Direct Sowing Seeds into SWC's

I have been a rooftop deck city gardener for 4 summers after many years with a small yard in North Suburbs. After lots of success with annuals, failure with tomatoes, failure with wintering over anything (except Artemesia) and lots of money spent, I'm trying out a couple of SWC from Gardener's supply along with more plants directly sown from seed -- to save some money and learn something new.
I don't have the indoor space for doing seedlings early indoors. I just planted the first pot with a mix of lettuce, cress and rocket and another with annuals--yesterday. Right before another big rain storm.
Has anyone else tried planting seeds directly into pots outside? I did have success last year with moonflower and ipomeas which fared well.
Great forum. My first visit.

Pinotmom wrote:I have been a rooftop deck city gardener for 4 summers after many years with a small yard in North Suburbs. After lots of success with annuals, failure with tomatoes, failure with wintering over anything (except Artemesia) and lots of money spent, I'm trying out a couple of SWC from Gardener's supply along with more plants directly sown from seed -- to save some money and learn something new.
I don't have the indoor space for doing seedlings early indoors. I just planted the first pot with a mix of lettuce, cress and rocket and another with annuals--yesterday. Right before another big rain storm.
Has anyone else tried planting seeds directly into pots outside? I did have success last year with moonflower and ipomeas which fared well.
Great forum. My first visit.

You should have some success with the containers from Gardener's Supply. Like most sub irrigated planters (SIPs), they provide a steady supply of water (if the reservoir is kept full) and won't dry out like a typical container. If you do some digging here, you'll see that there has been some talk about direct sowing seeds and other topics on the SIPs (earthboxes, homemade versions, etc.).

From my experience, direct sowing lettuces and other greens can work out. I can't speak to the non-edible plants (flowers, shrubs, etc.). Typically, transplants work best with the SIPs and you can find them everywhere right now. Tomatoes will work well in your containers - just remember to trellis them appropriately. You can check out some pictures on the Earthbox link where I grew tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, lettuces, beans, herbs, strawberries, onions, and eggplant last year. The other things you can direct seed are beans, peas, squash, onions, and cucumbers.

Good luck and keep us posted...