A Raised Garden Bed Made of Fabric

large fabric raised garden
The Bigger Fabric Garden

This weekend I ordered more dirt and filled up my larger fabric “pot” to create a raised garden for some tomatoes and basil. The smaller one in my photo is planted with beans, and next to that I have used one for growing potatoes. What I love about a raised bed is the fact that there is plenty of good dirt for the roots of the plants. I guess that is one of the great things about a raised bed. Digging in the ground means creating layers of great dirt, over time – and it can take a while if the dirt under the garden is fill dirt, or something else that is not good for growing.
My house was built on the side of a big hill. Fill dirt was brought in to make the site level, as often happens. Fill dirt, is usually sandy stuff and that is what I find when I dig down a few inches in my back yard.   You can see that there is little growing in the spot of yard where I put this bag.  I used the loam mix that was delivered from Agway along with my own compost and added a little bonemeal, so I know that my plants are in good soil.
This garden has four tomato plants with some basil and one Italian oregano plant. I don’t know if four tomatoes are too many for this space, but I have other tomatoes planted in the ground too. In fact I made another raised bed using cinder-blocks and set that up out front where there is more sun.

That is the great thing about using these fabric pots and gardens – set them up anywhere!  Find a sunny spot and add a little vegetable garden.  They have allowed me the chance to plant more while I continue to expand my gardens in the ground.

If these black pots can be used year after year, the investment will be worth it.  I don’t know much about them at all.  Can they stay up all winter, or will I have to empty it and store it?  If they don’t last, I will stick to the smaller ones only.

Growing Potatoes in a Fabric Pot

potato plant leaves
Potato Plant

I’ve entered a phase of experimental gardening with fabric pots. Right now I think these things are the greatest idea ever. I’ve wanted raised beds but haven’t had the time to create any so little bags to hold dirt is the closest I’ve come. I planted two pieces of potato in this bag a few weeks ago and as you can see, they are growing nicely.
I am going to admit that I am a dummy when it comes to potato growing. I always thought the potatoes grew off the roots, but I guess they grow from the stem as it shoots upward. I do know that when the tops die, it’s about time to harvest the potatoes. This page at the Food Gardening Guide site has a good explanation of what to expect when growing potatoes.

Next year I will get my potatoes planted earlier as they like the weather cool.  I hope this fabric pot works out because it is certainly an easy way to grow them.

Next to the potatoes I have planted some green beans that haven’t sprouted yet.  On the other side I have one more pot where carrots are sprouting.

Another plus to using these pots, for me anyway, is that my cats stay out of them.  I wondered about that, since they seem to think my gardens are the best place to do their business.  I was hoping they wouldn’t think a pot of dirt was their litter box.  Next you will have to see my large fabric garden.  It’s like this potato holder, but much bigger.

The Return of the Turd Bug

Bug on tomato leaf
Turd Bug

Last summer I had a bug show up on my tomato plants that looked like a little bird turd. I have never before seen one like this. I’m always on the lookout for the worms that grow gigantic and can strip a tomato plant down to stems only, but when I first saw this little bug I dismissed it as bird poop.

Then I saw more of them so I looked closer. They are hard-shelled and I only found them on the tomatoes. So far this year I have found one on the potato plant. None of my tomatoes are in the ground yet. They do eat the leaves, but can be picked off easy enough. They fly if you mess with them, like little lady bugs.

On my New England blog I had mentioned this turd bug and a reader left a message telling me what it is. Look up the clavate tortoise beetle and you’ll see it is one and the same.  That page says, “this species appears to prefer plants of the family Solanaceae” which means…what?  Okay… I looked it up.  Wikipedia says it’s the nightshade family which does include potato, tomato and eggplant.

My tomato plants go into the ground this weekend and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the turd bug.

Must be the larva I got a photo of.
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The First of June, Weekend Gardening in The Heat

flowers zucchini
Flowering Zucchini

This is a picture of one of my zucchini plants from last years growing season.

This weekend I plan to get my zucchini planted along with the tomatoes and basil. The little pots are now a tight fit for my growing tomato seedlings and they are ready to spread out.  If I can get my big, fabric bag filled with good dirt, I will have extra space to plant the cukes and herbs too. Lack of sunny areas is my biggest problem.

First I need to order more dirt, which I will do today. This weekend will be hot, so I’ll have to get out early and then again later in the day. I think the black flies are dwindling – hooray! So I won’t have them to run me off.

I’m used to working outdoors in the heat. In Florida I had to parse my gardening time into 10 minute increments. I’d dig and weed until I had to go jump in the pool, then go back and do some more. I can certainly work in the New England heat.  But the trick to gardening in hot weather is to take it slow and cool off every now and then.  And drink lots of water – until 4pm – then switch to beer!
So my weekend gardening plans are to move dirt, plant and water. Then sit back and watch it grow!  I can almost taste those tomatoes.

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Planting Day is Coming Soon

greenhouse and seedlings
Almost planting time
I realize that many people have already planted their vegetable gardens, but here in the northeastern U.S. we just had snow this past Saturday! Not in southern NH where I live, but in the north. It was very cold and windy.

I have learned the hard way to be patient and wait for warmth (June) to plant my store bought tomato, basil, and zucchini plants. If seedlings are planted before the ground is warm enough, they won’t grow well. This is especially true for certain veggies, like green peppers. The reason we are told to make hills for planting squash and such, is so the little mound of dirt will warm up.

In the northeast we have had a ton of rain over the last week or so. I have put out a few seeds (carrots) and on the one nice day we had I added some marigolds to the garden. But my tomatoes, basil, cukes, and zucchini are still waiting in the green house. If the sun comes out, I move them out onto the deck for direct sunlight, but they go back into the green house for overnight. I love my little green house! It has really come in handy to store the seedlings and they are doing quite well. Some 90 degree days are coming this week, so I’ll get them into the yard by the weekend.

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A First Attempt at Fabric Pot Gardening

fabric pots
Growing Potatoes in Fabric Pots

I first learned about fabric pot gardening while reading a Wizzley article written by someone who also loves growing things. On his page he suggests growing potatoes in a pot made of black fabric or burlap.

Instantly, I loved this idea!  I don’t have to dig up the ground and get it ready to plant – whoo hoo – I hate that part of gardening.  I ordered three yards of compost / loam mix to add to all my garden beds and just used some of it to fill my black fabric bags.  The one on the left in my picture has potatoes and you can see one sprout shooting up through the dirt.  Once the shoots grow to 6 or 8 inches I will add more dirt.

The other pot has carrot seeds.  I figure they might do well in a good bag of soil instead of in my yard.   It’s always a chore to get the garden areas ready for planting.  I started at this house with an overgrown backyard so my first year here was spent clearing out the weeds and blackberry bushes.  Last year I expanded the garden area and added good dirt.  This year I am adding more dirt, but it’s easier to add it to bags and the chance of weeds invading a bag is minimal.

My backyard is quite small and my garden holds vegetables as well as flowers I’ve planted and flowering weeds.  Flowers of all kinds are good for attracting beneficial bugs to the garden area.  I am currently growing cold weather things like peas, basil, and strawberries (from last year).  I will have to wait until the first of June to get the cukes, tomatoes, basil and zucchini into the ground.

This type of gardening is experimental, but I am hoping for good results.  I even bought a large, round fabric bag and will set that up as soon as I get more dirt.  I started my own zucchini plants (5 of them!) this year from seeds I saved last summer and I may have to put a couple into that new pot along with some of my tomato plants.

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