers.

Final Thoughts

The point about high quality nursery staff is one I want to end on. I feel mixed emotions about publishing this post. Target’s great prices come at the cost of experienced staff that can advise you about how to plant a tree or which plants are good for adding color in a shady spot. While you can buy a lot of plants without really needing assistance, when you do need that help, I can tell you from my own experience how valuable a well-educated, experienced nursery person can be.

I’m worried that if Target starts eating into nursery profits (or if it already has), they won’t be able to hire as many good quality employees. Also, a few thousand square feet in a Target store can’t possibly contain the diversity of plants that a few acres of an excellent nursery can accomodate. Basically, I’m concerned that if I shop at Target today, I’ll regret the lack of nurseries to shop at tomorrow.

Living in an apartment or condo means living really close to other people. I’ve been rudely reminded of that lately, as my upstairs neighbor has decided to rearrange their furniture late at night. But the closeness can also be felt outside, on your balcony or patio too. Inconsiderate neighbors may use their balcony as a place to store their junk, or you may have a great view into the apartments in the next building over. Whatever the case, you may want to create a little privacy on your balcony, and I know of five plants that would do a great job helping you do that.

Blueberries

Photo by Martin LaBar

Blueberries are a great plant to grow in pots. In many parts of the country, it’s pretty much the only way. Like in Southern California, where our soil is too alkaline to grow them in the ground. But in a pot, it’s easy to provide them with the acidic soil they love. And “high bush” varieties can grow to be 5-6 feet tall. This means that you can create a privacy hedge that is beautiful and produces delicious fruit. Trifecta! More about blueberries here.

Ornamental Millet

I keep on seeing this plant in Target’s garden section (though you can also easily grow millet from seed). More on Target’s garden center tomorrow, but ornamental millet grows to be about 5 feet tall and produces nice bushy plants that are perfect for blocking out neighbors. It won the All-America Selection gold medal, which is hard to do, though not surprising for a plant that is beautiful yet nearly impossible to kill. Oh yeah, and they leaves are such a dark purple, they look black. What’s not to love?

Hollyhocks

Photo by Per Ola Wiberg

Hollyhocks are usually listed as a biennial, which means that you plant them one year, it grows leaves and roots, and then flowers the following year. However, many of them can be grown as an annual (flower the year they’re planted) if you start them early indoors. Being the black plant lover that I am, I recommend ‘Watchman’ which will send up 6 foot tall deep burgandy flower spikes.

Sunflowers

Photo by Esdras Calderan

There are some sunflowers that will grow to 14 feet tall. If you can’t block out your neighbors with 14 feet of of sunflowery goodness, then you should probably just move. Sunflowers are another double-duty plant. If you grow a variety that produces yummy seeds, you can either eat them or let your feathery friends have them. Either way, bees will definitely appreciate all the pollen.

Foxglove

Photo by FatMandy

If you have a shady balcony, then foxgloves are your friend. They come in all sorts of colors and can grow to 5 feet tall. Put them in a 2 foot tall pot and you have a stunning flower curtain that you and bees will love. Here’s a container recipe featuring foxgloves.

Related Posts

• Creating Privacy On Your Balcony, Part 1
• Creating Privacy On Your Balcony, Part 2

I have two wonderful brothers that live much, much too far away. Ben is 26 and lives in Philadelphia where he works as a software programmer of some sort (what he does is completely over my head). David is 19 and in college in Vermont; he plans on becoming a Navy submarine officer. They’re both handsome, smart, funny, talented, all-around good guys.

Anyway, back to balcony gardening. Ben gave me the idea for this post. He is quite the DIYer, and he saw this modern bird feeder designed by Nina Tolstrup and knew he could recreate it himself. Lucky for you, he sent me how he did it, so you can make this bird feeder too.

Materials:

• Approximately 5 feet of 1×2″ lumber
• 1 small terracotta pot (approximately 4 inches)

The hardware I had from previous projects:

• 8 x 1.5″ galvanized or rustproof finish nails
• 1 x 1.5″ long threaded bolt ~ 5/16″ diameter / hex hed ( hex head bolts have a shallow / flat head that is easy to conceal)
• 4 x washers (3/8″ inner diameter, 5/8″ outer diameter)
• 1 x nut (5/16″ diameter)

The hardware is pretty flexible you don’t have to use the exact same hardware I used. I’d test the hardware you have lying around at home before buying new.

