A Self Fertilizing Vegetable Container Garden
By Richard Titterington
This easy to assemble container garden is a good
way to grow vegetables. You can place the container
in a spot with full sun, water regularly and your plants
will be fed all summer long with one application of
fertilizer!
Assembling Your Container
Start with a plastic planter. The one I used was 12 inches
deep and 12 inches deep by 28 inches long. All you need
is a plastic rectangle shaped container of some type.
Cut two or three pieces of 2" or 3" plastic pipe, about 1" shorter then the
length of the container and lay them flat in the bottom of the container,
drill a row 5/32 holes along the side of each piece of pipe. Lay a piece of
screen or something similar on top of the pipes. This serves as the water
storage area.
Drill 2 holes on each end of the tub, so you can run a piece of wire through the holes. The wire is used to secure the pieces of wood,
which are used as plant supports. They can be 1 inch by 1 inch and as high as you want the supports to be,
depending on what kind of plants you are going to have in that tub.
The watering tube: Cut a piece of 1 1/4 inch round plastic pipe, about 3 inches higher than the
top of the tub, cutting the bottom of it at an angle. This goes in the
corner of the tub, and will be used
for adding the water. Drill a 3/4 inch drainage hole in the side of the tub,
about even with the piece of screen.
Place the watering pipe and the plant support stakes you cut earlier in the
tub. Secure the support stakes with the wire as I mentioned earlier. When
these are in place add your soil mix. I used a mixture of 1/3 top soil, 1/3
peat and 1/3 compost. Add a cup of 12-12-12 fertilizer in a strip down the
very center of the tub on top of the soil. You will need about a cup of
fertilizer. After adding this then cover the entire tub with a piece of
black plastic, cut so it overlaps the top of the tub by 3-4 inches to cover
the top. I used a bungee cord wrapped around the outside of the tub, to hold
the plastic in place.
Plants for Your Container
You will add plants to your container by cutting holes
in the plastic along the edges....NOT in the middle or
near the fertilizer. You can have 2-3 plants on each
side. So you would cut an X in the plastic and with
your hand move the soil aside, put in your plant, and
pat the soil back down, then smooth down the plastic.
After you have added your plants, take the hose and
water ONLY in the tube you placed on the side of the
container. Add water until it starts running out of the
drainage hole you drilled. This is how you will water
the container each time. At first you may not need to
water as much while the weather is mild, but later you
will most likely need to water each day. Do not let the
tub dry out. You will not replace the fertilizer OR remove
the plastic the entire season.
Planting suggestions:
-Plant all tomatoes-patio varieties and cherry
tomatoes. You may need to add extra smaller
stakes, depending on how many plants you use.
-One cucumber plant on each end, and two
cherry tomato plants-one on each side. The
cucumbers can be tied to the stakes you
placed at the ends as they vine.
-Peas or beans on the ends to vine up the
side poles, and other vegetables such as
broccoli or cauliflower in the middle.
-I planted one container with four broccoli
plants, which worked well.
-Tomatoes, peppers and basil or oregano
are also a good combination.
About the author:
Richard Titterington has farmed and gardened for
over 30 years and has come up with many frugal
methods throughout the years.
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