I got a little side-tracked last year with work and expanding the garden and somehow did not get back to this site.
We'll try a reboot this year.
Honestly, last season could have been better. I think I reached the saturation point on experimenting and pushing the envelope regarding how much space a plant needs in a container garden environment.
Growing all of the tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets was not a great choice. I learned that some varieties of tomatoes have no problem with a bucket. Other varieties prefer to spread their roots out more. I also learned that planting in buckets offers the temptation to nudge the plants a little closer together--that was disastrous! I had problems with pests, leaf disease and low productivity. Back to the drawing board on that.
The takeaway on the tomato bucket issues were to use them for smaller profile tomatoes like my San Marzano and Striped Romans but to go back to the 2' by 3' tubs for the larger plants like Cherokee Purple, Chile Verde. I'm also breaking down and planting Abe Lincoln, and two other beefsteak varieties in ground this year. I will also plant the experimental crosses I'm growing in buckets(more on that later). I learned that the breeders plant crosses in space saving buckets since they are only growing for a few good fruits to collect seeds. Makes sense.
A few other changes in the garden include the addition of 4 new raised beds at ground level and two new greenhouses. We also are in the process of giving a facelift to the two no-till beds that were originally just piles of organic materials. Now they will have raised bed walls to contain the soil and mulch.
It's going to be a great year!
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