Container Beetroot Gardening Guide

Today, let us learn the topic of container beetroot gardening ideas and tips. Growing beets in Containers: Beetroots are the vegetables which are most commonly called as beets. These are one of the well-known root vegetables and is also used in many recipes across the world. The beets have essential plant compounds, vitamins, and minerals in them. Some of the beet varieties also have the properties of medicine. They are also very good in taste and can also be added to your diet.

Read: How to Grow Bottle Gourd on the Terrace.

Beets are the vegetables which grow quickly without any requirement of special care. It is very easy to grow beets in a container. These vegetables are apt for the container gardening who are just at the beginning stage. These will grow very fast and if you are experienced in growing carrots or radishes which are other forms of root vegetables, then growing of beets is not that different for you.

Select the right container:

You can use any type of container which you feel the best. Make sure that it has a good number of drainage holes. It is possible to grow beets in small containers but make sure that the depth of the containers is at least 8 inches. The containers with the depth of at least 12 inches will be ideal ones as they will help in the development of roots. You can select containers of any width you desire. The wider the pot, the more numbers of plants you can grow in that together. Large containers which are rectangular in shape or window boxes with suggested depth are the best choices.

The right time for plantation:

The best practice is to start the plantation of beets at the time of spring. You can start sowing the seeds for every four weeks till the time the temperature starts to rise above 30°C. You can again start the plantation late in the summer and early in the autumn when the temperature will begin coming under the range of 30°C.

As the beets are the vegetables which prefer to grow in cool climatic conditions, the people who reside in the areas which have the climates as tropical and subtropical should start growing the beets late in the winter and early in the spring.

Plantation of beets in containers:

Do remember that the beets will not like transplantation, so there is no requirement of seed trays. You will need to choose the containers and start sowing the seeds at a depth of a ¼ inch. Once the process of germination takes place in the seeds and they will reach to a required height, you can choose the seedlings which are healthy and thin the other seedlings in order to maintain the spacing of 3 inches. In order to quicken the process of germination, you also have an option of soaking the seeds for the entire night in the water which is not chlorinated before the plantation. Anyways, if the fungicides are applied to the seeds, you can avoid the before step.

The seedlings will start anytime in between 7 to 15 days based on the conditions of growing. Till then, you will need to keep the containers in a place which is warm and receives partial sun and make sure that you are maintaining the moisture in the soil. Once the seeds are germinated, you can keep the child plants in the required position and when the seedling starts to grow to at least 3 inches in length, start thinning them.

If you are well aware of how to grow beets in containers, you can try any variety of beets. A few varieties of beets are Early wonder, Detroit dark red, sweetheart, and Sangria.

Growing requirements for beets:

Location for container beetroot gardening:

Beets can be grown in the complete sun to partial sun, but for the best growth, you can select a place which receives full sun for at least 6 hours in a day. Also, ensure that the place you chose to keep the containers has a very good circulation of air in it.

Soil for container beetroot gardening:

Soil which is penetrable, loamy and helps in growing large roots is the best one for growing beets in a container. Always, ensure that the soil you are using is rich in content of nutrients. Adding a large amount of compost to your soil is also a good idea. Also, make sure that you are not adding stones or pebbles to the soil or to the beneath layer when you are growing beets.

Read: How to Install Drip in Home Garden.

If you are not making use of the soil which is purchased in stores for growing the beets, you can go with the preparation of your own potting medium by the addition of soil, compost or manure which is rotten and perlite in the ratio of 1:1:1. If you are interested to make a mix which does not involve soil, you can add coco peat or peat moss, compost or manure which is rotten, perlite or sand at the ratio of 1:1:1. You can also go with the addition of fertilizer which is time-based and also low in the content of nitrogen at the time when you are mixing it in the soil.

Watering your beets:

If you do not want your beetroots to be hard and sinewy, make sure that you are watering them on a regular basis in an even manner. In order to maintain the soil in a slight moist way all across the day, make sure that you are not allowing the soil to get dried fully between the process of growing and also make sure that you are not watering the plants too much.

