2006 - So far this year

It has been a less than wonderfull year for plantings in the back yard. First it was cold and wet and then extremely hot and dry. Most of the plants are under stress even with tri-daily waterings. The spinach went almost straight from seed to flowering and the leaves were small and stringy because of the heat. During the first part of the summer the hangers on the fences tended to be water logged from the frequent rains and now with the heat need watering more than three times a day. Fortunately the geraniums are a very forgiving plant and seem to survive despite of the extremes.

The basil plant was not so lucky. I planted it in a circular pot that is about 70cm across with Rosemary. The plant was very spindly and even with watering didn't produce much in the way of quality leaves. It quickly flowered and despite pruning it didn't bush out. I removed the plant totally and the Rosemary is now taking over that space. The Rosemary on the other hand is thriving despite of the heat and I should be getting a good bumper crop this year.

The two pots (60cm x 60cm) of tomatoes (one cherry and one regular) and also thriving. Both have been propped up with stakes and now are 1-2 metres in height. I don't know if this is because they are in planters or the soil I use or the fertilizer (miracle grow) used every week. I have already had several cherry tomatoes with a large number of green tomatoes on the vine. The regular tomato plant has approximately 1 dozen green tomatoes on the vine and I am looking forward to a good crop there.

The carrots are also thriving and Emily has had three dinners with her carrots. The onions are thriving too and we use them for salads and cooking. They are quite mild and have a pleasant taste. Our next project is to take the planter from the spinach and replant them with carrots to see if we can get a second crop for the fall.

2005 - Pots nineteen to twenty-four

Pot: 19 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Corner
Plantings: Digitalis Mertonensis (Strawberry Foxglove)
Observations: Nice flowering plant, lasted over the summer. Didn't over-winter well.

Pot: 20 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Backing onto fence
Plantings: Litatris Spicula (Kobold)
Observations: Nice flowering plant, needed some support as it tended to fall over at times. Didn't over-winter well.

Pot: 21 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Backing onto fence
Plantings: Pimula Denticulata
Observations: Nice flowering plant, short height in container and tended to disappear beside the Kobold and tomatoe plant. Didn't over-winter well.

Pot: 22 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Backing onto fence
Plantings: Cherry Tomtoe
Observations: Very agressive growth. This plant grew over the fence and was at a minimum 3 metres in length. It also grew over 3 metres in width. This is a plant that needed agressive pruning on a weekly basis to keep it at the size previously mentioned. Once it started to flower it produced approximately one small container of ripe tomatoes every day until October.

Pot: 23 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Backing onto fence on top of a 'bench' approximately 1 metre high.
Plantings: Double petunia
Observations: Nice flowering plant, it grew in a trailing vine approximately 2/3 of a metre in length. Flowered until a killing frost.

Pot: 24 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Backing onto fence on top of a 'bench' approximately 1 metre high.
Plantings: Onions
Observations: Liked the height when growing. Needed frequent watering as the location tended to dry out.

2005 - Pots thirteen to eighteen.

Pot: 13 = Size: 15cm round | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: unknown
Observations: This was a pot of flowers my daughter picked out and we didn't have the tag for. It flowered well and did tolerate drying out.

Pot: 14 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Ground in front of window well
Plantings: Winter savoury
Observations: Excellent plant. It spread quickly during the first year and filled the pot. Tolerates bi-weekly cutting for the herb. When it did flower they were small and a light white colour. This pot did winter over and survived to 2006!

Pot: 15 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Ground in front of window well
Plantings: Sage and varigated sage
Observations: Grows fast and tolerated heavy cuttings on a bi-weekly basis throughout the season. It kept growing until a killer frost late October.

Pot: 16 = Size: 60cm x60cm | Location: Ground in front of window well
Plantings: Sedum spectable
Observations: Good bloom, lasted until killer frost. This plant grew to almost 60cm in height. The pot did winter over and the sedum survived for the 2006 season.

Pot: 17 = Size: 60cm x60cm | Location: Ground in front of window well
Plantings: Argyranthemum Butterfly
Observations: Lacey leaves and prolific flowers. Lasted from July until September for the flowers. Again, this is one of the pots that wintered over well and survived for the 2006 season.

Pot: 18 = Size: 60cm x 60cm | Location: Ground in front of window well
Plantings: Lobelia Cardinalis
Observations: Good bloom, lasted until killer frost. This pot didn't survive the wintering over.

