Growing one's own greens (and other foods) :)

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Update on my planter experiment...

I've concluded it looked awfully pretty when I bought it, with such a nice variety of greens all ready to be picked, but the more I picked the less it looked like a perpetual garden, and the more it looked like discombobulated and vanishing mess. I discussed it with someone at a local nursery, and we concluded that there were too many different plants for the small space, so they 1) were competing for nutrients and 2) were causing some to get leggy near the soil while trying to get light. At least these were his thoughts based on my pathetic descriptions.

It appears that to grow the variety I would like, in the quantities I would like, and to always have a salad waiting for me in my yard, I need a much bigger and better operation. Neither me nor my husband are "handy" in any way and physically decrepit to various degrees in any case, so we can't build anything. My planter, now a shadow of its former self, is on the one little outdoor side table, and there aren't any other raised surfaces where I can put more. So I need some sort of cheap, outdoor table or raised platform to put a bunch of low, easy-to-reach planters on; a series of small side tables to put a bunch of these planters on; or a bonified raised (high raised, not low raised) gardening bed of some sort.

Oh, and I got my first bugs and the remaining romaine now displays some spots dappled across the leaves.

For planning, the nursery staff advised growing mint and rosemary separate from other herbs and each other so they don't take over, but he mentioned that you could make a planter of various mints together.

That's all just for greens and herbs. I'd like to grow broccoli, cauliflower, and kale, and lots of spinach, but I'm guessing those would need a lot of room for a good crop to make it worthwhile. I'm starting to think that unless I commit to being a farmer I may get in over my head and not have time to keep up???

Harumph.

[mike]

Update on my planter experiment...

So I need some sort of cheap, outdoor table or raised platform to put a bunch of low, easy-to-reach planters on; a series of small side tables to put a bunch of these planters on; or a bonified raised (high raised, not low raised) gardening bed of some sort.

You need it that high so you don't need to bend over? Are you putting these on a solid/even surface (cement, wood)? You could build 2'x6' beds 1 ft deep out of a single 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" exterior plywood, and then bolt on some 2"x2" legs to the height you wanted. I would line the insides with plastic to protect the wood.

[SusanJ]

a bonified raised (high raised, not low raised) gardening bed of some sort

Just search for elevated planters. Here's some examples. https://www.gardeners.com/buy/elevated- ... -planters/

I've ordered from gardeners.com before and their stuff is pretty good.

(Add)

Or even better. Contact your local high school shop teacher. Say you'll buy the wood if they could build you an elevated planter. Those kids are always up for a challenge.

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Thanks! Great ideas! Will work on these

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So I ate through my trial container in no time. I've pretty much ignored it while some new leaves get going, but it's rather slow. I noticed bugs were eating them, so I sprayed with a mix of Dr. Bronner's soap and cinnamon with water. That seemed to work. I'm hoping I can just eat the greens with whatever residue from the spray might be on them, saving me the step of washing them??? Or should I wash them? Big difference in life!

I haven't had time to work on the bigger urban farming project that will provide enough greens for my household needs but still plan to do so. Baby steps. Building confidence while learning to spray leaves to keep bugs away