Spacing between the seedlings:

Make sure that you are maintaining a distance of 3 inches in between each and every plant from all the four sides in order to grow the beets in pots in a successful manner. You can also grow each beetroot plant at a distance of 2 inches, but doing this will affect the root growth. For example, the container which is of rectangular shape and has a width of 12 inches will be able to support 5 plants.

Temperature:

Always remember that the best temperature required for the growth of beets in containers is 10°C to 30°C. The beets can also grow in temperatures which are as low as 5°C and as high as 35°C with great difficulty.

Care and maintenance of beets:

It is a great idea to use slow release fertilizer as an addition to the potting soil medium. As the beets are root vegetables and if you like to have a very good development of root, you can choose a fertilizer which has less content of nitrogen but is high in the content of potassium and phosphorus. For instance, you can go with an N-P-K ratio of 5:10:10.

Once it is been one month since the growing of beets and they are good going, you can start using a fertilizer which is water-soluble. By using the same formula of 5:10:10. And if you find that the soil is becoming deficient of nitrogen, then you can start using the complete fertilizer with the content of N-P-K as 20:20:20.

If you are interested in growing the beets in an organic way, you can dress the plants by making use of compost or manure and start feeding the plants with compost tea in alternate weeks. As the beets generally suffer due to deficiency of boron, you can start adding seaweed fertilizer which is considered to be a very good source of Boron to the compost tea for the best growth.

Pests and diseases in beets:

When growing beets in containers, you will not have much problem with pests and diseases. You can avoid the problem with pests by avoiding too much watering and overhead watering. The most common problems are scab and root rot. The pests like leaf miners and aphids will affect the growth of foliage.

Harvesting of beets:

Beets will need an average time of 8 weeks to get ready for harvesting after the process of germination. You also have an option to harvest the beet green for making use of them in salads. The leaves which are tender will have a delicious taste. You can harvest the beet greens when the leaves are just tiny by removing the outer leaves and leaving behind the inner foliage which is small to grow so that you can harvest them later.

That’s all folks about ideas and tips for container beetroot gardening. Keep gardening!.

Read: How to Make Fish Meal Organic Fertilizer.

Container organic chilli gardening

Today, we are discussing the topic of container organic chilli gardening or container organic pepper gardening. Any home gardener when raising its own vegetable definitely prepares a list of plants to be grown at least once and on this list chilli plants are usually on top position. Chillies are an inseparable part of any cuisine whether you are making curry or any sauce or you want to add flavor in your food with delicious chilli pickles, whether you are topping your pizza, chillies are omnipresent.

In addition to satisfying our taste buds chilli has nutritional importance as well let’s look at some benefits this humble spice offers:

1. We should start with the ultimate benefit – i.e. green chillies come with zero calories. In fact, they can speed up one’s metabolism as well.
2. Green chillies are full of antioxidants that defend the body against free radicals.
3. Interestingly enough capsaicin, found in green chillies although hot to taste and this pigment causes the spice and pungent taste and has been shown to lower body temperature by stimulating the cooling center of the hypothalamus region present in the brain. This explains why, even in very hot places like India, green chillies are consumed. Isn’t it wonderful!!!
4. Remember when last time you accidentally chewed a piece of green chilli and your nose and mouth started watering or anything when you smell anything spicy automatically you start salivating. This is because the capsaicin in green chillies has a stimulating effect on the mucous membranes of the nose and sinuses. Capsaicin stimulates blood flow through the membranes and causes mucus secretion to become thinner. This action makes it beneficial in combating the common cold or sinus infections. So this craving of soups and spicy noodles during cold is stimulated due to chillies only.
5. Enriched with Vitamin C and beta-carotene, green chillies are beneficial for healthy eyes, skin and immune system. Make sure to store the green chillies at a dark and cool area because chillies lose their Vitamin C content when they are exposed to heat, light, and air.
6. Green chillies are a natural source of iron and a boon for iron-deficient people.
7. Green chillies are rich in Vitamin K.

So after reading these several benefits, you must be thinking how to grow chilli at home and let me tell your chilli plants are one of the favorable crops to be grown at home as it doesn’t have stringent requirements and care. Another good thing about growing chilli in the garden is you need plenty of lands to raise them chilli prefer to be in containers or you can say they yield more when grown in containers. So today we will discuss How to grow chillies in pots? We will also suggest ideas to raise organic chilli plants.

