2013 MGGNO Spring Symposium

1. Edible and Beautiful
in
One Blooming Container!
Thriller ~ Vertical or Staked
Filler ~ Bushy
Spiller ~ Vines

2. WHY
CONTAINERS?
Containers of edibles can
be functional, moveable,
AND aesthetically pleasing.
Whimsical, formal,
recycled or brand new,
they are a way to grow
most anything in small,
controlled spaces, right
outside your kitchen door
or wherever the sunniest
part of your garden lies.

3. BE CREATIVE!!
They can be made of clay,
Styrofoam, plastic,
porcelain, metal, or wood.
Anything will do - bathtubs,
sugar kettles, kitty litter
boxes, 15 – 30 gallon pots,
grow-pots, water troughs,
insulated lunch bags,
colanders, urns… you name
it!

4. Necessary elements:
• Enough good soil to keep roots protected, stable and healthy
• Avoid mixes that contain peat, feel heavy or
gritty, have very fine particles, clumped.
• 6 hours of full sun
• More fertilization than in-ground plantings; nutrients run out with
every watering.
• Structure for plants needing support
• Good drainage
• Daily watering as potted plants dry out more quickly than in-ground
plantings
• Look for ‘dwarf’ or ‘pixie hybrid’ varieties

5. Advantages:
The advantages to growing food in containers are as varied as the containers you can imagine to
plant them in.
Renters, novice gardeners, people with handicaps, and children can all participate. There is no tilling
or heavy digging involved. Weeds can be easily managed. Containers provide a low-budget way to get
started, since few tools are needed and less soil-born diseases occur.
Containers can be moved for convenience, closer to water supplies, follow the sun (southern and
western exposures). Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and squash like 6-8 hours of direct sun , Spinach
and lettuces – not so much – maybe 3-5 hours. This control over growing conditions can lead to
higher harvest yields. 10 square feet can produce 50lbs of fresh organic produce.
Think about reflective light (pools, ponds) and heat retention (concrete, brick) when placing
containers.
Vertical growth allows plants to use walls for support.
Lining a porous pot with newspaper can help with water retention in summer, and insulate roots in
winter.
http://www.hgic.umd.edu/content/documents/hg600.pdf

6. Good media mixtures for container
vegetables:
• 100% compost, less pieces of bark, very
decomposed
• 100% soil-less mix (sterile, free of disease
and contaminates, tends to be on the
Additions of perlite, acidic side, good drainage for starting
vermiculite, bone meal, seeds, but seedlings need to be moved into
limestone, blood meal, heavier garden soil once sprouted)
sharp sand, and/or leaf • 25% garden soil + 75% compost, very
mold should be added decomposed
depending upon what is • 25% soil-less mix + 25% garden soil + 50%
being started as seed. compost
Soil less mixtures are • 25% garden soil + 75% soil-less mix
mostly peat and that can (perlite, vermiculite)
be hard to keep watered
• 50% soil-less mix + 50% compost (very
properly, especially in
decomposed)
our crazy climate.

7. Vertical Element
or
‘Thriller’
The height of the ‘thriller’ gives you more
space around the perimeter to plant your
‘filler’ and ‘spiller’ elements.
Trellised vegetables such as zucchini, summer
squash, bush peas and beans, tomatoes, or
eggplant, can be considered your ‘vertical’
element.
Taller upright plants like rosemary, Brussel
sprouts, Bay leaf, pineapple sage, lemon grass,
borage, brocolli, kohlrabi, fennel, chives,
shallots, tomatoes, basil, or peppers work well
as ‘thrillers’.

8. Bushy Element
or
‘Filler’
Fillers are the easy part.
Leafy vegetables and herbs – collards,
mustards, lettuces, mints, sage, thyme,
oregano, cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, swiss
chards (rainbow chard is gorgeous!),
arugula, broccoli -raab, lemon verbena, bee
balm, cherry tomatoes, cabbages - Chinese
cabbages work best, they’re smaller and
shinier.
Don’t forget to add pollinator attractions,
such as marigolds, salvia, or let one of your
basils bloom.
Hanging baskets lined with coconut husk or
coir can be cut to accommodate plants on
the sides, combining ‘filler’ with ‘spiller’.

9. Overflow Element
or
‘Spiller’
Spillers add interest, softening the
hard edges of any container. Any
vine or weak stemmed plant will
do – mints, thyme, nasturtium,
potato vines, strawberries, beans,
squash, melons, trailing rosemary,
oregano.
Be sure tender vines or shoots
aren’t burned or cut by your
container’s edges.

10. Last but Not Least:
Gardening is often used as
positive therapy in home
gardens, schoolyard gardens,
apartment complexes,
incarceration complexes, and
hospitals. Growing your own
food is its own wonderful
accomplishment.
Share your produce. Community
is congruous with gardening –
family and neighbors can share
in your garden’s beauty and its
bounty.
Gardening should be enjoyable.
Containers can make it easy.