Instructions:

1. Cut 4 identical pieces of 1×2″ lumber with a miter saw at 45 degrees (I used 4 – 13″ pieces for mine). Make sure to cut them so that the “ramp” of the miter is on the 2″ wide side of the lumber; I call this side the face. Also make sure that both “ramps” are on the same face of each piece, like this:
   /——————–\.
2. Drill a countersink part way through the face of one of the pieces. (deep enough and wide enough for the head of the bolt to fit in). Then drill 3/8″ wide hole through the countersink. This piece will be the bottom of the ‘frame’
3. Nail and glue the 4 pieces together to make a square frame.
4. Once the glue has dried, you can stain/seal/paint it. I sealed it with some linseed oil that I had lying around. Unless you use an ‘outdoor’ wood like cedar or redwood the wood will deteriorate if left untreated.
5. Assemble the feeder pot. From the bottom (where you drilled the countersink hole). Put a small washer on the bolt, then insert the bolt into the hole. Then put a couple of spacer washers on the end of the bolt. Then place the terracotta pot over the bolt (through the drainage hole). Then one more washer and finally the nut, which can be hand tightened.
6. Screw the screw hook into the center of the top (sometimes a pilot hole helps to get it started and a screwdriver can be used as a lever to help twist the hook into the wood)
7. Fill the pot with seed and hang.

The votes are in, and it looks like I’ll be growing tomatoes and lavender in my Smart Pot comparison test. Many thanks to everyone who voted. I’ll be planting the Smart Pots in the next week or so, but in the meantime I’ve been rereading The Bountiful Container chapters on each plant–it’s my go-to guide on growing anything edible in a pot. Lavender is pretty easy to grow, but I thought I’d share a few tips gleaned from The Bountiful Container. Next Thursday I’ll share what the authors have to say about growing tomatoes.

Ideal Growing Conditions for Lavender

To put it simply, lavender likes a warm (but not hot) spot in the sun, with slightly alkaline soil that is a bit on the dry side. I won’t have a problem providing alkaline soil, because my water has so much calcium in it that neutral soil is turned alkaline within a month. But you can add a little lime to your potting mix if you don’t have the “benefit” of a similar water source.

Get More Lavender Plants for Free

To keep lavender from looking scraggly, you should snip the tips of the leaves back lightly in early spring and late summer. Every few of years, you’ll need to cut the branches back by half in Spring. Save these cuttings and dip the cut end into a little rooting hormone. Poke a hole in evenly moist, sandy potting soil and insert the cutting. In a few weeks it will have rooted and you will have a genetically identical clone of the original plant.

Properly Harvest Your Lavender

The leaves are as fragrant as the flowers, so save the tips that you pinch back twice a year. To harvest the flowers, pick spikes with flowers that have not opened. Snip them off the plant early in the day. Lay the flower spikes on a paper towel in a cool, dry place out of direct sun. After a week the flowers should be completely dry and you can store them in an airtight container until needed, though the color and scent may fade over time.

“Seed starting” or “starting seeds indoors” refers both to something that gardeners giddily look forward to at the end of winter, and a practice that frustrates a lot of people. While sowing seeds in pots indoors doesn’t require any difficult techniques or hard to acquire skills, it is kind of unforgiving in a few respects. That’s why I thought I would share some of the things I’ve learned over the last few years of starting seeds inside.

The first thing that frustrates people is figuring out when to sow their seeds. There is no universal answer, because different seeds take different amounts of time to grow before they’re ready to go outside. So how do you figure it out? Look on the seed packet and it will tell you to start your seeds a certain amount of time before your “last frost date.” You can find your last frost date by using this listing from Victory Seeds. Simply count the correct amount of time for that seed back from your last frost date and that is the approximate time you should sow those particular seeds.

I think some people are also fouled up by using the wrong materials. I highly recommend using a potting mix that is specifically designed for starting seeds. You can buy this mix in a bag and scoop it into your own pots or buy those little Jiffy Pots that you soak in water to expand. Either way, I bet you’ll have a much higher success rate with either of those than you will with generic potting mix.

The other thing that makes a big difference for me is watering from the bottom. By this I mean I put my pot (with a hole in the bottom) in a tray of water. The soil wicks the water up through the hole and stays evenly moist. This solves two problems: (1) forgetting to water thus allowing the soil to dry out, and (2) knocking over seedlings with a stream of water when you try and water them from the top.

Another simple to correct mistake that a lot of people make is not providing enough light. You should give them about 14 hours of light a day. And quite frankly, I’ve never had success with simply putting the seedlings in a bright window, no one gets 14 hours of sunshine during the winter or early spring, and the light through a window usually isn’t bright enough. You really do need a fluorescent tube lightbulb. Hang the lightbulb so that it is just an inch or so above your seedlings.

