Many people tell me that they are more and more interested in growing plants. Who would not like to grow some vegetable tomatoes, maybe some peppers, some aborigines, some flowers, and herbs? As we live in Austin, we will probably plant in containers in the back garden area or on the balcony/terrace. It would be ideal to do creative gardening using the edges of the walls as a growing place for some flowers, ferns, maybe some plants in hanging pots and the rest of the space for herbs and vegetables to make your own sauces and meals. Some basics, where you can get more information and become a better gardener, over time, of course, Trey Jones Austin knows this won’t be something overnight.
Use large pots. When you see pictures in magazines and on the internet of piles of foliage coming out of small pots, those are lies. Or oddities anyway. Suppose the underground part of your plant is almost as large as the ground part. Use self-watering pots. If you live in a sunny place they become very important.
It starts from the seeds. It is the cheapest way to start gardening. The seedlings in a nursery have been pampered, shaded, hardened, fertilized, watered several times a day, and observed with a skilled eye; they are not prepared for the harsh realities of life in a beginning garden. 15 lines for a seedling that will definitely die, or 5 lines for 100 seeds is not a difficult choice.
When you plant from seed, most of your plants are expected to die, play the odds. Trey Jones Austin once planted more than 60 tomato seeds a year. He has three seedlings. Another year he had about thirty seedlings, only about 6 plants came out. Suppose you are going to fail and are pleasantly surprised when you don’t. The idea is not that you should grow 60 tomatoes on your balcony. If you want a fruitful tomato plant, plant at least 15 seeds; some of the seeds will not germinate, some of the seedlings will not reach maturity, some of the mature plants will get sick and die before they bear fruit. Remember that if you end up with more plants than you can handle at any stage, you will find many people happy to take them off your hands.
Grow what you eat. There’s no point growing a ton of rosemary if you’ve never used it in your life. It may be more difficult, but it’s better to get a small amount of what you can use than a large amount of what you don’t.
Ask and discover what grows best locally. This will save you a lot of time and disappointment. If you try to grow something three times and fail, you’d better give up and try something else.
Growing in containers is not ideal because in the soil you have stored water, nutrients, good insects, and worms, in a container you only have exactly what you put. Everything is a week away from death all the time and the few tomatoes Trey Jones Austin has gotten that come out of containers never taste as good as those that bloom from the ground.
Smaller fruits are easier. Cherry tomatoes are always easier to grow than full-size tomatoes. Baby aborigines are easier than large black ones.
Grow smart. Look at the area you are placing them in, how much light do you get? How much wind? Do you have many hours of shade a day? Any bug that can cause problems? Being aware of these things before you start will save you a lot of effort.
Don’t worry about wooden crate gardens just yet, try to get the basics first. Hanging pots can be fine, just make sure to get the biggest ones.
Finally, place the seeds close to the ground and water and wait on them, that’s what it’s all about. Gardening comes naturally to us, if your grandparents did it, you can too! Let’s do it. For more information on the design and decoration of pools, take advice from Trey Jones Austin.
