EB or container gardening Tips,Hints, and Helpful Ideas

If you decide to jump into container gardening or urban gardening of some kind, you might find the same problem I did....a general dearth of information. Oh, there is a book or two here and there about container gardening, but often it seems that it's at too high level or only includes general info I already know. I want nuts and bolts. The sources also often only includes flower info, not veggie info, as at this online site.

Over time, I've learned a lot, but not from any one source. So, if you're just starting, you may be wondering what to do.

General gardening knowledge is still helpful, so don't discount it in the event you've never gardened before. Also, check out the forums online that help. Earth Box had a user forum - it's somewhat helpful.

Also, there are some websites, like this one, with some bits of info here and there. There is a difference between using any container and a self-watering container like an EarthBox, however, so all info is dependent on how you're growing the plants. For example, you can't grow large indeterminate tomatoes (tomatoes that keep growing all season) in a regular container. You need a smaller, determinate variety (one that only grows so high and then stops). But, in an Earthbox or similar container, you can grow indeterminates. Another bit of info that varies based on your container is how many you can fit in it. An Earthbox has a specific set of guidelines - follow those if using an EB. If using another type of container, follow the rules in one of the following publications or sites.

Some websites with general information include:
http://www.hgic.umd.edu/_media/documents/hg600.pdf
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/container/basics/
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/ve ... ainer.html
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/ho ... anegrd.htm
http://www.hgtv.com/topics/container-ga ... index.html
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1139/
http://www.containergardeningtips.com/
http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tips ... nerindoor/
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Public ... PM870B.pdf
http://home.ivillage.com/gardening/cont ... lq,00.html
http://www.garden.org/urbangardening/
http://www.insideurbangreen.org/container-gardening/

Always remember that your Extension service can have wonderful information related to your climate, so look at their site or call them. Several of the above links are to extension services websites.

There are several forums devoted to or that have a section devoted to container, urban, or rooftop gardening:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/
http://www.greenroofs.com/forums/
http://forum.earthbox.com/

Supplies and resources
http://journeytoforever.org/garden_con.html - This includes a GREAT list of resources
http://www.windowbox.com/store/category ... nters.html
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_cen ... y_id=10729
http://www.gardeners.com/Container-Gard ... lt,pg.html
http://howtogardenguide.com/2007/05/23/earth-box/
http://containergardeningmagazine.com/
http://www.finegardening.com/Design/Con ... ?channel=2
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com ... index.html
http://www.halcyon.com/tmend/links.htm - great list of heirloom seed suppliers

Specifically about rooftop gardens:
http://www.cityfarmer.org/rooftop59.html
http://rooftopgarden.com/

Some blogs:
http://vegetablecontainergardening.wordpress.com/
http://blog.containergardeningmagazine.com/
http://containergardening.wordpress.com/
http://greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com/ - how could I have missed this the first time around?

About containers:
http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm
http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/ea ... ystem.html

WOW!!! Thanks for a great resource.

Bumped for the new gardening year...

ViewsAskew wrote:Bumped for the new gardening year...

Thanks, because I've never gardened before & this is how I intend to do it. I'm specifically looking at vegetables.

Thanks from me, as well, for the great resource! I'm utilizing several of those links now to plan my rooftop garden. We're eerily in synch lately, pairs4life.

Glad it's helped. When I made the switch from organic inground to deck containers I had a LOT to learn! I'm still learning.