This year I am planning to grow a few vegetables on my patio. I have tried to grow a tomato plant in the ground a couple of times unsuccessfully. This year I am going to attempt to grow them in containers. Five gallon buckets actually. I have access to these for free. I just have to clean them out. Drill a few holes about two inches from the bottom to let the excess water drain out. Put some stones or gravel about two inches deep to help keep the holes from clogging and I should be in.
I have a pretty good size patio for a small apartment. However I have ten foot tall schefflera plants around the outside border for shade and privacy. So that cuts down on the available sunlight somewhat. But that shouldn't be a big problem.
In Indiana the soil I had in my yard was mostly clay. It was all woods when I bought the lot but when they graded it they buried the top soil somewhere along the line. Clay is about as opposite as you can get from Florida soil. The soil here is almost all sand. Clay would be hard as a rock when dry and then just mud when wet. So there I made raised beds. 4 feet by 8 feet and created my own loam. A loam is clay, sand silt and organic matter which is nearly tantamount to top soil.
My first project is a tomato plant. I used a mixture of manure and top soil out of bags from Walmart. I did not elect to get the pricier Miracle Grow soil for $6 a bag and just got the basic for $1.30. Still had some manure left from last years attempt. Last year I planted a Florida hybrid plant in the ground in August. This year I am using a Rutgers plant with which I had good luck with in Indiana. As it gets just as hot and humid there in the summer as it does here.
What else should I try to grow. Maybe some peppers. Onions would probably a good thing to grow. As I like them. You can get some onions and have fresh green onions all year. Low lying plants like potatoes and cucumbers are pretty much out because of the space involved.
My grandfather used to grow such a huge garden. To give you an idea it would be about half of a football field. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, rhubarb,watermelon, cantaloupes, honeydew, hot peppers, tobacco, herbs, sunflowers (my grandmother's gig), squash, beets, lettuce and whatever else I cannot think of.
He had a couple of grape harbors. One red and the other white. He also could make wine out of dandelions. Those older folks where a lot sharper then we are. Nowadays we think we are so sharp because we can work a smart phone and order fast food. Those older folks were a lot sharper then we are as far as life and survival.
At any rate gardening should prove to be a fun and fulfilling project for you. If you are a home owner with a decent sized yard you can also get the kids involved. My girlfriend's grandchildren used to really get a kick out of helping me in the garden. With yard work in general.
So give it a whirl. It may be one of the funnest things you do this summer!
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