Today I’m sharing how to amend containers for gardening, with a special focus on growing food. This is a simple concept but instead of just telling you how, I’d like to elaborate as to why.
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41 Comments
Jess, what is the largest plant you would grow in a Greenstalk? Is it possible to grow brassicas and get a good harvest in a Greenstalk? Inquiring minds wish to know. Thank you.
Jess, you are a treasure ❤
Anyone got any tips on how to mulch when you have tons of earwig pressure? We live basically in the forest (at least right next to one) and every time I try to mulch it turns into a haven for the earwigs and I get infested with them.
Thank you – I had that issue in my greenhouse soil, I have emptied it and given it to the chickens for a dust bath! Revamping the greenhouse and just using containers in future – already have a polytunnel with containers, so putting the pots outside overwinter is a fabulous idea. Not so sure about the gleeful slugs though! LOL!
I ammend everything with Fish Blood and Bone fertiliser every spring and add fish/tomato fertiliser every few week after that, that's pots and beds alike. The FBB is a slow release fertiliser, 90% of growers in the UK use it every year, I have a large bucket of it in my shed.
I wasn't expecting a lecture tonight, but I realise you are talking to new gardeners here, so OK. For me it was Yeah yeah….sorry I got a bit bored. Worth metioning, you can buy worms online, red wigglers for compost too. 😉
Thank you Jess.❤️✝️🙏
I wonder about using a few drops of Dr Bronners instead of regular dish soap.???
Avoid peat-based soils like the plague. They are hydrophobic by nature (manufacturers add surfactants). They don't support the soil food web. They are void of nutrition on their own. They are readily available because they are cheap, not because they are quality.
Use compost-based media with a variety of aggregates – large particle sand, expanded shale, composted top soil. This provides a good base for root growth and a favorable environment to build a good biome.
Thereafter it is about minding nutrients, which is a whole new subject.
My container plants get root bound. I just put it in compost pile.
Gardening in Canada is an AMAZING channel to watch about soil health. She is a soil scientist and is a wealth of knowledge.
Good info for sure!
I’ve always wondered about putting worms in my beds. Thank you so much for affirming this!
I changed my phone notification sound to a turkey gobble back in March (Turkey season here in Florida) and right at the beginning of this video as well as periodically through several of your videos, there are random gobbles that make me think I've got a text message. Not the intended effect, but very funny.
Jess, i have been putting every worm i find in this one garden bed all year and i found out a month ago that the majority of the worms i found in my yard were the asain jumping worms, thats why i was afraid of them because they move like snakes when you touch them! So now i have a garden bed and a few pots that are definitely loaded with the wrong kinda worms:( i build a second one this year so im starting fresh with the soil life
Can you please talk about the benefits of tarping sections during the off-season?
Great advice Jess💞. Thank you for being willing to share your experiences with us.
With experience comes knowledge.
Many blessings to you as always💞
I could listen to this video over and over again for a month and not be disappointed.
I started my greenstalks last year. Because of the winds, I unstacked them in late winter. I have found that I have earthworms in them now.
This video was perfect timing! I got my first greenstalk! Can’t wait to fill
It!
Thank You
Words of Wisdom
Jess.
Preach it ❤
Grandma used to dump her dirty dish water on her flowers. Soap is a surfactant, and mild fertilizer. Never on food crops
Thanks, just the refresher I needed this time of the year.
Thank you Jess. I appreciate this information. Blessings!
So so helpful!!!! Thanks so much sweetie
Excellent video Jess😊. What kind of Worms?
For folks that have good ish soil in the pots. You can dump 1 at a time into a wagon or on a Tarp, break it
up and add some manure Or whatever you are using for soil. To amend listen to Jess for that, then put it back in container, freshly fluffed and amended👍.
JO JO IN VT 💞
Great video! I grow in a lot of containers. Georgia clay takes too much amending for me. I use Earth boxes and buckets. My Earth boxes usually just require much work every other year
My buckets I like to empty beside my compost. And refill them every year. And mix fresh compost into it. I raise rabbits for fertilizer. And meat. It sounds odd, but I have done it for about 12 years. 😁
my dad, bless his heart, only used miracle grow fertilizer in his garden. i took over his house when he passed and am having to amend everything all the time. the soil has no life in it
"Eaves" of the house is the oveehang between the wall and the egde of the roof. This is what sime people call "boxing". The vertical board is called "fascia", I think.
I so love your videos! I have learned so much from you! I have a question, the little book thing you keep your tomato seeds in, I need one. Where did you it and what are they called? Photo albums? I have accumulated a lot of seeds and need a better method to store them!! 😅
I use Neptune from one of your previous videos. Love it, but couldn’t use my hand to stir it, lolol.
❤
I am growing strawberries in my Greenstalk. I live in upstate NY. Do I have to remove the strawberry plants from the Greenstalk in the fall? Is it possible to keep the strawberries in the Greenstalk over the winter? I leave the Greenstalk outside in the snow, etc.
I have raised bed gardens and last year my soil became super hydrophobic, and nothing produced well at all. I ended up pulling everything and ending my season early then added a good layer of manure plus a thick layer of leaf mulch to each bed. This year I see the soil is nice and black, and even has some mycelium! Here’s hoping I have a better year! I will never make the mistake of not adding to my beds at the end of the season going forward- lesson learned ✅
Jess, this video is perfect timing. Today, I thought of you when I was feeling frustrated and burnt out trying to refresh my Greenstalks. They've been stacked and unstacked to fill, moved in the shed and out because of frost constantly the past 2 weeks. I was thinking "Is this really worth it?" But then I realized I hadn't stopped to actually enjoy my deck at all this season. I haven't sat out with my coffee and been at peace. I decided tonight I will make sure I sit and be grateful for how lovely it will be to have strawberries in my greenstalks, plus blueberries and raspberries in my planters. Taking a note from you on actually using the chairs I have set out; then being thankful I can use this deck as a waiting room to learn while I dream of having a home we're saving for. I'm going to be so ready to edible landscape my future yard if I keep running the race. Keep being persistent. Keep dreaming. Keep heart.
I am so grateful for this video! I want to get to a place where I can keep worms alive in my Greenstalks and grow bags. If you can provide occasional updates on how it is working for you, or give us a peek in on them from time to time that would be awesome. 🙂
Lovely, succinct & informative chat! I loved it and feel like you added the perfect amount of information and guidance! Thanks Jess!!!❤
I learned more in this one video than I have in many while trying. thank you
The soil I put in my greenstalk last year was just horrible, I barely got anything out of it, I’m getting compost this year and bought all the happy frog fertilizers! I even kept putting worms in it and didn’t see any in there at all, I couldn’t believe it!
Thank you so much for this
I have gnats in my containers, so I over watered, new Gardner here. I have to dry things out to kill gnats but not kills my plants. Suggestions please?😂