What else do you grow in pots?

[Kelby Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Kelby]

A cold rainy day here, my mind is wandering to sunnier fruit filled days. So here's a question inspired by the potting mix thread. What else are you growing in pots? Besides young plants, of course. I'm sure we all have a nursery of things that haven't found a home in the ground yet.

I don't have too much besides figs...
-Strawberries - 5 #15 and #7 gallon pots of June bearers. Always had trouble with slugs and rodents in the ground, this seems to work pretty well. First winter for them, we'll see how they look. Just pulled them out of the shed.

-Raspberries - Dwarf variety called Raspberry Shortcake. In the ground I'd be crawling to find the berries since they are only 8" tall, but in a pot they are a good height. Zero maintenance aside from watering when it's REALLY hot and dry. Tough as nails and big berries, too. These are in big ceramic pots that sit out all winter (they were free).

-Improved Meyer Lemon - Not sure if I'm going to keep this guy though I've had it for 8 years now. It suffers every winter in my bay window, especially in the new house, and I don't use many lemons. If anyone in SE PA wants a Meyer Lemon, I may have one for you!


I've pondered adding a Pomegranate, but I don't know if it would be productive enough to merit my time.

[Rafaelissimmo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rafaelissimmo]

Get Paw Paws from Bass! I grow lemon balm in pots, lilies too.

[Kelby]

I've pawpaws in the ground, don't worry!

[kubota1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kubota1]

Kelby, Try making Limoncello with your Meyers Lemon. I ended up making quite a bit of it with my one tree. My wife froze the juice for different recipes.
I only grow figs, dwarf pomegranate, Meyer lemon, and a few flowering type things in containers.

[Kelby]

Maybe I'll give it another year and try that with the next crop. Good idea!

[ako1974 Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close ako1974]

I have a Meyer lemon, Ponderosa lemon, several Sweet bay (one mother tree, several smaller cuttings), lemongrass. The Meyer is looking worse for wear, just over these past few weeks. If anything, I under-watered. I just potted up the Ponderosa and smaller bays today.

This year, I plan on getting a few other citrus trees. I wouldn't mind a Calamondin.

[ako1974 Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close ako1974]

Oops, and a Bay rum tree. Nice for just crushing the leaves and smelling the orange-clove scent.

[Harborseal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harborseal]

If Meyer lemon isn't doing well for you a pom will be worse. I have citrus in pts under a 1000 W HID lamp and they're all doing well. I have bay laurel and am starting sweet potato and turmeric. Later I'll have a variety of vegetables.

[ako1974]

Bob - What are you using for turmeric seed? I tried last year, buying pieces of root from Whole Foods, but I couldn't get it root. I grew ginger in a pot and the results were good. Wouldn't mind trying it in ground with a cover.

[Bijan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bijan]

There are many pomegranate varieties which are described as cold hardy and/or early ripening.

I have many pomegranates in the ground in Texas. Last year, I only had one tree in a container to bring to Colorado. I, also, did not manage to root any of the cuttings I had from last year, and I ordered a bunch from the USDA this year. So I will be rooting 28 varieties. To be sure, some of the varieties I have from last year will be better candidates to take back to Texas.

[Gina Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Gina]

I've got 50-60 blueberries in large pots. I also am trying strawberries in 5 gallon pots on saucers on a 'table' top, and that has been very successful. Easy to water, and the fruits hang from the edge of the pot and are clean and bug free. Some are ripe now. I want to plant more of those.

I got a jump on tomato season and have 4 in five gallon pots in a very warm spot with reflected sunlight ... and they have 2-3inch fruits that may be ripening soon.

I have lettuce in wide relatively low containers up on tables - covered top, bottom and sides with wire. Almost bug free, clean, no birds or squirrels, and except for the hottest part of the summer, year round harvest. Unfortunately we've had a couple 90* days, so it looks pretty sad right now. Hard to believe it's still only mid March.

ps, with respect to the lemons, save the zest too. You can mix it with sugar to preserve and use it in baking, and various fruit dishes. The zest has better flavor than the juice, esp from your own fresh fruits.

[Go_Figger]

Gina, I know it's an old thread, but how do container strawberries do? Still doing it? Voles, slugs, and pillbugs make that sound really appealing. Also, that 50 - 60 blueberries sounds like a LOT of watering. And a lot of space, geez! In SoCal?

[FMD Dr. Feel Good Find all posts View Profile Close FMD]

Pot.

[FMD]

Couldn't resist Hershell. It goes without saying that we fig growers would never not do anything illegal when it comes to growing things...


Oh wait....

[Gina]

I'm not a user, but if it were legal to grow and sell here, I'd probably try. Might make a nice cash crop to help finance growing figs and berries.