Chilli plant information

Chilli plant belongs to the family Solanaceae same family as tomato and brinjal, chilli is botanically known as Capsicum annuum all over the world.

Talking of plant habit, it is a small, annual shrub with an erect, branched shoot with green-brown stems with simple oval leaves. It thrives through a tap root system. The plants produce small flowers with five petals, usually white in color and are pendent. In other words, unlike in other plants, the flowers of chilli droop down and hang like pendants. The chilli fruits also similarly hang downwards. Chilli seeds are contained within the fruit. The economic plant of chilli plant is its fruit.

There are many varieties of chilli plants, some of which are the hottest peppers known such as naga chilli, ghost chilli, Guajillo, jalapeno, peri peri, etc.  Though chilli plant is grown all over the world but found mostly in Britain, Australia, South Africa, India, and other Asian countries.

Life-Cycle: Annual and perennial.

Height: 20 to 39 inches.

Width/Spread: 1-3 feet.

Flowering season: early summer.

Flower: Chilli flowers occur singly or in small groups of two to three flowers varying in colors and size.

Pollination similar to tomatoes means the chilli flowers are self-fertile, and you don’t need to provide additional agencies to pollinate them.

Read: How to Grow Organic Celery in Containers.

Growing chilli plants in pots or container

Being a low maintenance crop you can easily enjoy homegrown organic chillies at home. Also used as an ornamental crop because of its canopy and beautiful fruit color, green, purple and red you can grow chilli plant indoor or beautify your veranda, backyard or in terrace with chilli plants on your own.

Major grown species of chilli

Capsicum annum

1. frutescens

C.chinense

C.pendulum

C.pubescens

Organic chilli gardening in containers

Since we are focusing on the growing of chilli plants in containers that too organically, so let’s define organic gardening of chilli first in simple words organic gardening is a crop production method in accordance to the rules defined by nature. It focuses on the use of natural resources and minimizes the use of any chemical resources. It is a gardening system that seeks to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In organic gardening, the entire system i.e. plants, soil, water and micro-organisms present in soil are to be protected and use of biofertilizers and green manure is encouraged.

The answer to question How to grow chilli plants faster lies in practice of organic gardening of chilli plant since we are maximizing the use of nutrient-rich sources such as green manure, vermicompost, and biofertilizers and growing chilli plant in protected environment like containers and pots increases its production due to less disease and insect, pest infestation as pots are easy to maintain and are always in our radar.

Choosing a perfect pot or container

For growing chilli plants in the container, always choose containers or pots that have sufficient drainage holes to drain out the excess water with the right conditions, chillies can grow brilliantly in containers. A 5-gallon container or 12 inches deep and wide similarly is sufficient for a single plant for most of the chilli varieties.  You can pick any container plastic or aluminum anything that can hold the plant or doesn’t interfere with the plant growth. As chillies grow bigger, they like to be transferred into slightly larger pots. For example, move a seedling from a three-inch pot into a half litre, then one litre, then three liter – rather than from a three-inch pot to a three-litre one

Position of container or pots

Growing chillies in containers need a place that receives full sun around 6-8 hours of direct exposure to sunlight. They are heat-loving plants like other plants of the family e.g. Tomatoes and eggplant. If you are short of space, you can also grow chilli plants indoors on a sunny windowsill. Also, choose a spot that has superior air circulation to avoid diseases.

Soil requirements

Chilli gardening in containers makes its cultivation relaxed and rewarding. The soil used in pots should be well drained rich in organic matter, chilli plants thrive in soil having a pH of 6.5-7.5, and it cannot tolerate acidic or alkaline soils. Always make sure the share of soil used in your container must be free from inoculums of pest and insect and should not be taken from the field with an incidence of any disease. The portion of soil used should be free from stones or pebbles or any plant debris. Chilli plants require moisture for growth for the gardening purpose the crop needs well-drained sandy loam with rich organic content.

Read: How to Prepare Garden Seedbed.

Soil treatment for container organic chilli gardening

If you wish to harvest organic chilllies then you need put some extra efforts by treating the soil with biofertilizers such as Azotobacter or Azospirillum are mixed with compost or farmyard manure and can be left overnight. You can also add vermicompost in the soil these biofertilizers add bulk of essential nutrients in the soil. It’s also a good idea to mix 5-10 gm of neem cake at the time of soil preparation this will provide protection to the young plants from soil-borne diseases and pests.

