14
in other words
april21
2016
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Container Vegetables
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University
Extension Service - Columbia County
offering garden plants and other garden
related products. Please carpool when
possible.
Voice for more information.
Container vegetables
1. Why grow plants in containers?
OSU Master Gardener’s™ Spring Watch for Vernonia’s own Spring • You are in an apartment and don’t have
Garden Fair: Saturday, April 30th
Garden Fair on Saturday, May 7th!
space for a garden
The OSU/Columbia County
The Vernonia Community • You have a deck or a patio you want to
Master Gardener’s™ Spring Garden Fair Garden Group will be putting on the grow plants on
at St. Helens High School Commons, third annual Spring Garden Fair at the • You may be moving and want to take
2375 Gable Rd St Helens, OR, will be Vernonia High School Commons on the plants with you
held on April 30th from 9:00 am – 3:00 Saturday, May 7th from 9:00 am -3:00 • Kids enjoy watching plants grow in
pm. The OSU Master Gardeners™ will pm. There will be certified organic containers
sell roughly 5,000 tomatoes in more than tomato plants for sale as well as other • You may want to grow tender plants
30 varieties for only $1.50 per plant, garden plants and garden related items that will need to be moved indoors in the
provide tomato and general gardening from local and regional vendors. There winter
information, offer raffle tickets with will be an information table staffed with • Container plants may be less work than
hourly prize drawings, and have a Master Gardeners™ to answer your a regular garden
number of educational displays. There garden questions. Note the posters going 2. What about container kind/size?
will also be dozens of local vendors up around town and watch the Vernonia’s • Size: A large plant like a tomato needs
at least a 3-gallon container. Smaller
plants (like lettuce, herbs, and flowers)
may be able to use smaller containers.
• Type of container: The most important
thing is that the container must have
drainage holes. You can use a 5-gallon
bucket if you make enough good-sized
drainage holes in the bottom of the
bucket. Plastic containers hold more
moisture, which means that they may not
need to be watered as often as clay pots
but they can become waterlogged more
easily if they are over-watered. This can
cause the plants to die!
3. What do you fill the container with?
• Don’t fill the container with soil. Roots
need oxygen to work and soil used as a
container mix will fill with water leaving
little oxygen in the mix. The plants suffer
and then die.
• Buy a potting mix for containers. This is
usually a combination of peat moss and/
or wood fiber and perlite or vermiculite.
The mix will give your plants proper
root aeration. A small amount of soil
can be added if mixed well and is not
more than about 10% of the total mix by
volume. Potting mixes can be reused if
there were no disease issues.
• Generally, you fill the container about
1/2 to 2/3 with potting mix before
transplanting. Then put in the plant and
add more mix around the sides until the
mix comes to about an inch of the top of
the container. Water the plants well after
transplanting. You can start plants from
seed directly in the container but you
must be careful not to over or under water
them in the critical first three weeks after
planting. There are some summer squash
(zucchini, yellow crookneck, etc.) that
are bred to grow in small spaces and do
very well in containers. Bush beans will
grow without support but pole beans will
D
Take excess produce to the food bank,
senior centers, or community meals
programs. Cash donations to buy food
are also greatly appreciated.
The Extension Service offers its
programs and materials equally to all
people.
Free newsletter
The Oregon State University Extension
office in Columbia County publishes a
monthly newsletter on gardening and
farming topics (called County Living)
written/edited by yours truly. All you
need to do is ask for it and it will be
mailed to you. Call (503) 397-3462 to
be put on the list. Alternatively, you can
sign up for email notification of when to
find the latest edition on the web at
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
columbia/.
Contact information for the Extension
office
Oregon State University Extension
Service – Columbia County
505 N. Columbia River Highway (across
from the Legacy clinic)
St. Helens, OR 97051
(503) 397-3462
Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu
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Small and Large Animals
Vernonia
Dental
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Vernonia
Veterinary Clinic
need some type of trellis or netting at
least 4 feet tall. Tomatoes also will need
some support (like a tomato cage) to do
well. Peppers love containers!
4. How do you feed and care for plants?
• Most potting mixes don’t have much
fertilizer in them. You can buy a water
soluble product like Miracle Grow™,
Schultz’™ or fish fertilizer and mix it
according to instructions. Then once
a week you can water with a fertilizer
solution instead of plain water. This
should give your plants what they need.
You can put slow-release fertilizers like
Osmocote™ into the mix.
• Watering is an art. The plants shouldn’t
be allowed to dry out nor should they be
waterlogged. With a little practice, you
will get it right. If you have a moisture
meter to test the soil, it will help you
get the feel for how often the containers
need water.
• Watch where you place containers.
The hottest place around your house is
the southwest corner. On very hot days,
you can “toast” your plants, especially
if there is some reflected heat from the
house wall. Place containers where
they get a lot of sun but get good air
circulation as well.
Open
Mon, Wed & Saturday
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Call for Appointments
(503) 429-1612
Or 24 hr. Emergency Number (503) 397-6470
700 Weed Ave. Vernonia, OR
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622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881
Lovable service at
a reasonable price
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