Have small kids and thought it would be fun to garden with them so we bought 3 raised beds (https://www.keter.com/en-us/garden-beds/splendor-31.7-gallon-raised-garden-bed-graphite-252376.html)
Planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli and strawberry. All in yield was absolutely pitiful. Peppers were eaten by something and the broccoli and squash never produced anything.
I’d like to expand for 2026 but it’s obvious I need help. We are zone 7a. Trying to keep to container gardening as we move a lot so it’s a much easier setup each time we move.
I believe my first mistake was having the beds in too much shade (only about 4 hours of direct sun). All plants were bought from a store and soil was whatever was their cheapest per bag. I bought plants rated for containers.
I’m looking to thrift another 4-6 garden beds. Open to any and all advice
by eng2fly
14 Comments
Knowing how bad bagged soil quality is even for mid range priced ones your soil was probably absulute garbage. Couple this with insufficient light and you get terrible results.
1. Soil quality is non negotiable. Get good quality soil. Even better mix your own to achieve top tier quality and save TONS of money. It’s easy and not complicated at all.
2. Sunlight. 6 or more hours **direct** sunlight.
3. Watering is an artform and a skill at the same time. Mastering it takes long time.
4. Pest control and disease control. Spend time with your garden. Observe carefully. Spot problems early and deal with them before they get out of hand.
5. Proper fertilization.
4 hours of sun is the kiss of death !!! At least 8-10 hrs is more like it!
I did my first garden this year, and i used all containers and my yields were tiny. I also used bagged soil, and some fertilizer. But i am certain that it was the soil, it needed more for the plants. Next year i’m going to have better soil and compost, and a better schedule for fertilizing.
Good luck in the spring!
Soil could be an issue but in this case, I think the lower light was more of the problem
Plants in not-as-good soil will still grow and put out some harvests, even if it’s not prolific.
You can amend poor soil or add additional fertilizers as the plants are growing.
Definitely try to put the containers in a spot where they’ll get more sun, or else, plant some veggies that are not as susceptible to lowered light conditions.
Also plant flowers in and among your other plants. They look good for humans and attract pollinators.
Also put plants with similar needs together. Broccoli has different temperature requirements from peppers.
That leads to another idea in gardening. You don’t have to have the same plant in the container all season long. Sometimes you’ll plant a cool weather crop and then switch over to a warm weather crop. Or sometimes you’ll plant a warm weather crop at the early part and then the same warm weather the crop later on. This is so that you can stagger your harvest and you’ll get produce throughout the season, as opposed to getting all of it at once, or depending on a plant that is several months old in case it may be struggling
When plants don’t grow it’s either soil or sun. In your situation it sounds like both. Check your soil and make it has what it needs make amendments as needed. If your squashes didn’t produce you most likely didn’t have bees to do the work. So you will have to pollinate yourself. Or buy plants that self pollinate.
Did you fertilize? I accidently used potting soil without anything added one year and was using way more fertilizer. And on normal years with fertilized potting soil I often find I add much more fertilizer than fertilizer directions when growing in pots.
My very first garden was absolutely awful because I used bagged soil and didn’t realize how important it was.
You also need way more sun for those things to grow.
My suggestion is to call a local nursery and have them deliver a compost/topsoil mix, or even just compost. It’s usually cheaper and better than bagged stuff from the store. It’s also cheaper!
Zone 7A over or under watering could be an issue, make sure raised bed drain holes are clear. Add compost and if bagged had a lot of clay, add some course sand.
When renting, I too had a “gypsy” container garden.
Tomatoes are heavy magnesium and calcium feeders, add epsom salt and egg shells.
Grew strawberries in hanging pots.
Make sure your tomato cages are strong enough a bird can land on it. Mockingbirds eat hornworms.
In a couple of weeks businesses and public building will be removing their fall decorations. Ask ahead of time and they might let you remove them to take home and compost. Corn and gourd seeds for your bird or squirrel feeders. Pumpkin seeds for roasting or animals. If you can, break up the corn kernels and seeds so they don’t sprout everywhere they are dropped. Corn stalks crisscrossed as the base of compost pile makes for better aeration and drainage. If you have enough stalks, you can add aeration layer to the pile.
Source for thrift beds, ask landscapers and landscape centers for their larger transplant tree pots. Sometimes they will give them away to get rid of them or sell cheap. Plastic barrels cut crossways with holes drilled in bottom. Layer of landscape fabric to keep soil from coming out of bung holes. You will have to check previous contents of barrels for toxins, just because they came from a food/drink plant does not mean they are safe.
One issue I had last year was we kind of skimped on the amount of soil in each container. The plants grew but were slow and a little sad. Later in the season we got more soil, topped them all up higher, and ZOOM the plants took off.
Were your plants indoors or outdoors?
I think you are right, 4 hours direct sun a day is not enough for most “fruiting” plants. Especially something like tomatoes or peppers, they usually need more light.
If your setup was indoors, that reduces the light further. A grow tent with good grow lights would help in that case.
Also, some varieties are better adapted for cold or low light. I heard that with tomatoes, get a,variety calles something like “Glacier” or “Klondike” they tolerate low light better.
Something ate your peppers? Possibly tomato hornworm. ( They eat all nightshades, and rapidly damage such crops.) They are green and blend in. Try a UV flashlight or blacklight. It makes them glow in the dark LOL
Re: soil. Much of today’s cheap soil is largely wood pulp. Not good for moisture balance OR pH.
My farmer friend mixes good quality potting soil with two other things.
1 part good organic potting soil
1 part perlite
1 part peat moss or pitt moss
( Peat moss is not long-term environmentally sustainable, so “pitt moss” is shredded cardboard. Its useful qualities are similar to peat moss, and more sustainable, though it may retain water a little more.)
She then mixes these three ingredients in a large container, sink size, adds water , mixes some more. The preferred moisture level is that when you squeeze in your hand, it clings somewhat and maybe drips a little, but not a lot. Damp but not sopping wet.
Also there are gardeners who post online, with a lot of good advice.
One is called The Millennial Gardener. He is on YouTube.
There are also posts about what people did in medieval times. Many of their crops were easier or required less maintenance, but were deemed “less commercial” when society went industrial. It is worth re-learning those skills.
If you keep having to move, try growing indoor container tomatoes. Victory Seed Company has developed a line of tomato varieties that are dwarf or micro (they are selectively bred to have shorter stems, so they are more compact and can put more energy into the fruiting).
I am not sure about their light requirements.
They probably would not do as well outdoors.
Micro Tom is one of the varieties of micro tomato.