Climatic requirements

Chilli is a tropical and sub-tropical plant which requires a combination of warm, humid yet dry weather. Chilli plant growing stages require different temperature conditions during the vegetative growth stage it needs warm and humid weather. However, dry weather is suitable for fruit maturity. Temperature range of 20⁰-25⁰C is perfect for chilli growth. At 37⁰C or higher temperature, the fruit development is affected. Similarly, in case of heavy rain, the plant defoliates and starts rotting. However, in case of low moisture conditions during the fruiting period, the bud does not develop appropriately. Hence, as a result, the flower and fruit may drop off. We can conclude, high temperature and relatively low humidity level would lead to deflowering and fruits if developed would be very small. These points are to be kept in mind when you are growing chilli plants in the container in outdoor conditions especially.

The season for container organic chilli gardening

Chillies can be produced both as Kharif and Rabi crop. Sowing months are May to June for Kharif crop, September to October for Rabi crops. If they are planted as summer crops then January-February months are preferred.

How to water chillies in pots

How you water chillies or watering frequency will make a big difference to your growing success story. Drainage is important the chilli roots must have an adequate amount of oxygen that’s why we recommend pots with sufficient drainage holes. Chillies seem to grow best with dry and wet cycles so it’s good not to water them every day if possible. Keep the soils slightly moist constantly and never allow the plants to dry out completely.  Also, avoid overhead watering as this may lead to wet foliage, which invites fungal infections. At the times, when flowers start to appear and fruits begin to form reduce the watering a little. But be careful, drying out of soil completely results in flower drop. Chillies are crops that cannot withstand a lot of water. Heavy rainfall and stagnated water would result in rotting of the plants. A frequent watering would result in the shedding of flowers during chilli flowering time and a burst of vegetative growth. The amount of water to be irrigated, the number of irrigations and its frequency highly depends on the climatic conditions and the soil type. If the leaves start dropping during day time it is an indication of water requirement. Similarly, if the flowers seem weak or exhibit not enough vigour, watering the plants would help.

Read: How to Identify Organic Food in India.

Seed treatment in container organic chilli gardening

It is always advantageous to adopt indigenous practices for seed treatment, especially when going for organic production. The seeds may be treated with Trichoderma and Pseudomonas sp. @ 10 g per kg of seeds to avoid the incidence of seedling rot in the nursery. Biological seed treatment with antagonistic Pseudomonas fluorescens improves the seed quality parameters and drastically reduces the bacterial wilt incidence.

Planting material for container organic chilli gardening

Chilli plants are propagated by its seeds which are also grown in nurseries. Depending upon the preference of the grower chilli plant can be cultured either by sowing the seed directly and raise your seedlings yourself or you can opt for purchasing the raised seedlings from nurseries anytime.

For growing chillies from dried seeds, you can either use containers as raised seed beds or directly on the field. Chilli seeds can be planted into small pots and compressed down to the soil by using compost. The seeds should be planted at uniform and good space between them so that their roots are not harmed and hampered.

 Raising organic chilli nurseries

Grow chilli from seeds step by step seeds of high yielding varieties with tolerance to pests and diseases may be used. They should be carefully chosen from certified organic farms or from own seed plot which is raised organically. Seeds should not be treated with any chemical fungicides or pesticides as it is the essence of organic crop production. Chilli plants are typically started in seedling trays or small pots. Seeds should be sow about 5mm deep in small pots or growing tray. They are very susceptible when small and they don’t grow all that fast. The germination usually takes 1-3 weeks, depends on the warmth and humidity.

You can plant several chilli seeds per pot. Once your seedlings have a few leaves, you can discard the weaker ones and only keep the healthy promising plants. Usually we only want one chilli plant per pot when we transfer them out for easy maintenance. Sow the seeds almost ¼ inch deep in a seed starting mix or you can use growing material like perlite or coco peat. Place seed tray in a spot that is warm, temperature above 15 C is significant for germination. Keep misting the seed tray frequently and keep the soil evenly moist. To make germination of seeds easier, cover the seeds with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm location to keep the moisture conditions intact. As soon as the majority of the seeds in a pot have emerged and have started bearing two well-formed leaves, and surely before they become leggy, they should be transferred into the larger pots where they will grow further. During transplantation, the seedlings require little care; hold the seedlings by the leaves, and not the stems.