Finally, it’s helpful to know a little about the types of leaves on a plant. Most of the seeds you will sow indoors are dicots. This means that when the plant emerges from the soil there will be two leaves (the other type of plant is a monocot, which only has one initial leaf). These first leaves are called seed leaves, and don’t look like the true leaves of the plant that will develop later. When you see the first true leaf, it’s time to start fertilizing with half strength fertilizer once a week.

You also need to know about leaves when it is time to transplant. If you’re sowing your seeds in a shallow tray or container, transplant them to a larger container once you see that it has developed two sets of true leaves. Plant the seedling deeply, up until just below it’s seed leaves. This will help keep the plant from flopping over and then growing with a crook in it’s stem. This will also encourage the plant to grow roots along the stem that is below ground, further strengthening it.

A few more tips

• Rotate your seedlings daily so they get even exposure to the light
• If your seeds aren’t germinating, it may be too cool in your home. Move them to a spot that is between 65-75 degrees or buy a seed starting heat mat.
• When it’s time to move your plants outside, do so gradually over several days to “harden off” your seedlings.
• You can use a soda bottle with the bottom cut off to protect tender seedlings at night, once they’ve been permanently moved outdoors.

I’ve posted about Roger’s garden before, they are a fantastic garden center in South Orange County. It’s one of those sort of garden centers that people visit every weekend and take photos. The vignettes their landscapers create are nothing short of spectacular. And their pots do not disappoint. I think you’ll really enjoy taking a look at what their container gardening maestros have done as you contemplate your own garden this year…

You can see more of my photos from Roger’s Gardens on Flickr.

I had planned a post for today about ironic animal statuary. Alas, that post will have to wait for another day. Yesterday I saw a great idea for a garden mentioned on Twitter, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share it. @FromFarmToTable tweeted that she’s reinstating cocktail hour come spring and invited people to share what they’d plant in a “cocktail garden.” To me, a cocktail garden should be two fold: contain plants to be used in cocktails, and be pleasant to spend time in during cocktail drinking hours.

Luckily pretty much all of the plants commonly called for in cocktail recipes are easy to grow in pots. Just like all other edible gardens, you should grow the plants you love, so I’ve organized the plants below according to the cocktail that calls for them. Just find the drinks you enjoy and plant those fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Margaritas

• Recipe – Perfect Margarita
• What to Plant – Lime tree

Hard Lemonade

• Recipe – Sunny’s Hard Lemonade
• What to Plant – Lemon tree
• Variations – Add strawberries, watermelon, or lavender

Bloody Mary

• Recipe – Upgraded Traditional Bloody Mary or try this Bloody Mary Swizzlers recipe
• What to Plant – Lemons, celery, and if you’re really hard core, cherry tomatoes to make your own tomato juice. Or if you’re into a more adventurous bloody mary, plant garlic, horseradish, and/or basil.

Mojito

• Recipe – Stephen’s Famous Mojitos
• What to Plant – Mint, but feel free to experiment with different types of mint!

Strawberry Daiquiris

• Recipe – Strawberry Daiquiris
• What to Plant – Strawberries and limes

Screwdriver

• Recipe – Classic Screwdriver
• What to Plant – Oranges, though why not spice things up and plant blood oranges instead?

Pina Colada

• Recipe – Ultimate Pina Colada
• What to Plant – Pineapples (just save the top from a pineapple and plant it) and strawberries.

Oh, and about making a garden that is enjoyable at night? Check out these ideas for creating a moon garden on your balcony.

What’s your favorite cocktail?

It’s time for the March blog carnival, and I’m really excited about this month’s topic, because it is a reader-suggested topic. In case you missed the first two LOTB carnivals, and you’re not sure what a blog carnival is, it’s when one blogger requests that other bloggers publish posts on a certain topic and then the carnival host(ess) publishes links to everyone’s submissions. It’s a great way for LOTB readers to find lots of great ideas, and for other bloggers to reach out to a new audience. If you’re still not sure what I am talking about, check out the February LOTB carnival.

For the March Carnival, I’m seeking posts about using an non-traditional container. You can write about about anything so long as it does not involve a pot. No plastic pots. No terracotta pots. No metal pots. No glazed pots. I’m talking about planting daisies in a rain boot. Or growing succulents in muffin tin (something I saw in Succulent Container Gardens). Or anything else that strikes your fancy. Just no pots. If you need help or have a question, don’t hestitate to email me.

To submit a post, use this form: Container Gardening Blog Carnival Page. You can find it by going to Contact > Blog Carnival at the top of the page too. You need to publish your post on your blog and submit it through the blog carnival submission page by March 13th. I’ll be publishing the carnival on the 15th.

You are free to use the image at the top of this post or this badge if you participate, but you must download them and host them yourself (i.e. right click and chose “save image” and then upload it to your website, or to a hosting service, like PhotoBucket or Flickr).