[Go_Figger]

Rofl. Colorado, buddy!

[Beyondista Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beyondista]

pomegranate, meyer's lemon, calmondin, loquat, dragonfruit, ficus afganistanica, ficus pumila, desert fig, bananas, criollo guava, wattles, taro, turmeric, princess bamboo, surinam cherry, monkeypuzzle, salvia d, podocarpus, thyme, oregano, mint, burbank spineless opuntia, plumeria, various euphorbia and caudiciform bonsais.

[Eithieus Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Eithieus]

one thing i only grow in a pot is horse raddish because it is very invasive. had it growing in two spots inground and found out that it is invasive so i dug it up and the root went down three feet. i started a fire and burnd it out. so if your thinking of growing horse raddish i would only do it in pots on stones or concrete. hard lesson learned.

[brettjm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close brettjm]

Blueberries for sure. 4 rabbiteye varieties, which have done very very well for me. I also have daffodils (they are the lady-friend's favorite) up on our porch, and a couple blackberry and raspberry bushes that are in their 2nd year (here's to hoping for a small crop!) Once I get established somewhere (e.g. not in grad school) persimmons and strawberries are next on the list.

[Go_Figger Formerly Defune Find all posts View Profile Close Go_Figger]

A cold rainy day here, my mind is wandering to sunnier fruit filled days. So here's a question inspired by the potting mix thread. What else are you growing in pots? Besides young plants, of course. I'm sure we all have a nursery of things that haven't found a home in the ground yet.

I don't have too much besides figs...
-Strawberries - 5 #15 and #7 gallon pots of June bearers. Always had trouble with slugs and rodents in the ground, this seems to work pretty well. First winter for them, we'll see how they look. Just pulled them out of the shed.

-Raspberries - Dwarf variety called Raspberry Shortcake. In the ground I'd be crawling to find the berries since they are only 8" tall, but in a pot they are a good height. Zero maintenance aside from watering when it's REALLY hot and dry. Tough as nails and big berries, too. These are in big ceramic pots that sit out all winter (they were free).

-Improved Meyer Lemon - Not sure if I'm going to keep this guy though I've had it for 8 years now. It suffers every winter in my bay window, especially in the new house, and I don't use many lemons. If anyone in SE PA wants a Meyer Lemon, I may have one for you!


I've pondered adding a Pomegranate, but I don't know if it would be productive enough to merit my time.

How did potted strawberries do for you, Kelby? And did you try poms? I have one needs some consideration... either potting it or I have to take considerable effort this winter protecting a zone 8 plant in 6b.
The roots survived the winter after a late summer/ fall planting. But it was a mild winter.

[Vladimir Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close Vladimir]

Besides figs, I have more than 30 citrus trees, bananas, Australian beech cherry, lemon grass, natal plum and flowers.

[Mikeysab Find all posts View Profile Close Mikeysab]

Figs, pawpaws, pakistani mulberry, li jujube, jiro persimmon. Probably wind up diggong up my golden raspberry and putting it in a pot since it's on the brink of death in ground. I think the spot I put it held too much grlund water and kts drowning slowly

[Harish-C Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close Harish-C]

After reading a few posts on growing strawberries in pots I have a question for someone in zone 6 or a similar climate. I built a "strawberry tower" from a 55-gal barrel, with openings for 40 plants. I intend to plant strawberries in this planter this falI and am wondering how these plants would do in winter. Would they survive NJ winter if left out in the open in such a planter, or I would be better off putting them in the ground for the winter and plant them in the barrel next spring. Thanks for any tips and insights on this from anyone.

[ako1974 Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close ako1974]

Is the tower in a place that's exposed to strong winter wind? Ice?

[Harish-C Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close Harish-C]

I have not filled it up with soil yet, and can easily move it to a sheltered spot before filling and planting. I will do that when I am fairly sure of a spot where it would stay for several years. If protection from strong winter winds and ice, and not the cold temperature, is the main consideration, would covering it with tarp or something similar for protection, be a good idea, or that would kill the plants?

BTW, this grow-tower idea that I learned from some Youtube channel is a great way for growing lots of crops in a very small area. I have two similar towers with seven-eight different kinds of micro greens (lettuces, parsley, water cress, swiss chard, kale, collards, broccoli raab, etc.) growing in them, and have been overwhelmed by the amount of growth and production from these plants in such a small area and requiring so little work.

[COGardener Fig Phenom Find all posts View Profile Close COGardener]

The rejuvenation of a really old thread... nice.

Bananas, Dragon fruit, Citrus, lemongrass, papayas, artichokes, Ginger, Sweet cherries.... hmmm.... I think that's about it at this time.

