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Show Container gardening can be done in small spaces Beans and peas should be provided with strings or chicken wire to climb. Support Sup-port for beans should be 20 inches high. For peas, support sup-port should be 24 inches high. Tomatoes may be staked and then using cloth ties, softly attach the stem immediately im-mediately below the blooms to the stake. Pinch out the suckers that form between the leaf attachment and main stem on tomato plants which are staked. Container cucumbers may be trained and tied along a fence or other support to keep fruits off the ground and reduce space required. Be sure that vines are softly tied in several places and particularly par-ticularly immediately below SEE CONTAINER ON 1 1 or cedar is more rot resistant. Pine or Douglas fir may be substituted if treated with copper naphthenate. Don't use creosote or penta. Cleats under wood boxes and feet on clay pots permit free drainage, increase air circulation, circula-tion, prevent decay and discourage pests such as slugs and snails. When hanging baskets, be sure they are hung from substantial supports so that the weight of wet soil plus the plant won't pull them down. Galvanized wire won't rust. Watch where they are hung so that drips won't stain objects below. Special mixes, mostly made without soil, may be purchased. If they are very high in organic matter, they tend to be too soggy. Mix one-third or half their volume vol-ume with sand or perlite to provide drainage. An excellent container medium may be prepared from a 1:1:1 ratio of loamy soil, sand or vermiculite, and peat moss or other organic material. Add 4 to this a complete slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote, which may be purchased at any local garden supply store. This mix keeps the oil light, promotes root growth and drainage. Keep the mix clean, free of weed seeds and plant diseases. The mix for outdoor gardening does not require sterilization. "All vegetables need at least six hours of sunshine a day. Containers are compact enough to fit into the smallest sunny area or be moved from spot to spot as the sun moves," he said. One answer to the problem of feast or famine harvest is successive plantings of small quantities. Vegetables such as carrots, radishes, and lettuce let-tuce have several dates of planting. Plant a few seeds each date for continuous harvest and supply. Vegetables such as pole beans, and peas, tomatoes and cucumbers, need training and support to increase yield and make wise use of space. By PAUL CHALL1S News Editor F A R M INGTON Container gardening does not require a large space for food production, produc-tion, Utah State University Horticulturist Duane Hatch advises Davis County residents. Vegetables may be grown spaced close together in small areas, along a fence in the back yard, as borders or companions with ornamental or-namental plants in your flower beds, he said. "Some containers, a soil mixture, seeds, sunshine, water and a little time can supply fresh produce over a long period of time." Hatch claims that containers con-tainers provide an excellent way to raise vegetables in limited space. They are easy to maintain and have some advantages over conventional conven-tional gardening, but there are some special problems that accompany the advantages. advan-tages. Container soil warms up and dries out faster than the ground in the spring to give a head start on early planting, but as the season progresses this rapid drainage and drying dry-ing means the gardener must water more thoroughly and more often. "Since the plant roots in the container are above ground, they must be protected pro-tected from extremes of cold and heat. The container must be able to withstand watering and drying out for a whole season, be able to hold moisture long enough to provide pro-vide plant needs, and drain quickly to keep roots from becoming water logged," he said. Containers should always have drainage holes in the sides near the bottom. Drill four or more half-inch holes for drainage of water. When filling the container with container mix, place a piece of crock (broken clay pot) or wire ball over the drainage hole so that excess water can seep through, but the soil mix won't compact around the hole and prevent drainage. "Containers may consist of just about anything," Hatch Hat-ch added. "Wooden boxes constructed of scrap lumber, j coffee cans, clay pots, plastic buckets, or one to five gallon cans, old tires, cement blocks, barrels or hanging baskets, but all must be at least 9 inches deep.' If built of wood, redwood Container CONTINUED FROM 10 the fhiit so that winds cannot whip the vines. "Strawberries will make a good container crop. Try to keep the mother plants about 6 inches by 6 inches in 9 inches in-ches of soil. Remove runners so they don't crowd and become weeds," Hatch said. I "Plan to replace the original plants about every two years. Control weeds as they appear. ap-pear. They shade the crop, drain water and nutrients from the soil, and may harbor har-bor insects. There are two general methods of weeding. If the weed is small enough, pull it out without disturbing the roots of the container vegetables. However, if the weed has quite a ball of fibrous roots, or is located right at the base of the vegetable, it is better to clip or cut the weed off just below the crown. This way the vegetable roots won't be damaged by weed removal. |