2005 - Pots seven to twelve

Pot: 7 = Size: 15cm round | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Geranium
Observations: Good bloom, lasted until killer frost.


Pot: 8 = Size: 15cm round | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Baby breath
Observations: Good speading, nice flower, likes frequent watering.


Pot: 9 = Size: 15cm round | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Baby breath
Observations: Same as pot 8.


Pot: 10 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Ground by back door
Plantings: Double petunia and Geranium
Observations: Petunia spead and continuously flowered until killer frost. Geranium flowered full season until killer frost.


Pot: 11 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Ground by back wall
Plantings: Yellow Beans
Observations: Grew to about 45 cm in height. Excellent crop of beans, does not like soil drying out and needed watering several times a day.


Pot: 12 = Size: 30cm | Location: Plant holder, 30cm from gound
Plantings: Marigolds
Observations: Bloom continually until killer frost. Fairly drought tolerant.

2005 - Pots: one to six

This is the first posting of all the plants. I will try to group them in sixes and give my observations on what worked and didn't work. For those of you who are not familiar with the metric system here is a quick summary:

2.54 cm (centimeters) = 1 inch
100 cm = 1 meter
39 inches = approx 1 meter

I try to use metric sizes when ever possible.

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Note: The spikes are a plant I cannot remember the name. It grows fairly tall in the planter (About 50cm) and I use it as a contrasting planting in the middle of the flower box.


Pot: 1 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Osteosperum, Spike, Dianthus
Observations: Disappointing, other than the spike they were short in height and a short blooming period.


Pot: 2 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Osteosperum, Spike, Dianthus
Observations: Same as pot 1.


Pot: 3 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Geraniums (red), spike ground cover plant (can't remember the name).
Observations: Nice colouring and the ground cover was fairly drought resistant. The geraniums flowered all season until a killer frost.



Pot: 4 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Geraniums (red), spike, ground cover plant (can't remember the name).
Observations: Same as pot 3.


Pot: 5 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Geraniums (red), Spike Snapdragons.
Observations: Same as pot 3.


Pot: 6 = Size: 50cm x 15cm | Location: Hanger on fence
Plantings: Ivy Geraniums, Spike, Snapdragons.
Observations: Same as pot 3. The difference in the leaf colouring of the ivy geranium was a nice contract to the other geraniums.

Here is the first page of the basic gardening notes from last year. I keep a written diary of what was planted and where. I also tried to keep some notes on how things went (not too much there). A diary is a great thing as you can record notes on what you did, when, and how things turned out. It allows you to remember how you did things and where things are. It does not need to be a complex thing. My book is just a simpled book, just remember to use pencil. If the book gets wet ink tends to run, but, graphite does not!










In total I had 32 containers of varying sizes throughout the back yard area. The yard itself faces south. The north side is our townhouse. To the east and west we have fences about 2.1 metres (7 feet) high. The south side fence is about 1.2 metres (4 feet) high. The base of the yard itself is approximately 45 cm (18 inches) of stonedust topped with large concrete pavers.

There are two bonuses with the yard layout

1. The direction effectively extends our gardening by about 2 months (Beginning of May to end of October) before we really have to worry about killer frosts.
2. The stonedust and concrete pavers really retain the heat and keeps the yard warm at night.
   

The only thing you have to worry about using pots is keeping the pots moist during the hot summer days. Usually we need to water twice a day, sometimes three times. If you are growing plants like tomatoes a minimum is three times a day. Once a week we fertilize each container using Miracle Grow. This is needed as the containers are small and the watering does flush out nutrients from our soil mix.

The soil mix is not a standard mix. Over the years we were using black earth, but, found it too heavy (especially for the pots on the fences). Last year we tried about 1/3 black earth and 2/3 peat moss and found that it was light weight, retained a fair amount of water and was light enough to be easily moved.

Over the next set of postings I will describe each pot and how they turned out.

My gardening

Welcome to the urban garden. I live in a place with a very small backyard that is completely covered in concrete pavers. I like to garden so I started to purchase containers and grow a variety of plants, herbs and vegetables. For the last eight years it has been growing and I figured that I would share my experiences.

Over time I will detail out my own garden, what works, what didn't and any tips I think may be of use to everyone.