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Re: central wisconsin apartment dweller

Hi Sean:

Most anything can be grown in a container -- you just have to pick
appropriate varieties (i.e., smaller/more compact) of plants and
sizes of containers. Sweet corn probably wouldn't work very well,
unless you had a REALLY big tub of some sort, but I can't think of
much else that you couldn't do readily. The main concerns I've found
with containers are making sure that the plants don't dry out (in the
heat of summer, you may have to water once or twice a day) and
supplying some extra nutrients to make up for the smaller area for
the roots to draw from. And stability -- I've had some spectacular
tip-overs when plants got top-heavy and it was windy out!

You say you live in an apartment, so I'm assuming you have a balcony
of some sort? (If you're thinking in terms of parking plants in front
of a south-facing window, you're going to have problems with
insufficient light for a lot of things, unless you supplement with
fluorescents or something.) Depending on how large your growing area
is, you could have a very productive garden. There are quite a few
books available now on container gardening -- one I got from the
library not too long ago was called _The Movable Harvest_ (I think!)
and it was quite good; sorry, I don't have author info at hand.
Anyway, I'd recommend that you make a trip to the library and/or
bookstore for some relevant books and magazines like "Organic
Gardening", "Kitchen Garden" and "National Gardening", in addition to
the section in Mel's book about "Special Gardens" -- just apply the
principles to a series of smaller SQFT units like pots, half-barrels,
or whatever you've got. I haven't done a search of the Web on the
topic, but I'm sure there are LOTS of sites with good information, if
you have access. Hope this helps and good luck to you.

Happy trails.....

     Sue Drake
     Southeastern WI -- USDA zone 4b/5a
... An immaculate house is the sign of a mis-spent life ...

----------
On Thursday, April 17, 1997 6:08 PM, you wrote:
>
> I am a college student in Central Wisconsin who wants to grow some
> vegetables but I think I am limited to container growing (now that
is
> squarefoot gardening!)  I have southern exposure, so sunlight isn't
a
> limiting factor.  Does anyone have any advice in general about
container
> growing and what should and should not be grown?
>
> Sean Meister

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