[COGardener]

I forgot the Cashew.

[COGardener]

The cherry produces huge amounts of blossoms every year but no fruit.

It produces no fruit due to lack of a pollinating partner. Sweet cherries take two and I just haven't gotten around to get one to cross pollinate with.

My zone is also not very friendly to sweet cherries, which is why it's in a pot. She over winters in the garage with the figs, plenty of chill hours.

[bahamadan]

Do your bananas fruit in the pots? What size do you use?

[grasshopper Fig Phenom Find all posts View Profile Close grasshopper]

I didn't think of planting blueberries in pots. How large a pot is enough for productive blueberries? I heard you need more than one for good production. Which varietals are good?

[Gina Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Gina]

I didn't think of planting blueberries in pots. How large a pot is enough for productive blueberries? I heard you need more than one for good production. Which varietals are good?

I plant mine in 15 gallon pots. Larger might be better, but I prefer something I can move if necessary. I've also read having more than one is better - though I've always had several so don't know. I think you get not only more fruits, but lager fruits since pollination is more effective. Just make sure they bloom at the same time.

As for varieties, there are several tried and true that bear well. The ones I am familiar with are Misty, Jewel, Emerald, Biloxi, SweetCrisp, Sharpblue. Most of these are older varieties that you'd have a chance of getting your hands on. Sometimes blueberries appear on ebay - but as usual, let the buyer beware. I've gotten both good and bad from there. O'Neal is also often recommended, but if you don't have enough chill hours, it just won't work. Mine didn't. I wish people would stop recommending it.

[grasshopper]

15 gal pots can get heavy. Do they need a lot of water in SoCal? I guess it also depends on your potting mix. I worried most of the varietals may not handle the heat and drought well. For some reasons, I think of blueberries as a northern plant. My guess is the varieties you mentioned probably do well in SoCal.

I am wary of ordering plants on ebay nowadays. I would appreciate any pointers on where to get these plants.

[Gina Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Gina]

#8.1

Go_Figger commented
06-18-2017, 06:38 PM

Gina, I know it's an old thread, but how do container strawberries do? Still doing it? Voles, slugs, and pillbugs make that sound really appealing. Also, that 50 - 60 blueberries sounds like a LOT of watering. And a lot of space, geez! In SoCal?

---

• Sorry I didn't see this before. My strawberries in 5 gallon pots did very well. Except they were in an awkward location, and it was in the heart of the drought, and I was using way too much water for them and other things. So after main bearing was over, I let them die. I liked that there were no slugs or pill bugs. And the birds pretty much left them alone. Maybe next year I'll try it again, maybe with some coir mixed in for greater water retention.
  
  Yes, my blueberries do take up a lot of space.

[grasshopper]

I don't like the ants building nests close to the house because you don't know who will step on their nests by accident the next time. And they will expand their territory to include your house when the nests are just right outside. Besides, ants are bouncers for aphids, mealy bugs, scales and whiteflies. Have a few foraging ants is not a problem but definitely not a nest in the garden (when you see them carrying larvae). Here, they usually go after moisture and decay matter. When I overwater plants and rot the roots, they go inside the pots for the decayed roots. I can tell easily which pot I overwatered :-D when the ants track to it. I usually clean up their track and dip the pots in water to clean them up.

[Go_Figger]

Yeah, the little black ants basically attack me whenever I dig anywhere outside. They started coming into the house to go after my compost bowl, so I now place the bowl on a plate that has water in it. The bowl is emptied daily, but I can't let them think there's an easy food source there. The plate of water thing is weird and undesirable, but it works.
Gotta get some different baits. I've had baits before that got rid of ants almost immediately, but for some reason, they don't like this brand.

[grasshopper]

I tried sugar, raw honey, peanut butter mix with borax as bait. They don't always like the bait. They are always attracted to dead insects or decay matter. I need to figure out how to use that with borax.

[mgginva Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mgginva]

I grow all sorts of things in pots.
Figs (over 300), Peppers ( a dozen or so)
Bay, allspice, limes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, lots of house plants -lots.
Lemmon grass, tons of flowers, lilacs, Apples, pawpaws, lots of trifoliate oranges -- my portable fence.
I have no idea how many plants I have in pots but I bet it's over 500.

[grasshopper]

500!!! OMG! You have got to have a pot irrigation system or you can clone yourself :-D

[mgginva]

So true grasshopper.

[grasshopper Fig Phenom Find all posts View Profile Close grasshopper]

I grow succulents in pots as we have very little rain here in SoCal and their water requirement is very different from the rest of the plants. I do tomatoes, passion fruit in pots so they don't mix with blackberries and raspberries. And I grow purple sweet potatoes, only couple ones in pots.