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beac

(9,992 posts)
Mon May 7, 2012, 06:07 PM May 2012

Look what came in the mail this weekend!







Yup! That's eight tomatoes and two peppers that traveled from DU Gardening Group Host and tomato growing guru NRaleighLiberal's driveway "greenhouse" straight to my door. I loved his clever, environmentally-friendly and inexpensive shipping method too.

And here they are today (minus two I gifted to a friend) in their interim pots where they can grow nice fat roots while I finish cleaning and sterilizing their future bigger pot homes (some of which you can see in the back ground still with last years dirt-- and some weeds-- in them-- oh the shame!):




I chose several of NRL's "Dwarf" varieties b/c I am a container gardener and they are specially bred to be happy in 5 gallon pots (though some of mine are larger.)

12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
1. I am in awe of the condition of the plants!!!!!!
Mon May 7, 2012, 06:41 PM
May 2012

And I am so jealous. I should have made plans.

Good job, NRL!!!!!

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
3. I've seen the pictures of his driveway....
Mon May 7, 2012, 07:21 PM
May 2012

it has to be a full-time job! NRL rocks---he is doing so much good to preserve old heirloom varieties.

beac

(9,992 posts)
5. It was so nice to deal with someone I already "knew" and trusted.
Mon May 7, 2012, 08:38 PM
May 2012

He's off for a much-deserved vacation later this week.

 

HopeHoops

(47,675 posts)
6. It's addictive. We've got a lot of in-ground space and STILL have dozens of containers.
Tue May 8, 2012, 02:45 PM
May 2012

Right now I've got the A-frame I built 20 years ago sitting in the living room with six flats of 36 cells each - all but the basil are vegetables. The kitchen, bathroom(s) and dining room are also full of potted plants. With the mild winter, several of the outdoor annuals didn't realize the season had (allegedly) changed and are back in full bloom. If you grow peppers, try bringing some with unripe fruit inside before the first frost. We harvested our last habanero in February - it ripened just fine inside. We have had some container herbs escape - banana mint, lemon balm, cilantro, catnip, chives, and dill in particular.

I like the little hanging clay pots in the last picture - EXCELLENT idea!

beac

(9,992 posts)
7. So your whole house is your greenhouse--- love it!
Tue May 8, 2012, 05:16 PM
May 2012

Maybe I will pot up a pepper in a smallish pot this year. Our only viable indoor winter gardening space is the kitchen table and it gets pretty full, but there's always room for one more, right?

I have "escaped" volunteer arugula growing now. It's already bolted and flowered, so I'm enjoying the pretty white blooms and will harvest the seeds for a fall crop.

And thanks for the reminder to replant my little "hanging garden." Last year I did Irish moss in them. Not sure what this year will be. I made a similar one for a friend but turned the last pot upside down and put a couple of old-fashioned keys inside to make it a wind chime.

 

HopeHoops

(47,675 posts)
8. Succulents like sedum, baby toes, and the other small runner sorts would be good.
Wed May 9, 2012, 08:55 AM
May 2012

Thyme is another good option. We use it for ground cover (and it's good at taking over). In the 4x16' herb box, we planted a purple-flowering kind in the front corner and it is spilling over the sides nicely.

We also dry our own herbs, sometimes in the stacking tray dehydrator and sometimes by hanging them from the chandelier (I call that "Jumanji&quot . Right now there's a mess of lavender hanging off of it. We also run yarn under the doorway frames (we're all fairly short) to hang herbs. A binder clip works great for this purpose. There's catnip between the kitchen and living room. That's very convenient for reaching up to pinch off a bud or two to get the cats stoned.

beac

(9,992 posts)
9. The pots are really small, so I'm not sure I could find succulents tiny enough but I love the
Wed May 9, 2012, 12:08 PM
May 2012

idea. The biggest challenge with them is watering, so a selection of drought tolerant plants might free me from daily worry about how they are "hangin'".

It's raining here today so my planned afternoon of gardening may turn into a wee succulent treasure hunt.

beac

(9,992 posts)
11. Aw, that's incredibly generous and sweet!
Wed May 9, 2012, 08:14 PM
May 2012

Actually, I was able to find some in pots even tinier than my hanging ones at Home Depot this afternoon. So, they should fit fine and have a little room to grow. And I had a gift card, so they were FREE. Will post a pic once I've potted them up.

Thanks for the inspiration!

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