CONTAINER GARDENING

In areas where there is little or no space, a well-organized container garden can produce substantial vegetables. A point to remember about container gardening: The small volume of soil in a raised bed will warm up faster in spring than the soil in your open garden. This gives you a longer growing season, because you can start your cool-season crops earlier. You can also bring plants inside if the temperature takes an unexpected plunge — this mobility is an advantage you obviously lack in an open garden.
Plan a container garden the same way as a small garden plot, making the best possible use of your vertical space. Use a trellis for vining crops and stakes and cages for tomatoes or other semi-vining crops. If you’re planting on a balcony, don’t let any possible support go to waste. Position climbing plants where the railing provides a readymade trellis. There are also space-saving techniques unique to container gardens. You can use the vertical space of a container itself by planting in holes or pockets in the sides of the container. Growing some vining plants in hanging baskets will save space too, but be sure to place hanging baskets where they won’t shade other plants. When you are growing a container garden, always select varieties that are suitable for container growing, and remember that containers dry out faster than a traditional garden, so you’ll need to water more often. Plants growing in containers are also more affected by changes in temperature; you do have the advantage, though, of being able to move them to a more protected area or even inside on cool nights.
Essentially, planning a container garden is little different from planning an outdoor plot. The main difference may be in the varieties you choose — if you’re planting in a confined space you’re going to take a special interest in smaller varieties and plants with compact, contained growth habits. But basically, any plant that will grow in your garden will also grow on your balcony or patio.

Extending your garden indoors

If you don’t have a garden or even a balcony, you can still have a container vegetable garden. Don’t underestimate the number of vegetables that can be grown successfully indoors. Near a bright window that is not too warm, leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, parsley, and chives, will do nicely. Fruiting plants are worth a try, but they take a lot more light at a higher intensity; unless the window is very bright, the plants may grow but not produce. Cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets will sometimes grow in very bright windows, and sometimes plants can be brought in from outdoors and grown on for several months. Herbs are rewarding indoor-garden plants, and they go a long way in adding your personal touch to everyday eating.

Providing indoor lighting

If you have lights or if you have a place for putting lights, you can grow vegetables indoors without any sun at all. Lettuce does beautifully in the basement or the attic when grown under fluorescent light—usually these spots are not as warm as the rest of the house. Lettuce can also be grown in an apartment if you can find a spot where the heating is not very efficient or if you don’t mind wearing a sweater.
Cucumbers will grow beautifully under artificial light. But just as long days will prevent flowering, so will long periods under artificial light. The best thing to do is experiment and find what does well for you. A timer can be useful in giving certain plants a dark resting period. Given lots of water, watercress works almost as well as lettuce under the lights. Instead of seeds, you can start with cuttings (the bottoms of some of those stems of fresh watercress you bought to indulge yourself). Various possibilities for using vegetables as houseplants are discussed in the description of individual vegetables in Part 2.

Gardening in a greenhouse: A refuge for plants and gardener

With a greenhouse you can garden all year around and experiment with ail kinds of plants that you have little chance of growing out in the open garden. A greenhouse is also a nice, cozy, private place for the gardener whose gardening time Is often interrupted by demands from other family members. If you’re going to buy and install a greenhouse, it’s worth getting a good one. Greenhouses vary vastly in size, price, and construction and many companies supply them; not all of them, however, are well-designed and well-put-together, so you need to do some homework. The following are reputable sources that can provide you with basic information to help you make a choice. Some of them will design a greenhouse to fit your available space and specifications.

First and last frost dates for major cities in the United States

First and last frost dates for major cities in the United States (cont.)

First and last frost dates for major cities in the United States (cont.)

First and last frost dates for major cities in the United States (cont.)

Personal Gardening Calendar

Your personal gardening calendar gives you a spot check on the important dates in your gardening season and lets you know how much you ve already achieved and what is still left to do. Find the frost dates for your area and the length of your growing season from the chart earlier in this topic. The hardiness chart at the end of “Planting Your Garden ” will tell you which hardiness category your vegetables belong to and when to plant them.
7here are a great many garden tools on the market. Some are necessary, some are helpful, and some are a complete waste of money. If you’re a beginning gardener, approach all this equipment with caution—be sure that you’re going to enjoy being a gardener before you spend a small fortune on tools. Remember, too, that one of your motives in being a gardener Is to save money by growing your own vegetables; you’ll have to grow a lot of lettuce to pay for a $300 rototiller.
When you decide which tools you need, buy the best you can find and take good care of them. As in so many other activities, it’s a long-term economy move to buy good equipment right away—ask any serious cook. Good tools work better and last longer than the cheap kinds that fall to pieces the first time you need them to do any real work.
The first test of a tool is how it feels in your hands. Is it well-balanced? Can you lift it when it’s full as well as when it’s empty? Gardeners and gardening tools come in different sizes and weights; since you’ll be working together, you and your equipment should be compatible.
In caring for your tools, there are three basic rules that are often stated and seldom followed:
1. Clean your tools before putting them away. It may be a bore, but it’s even more boring to have to clean them before you can use them again.
2. Have a regular storage place for each tool. Visitors will be impressed by your orderliness, and
you’ll be able to tell at a glance if you’ve put everything away or if you’ve left some small item out in the rain to rust.
3. Use each tool the way it was meant to be used. For instance, a rake—even a good-quaiity rake—Awon’t last long if you consistently use it to dig holes or turn soil. You’ve got a perfectly good spade for those tasks.Follow these three simple rules and your tools will give you long, efficient, and economical service.