Transplanting chilli seedlings to containers

The most crucial part of transplanting chilli seedlings or chilli potting is to avoid too much disturbance to the plant.  Ensure your new pot is filled with the compost and perlite or sterilized and treated soil.

Make a hole in the center using your finger or dibber before you transplant the seedling this will provide proper aeration to the growing seedling and will also drain the extra water in the pot.

You can plant one seedling per each pot or if the pot is large in size you can also plant multiple seedlings but make sure you maintain a distance of at least 5 cm between the seedlings so that they don’t affect each other’s growth.

Cautiously, using a small implement, lift the seedling out of the growing tray by holding a leaf, not the stem, then drop the seedling into the hole present in the desired pot.  Make sure that the hole is deep enough to allow the stem to be covered by soil and just the leaves to be visible.  This will facilitate to reduce the risk of the plant becoming leggy or damping off.

Gently fill soil around the plant by simply patting, but do not compact the soil, just give the pot a gentle tap to settle the soil.  Gently water the new seedling by sprayer, don’t make seedlings swim in the water.

After transplanting the container should be placed in a favorable place where the optimum temperature is maintained supporting proper growth of the plant.

Read: Community Gardening Tips.

Container organic chilli gardening care

The growing medium should not be over watered until the seed germinates. You can also raise very hot chillies, like Bhut Jolokia, by from soaking in water for 24 hours before sowing it benefits the germination.

Disease Management in Chilli Plantation

Chillies suffer from a variety of diseases like anthracnose, fruit rot, dieback, bacterial wilt, mosaic diseases, powdery mildew, leaf spot, etc. The best way to check the development and spread is to use resistant strains for sowing and conduct the regular manual inspection. The affected plants must be removed immediately as soon as the disease is detected. In addition, spraying Trichoderma and Pseudomonas species would help to prevent the disease spread.

Pest Management

Thrips, pod borers, grubs, nematodes, aphids, mites, etc. are the major pests of chilli gardening. It must be ensured that at the time of farmyard manure application only well-rotted manure issued. Neem cake helps to keep root grubs away. Some gardeners keep grasses in heaps at designated spots on the field. Grubs gather in these heaps and the heap is burnt in the morning. This way, the life cycle is disturbed and likely grubs are destroyed. Neem Seed Kernel Extract is applied for controlling thrips and mites. Similarly, installing pheromone traps help control fruit borers.

Pinching

Pinching in early growth makes the plant bushier and promotes more branching it is a type of pruning. When the plant is around six inches tall, clip the growing tip, which helps it to be more bush type. If you see the flowers appearing early, remove them as well. Do this also at the time of transplanting. During the growth, look out for diseases or infected foliage or branch and remove it too.

Support/Training of Chillies

Chillies have weak twigs. If they are loaded with fruit they can break off. The chilli plants are prone to branches drooping on the ground and breaking off. Growing chillies in containers may require support especially if you’re keeping your plant in a windy spot. Simply stab a stick near the main stem and tie the plant to it.

Deadheading

If your plant is flowering too early deadhead the flowers, it is important. This will direct the plant’s energy into growing and becoming healthy.

Harvesting chillies from containers

Time to harvest may vary and depends on the variety that you’re growing and climate conditions and nutritional status of the plant.

Most of the varieties take 2-3 months to harvest. You can identify this when they are ready from their size. The longer you leave chillies on the plant, the hotter if flavor they become, but at the same time leaving them on the plant after it’s ready for harvest will decline in further fruiting. Dark green fruit is suitable to be plucked for preparing chilli pickle. If you wish to dry them for chilli powder or flakes, you can even leave them on the bush until they shrivel up and dry on their own. For dry chilli and for making chilli powder, picking should be done when the fruit is dark red.  Ripe fruits should be harvested at frequent intervals. Retaining fruits on the plant for a long period on the plants causes wrinkles and color fading. About 5-6 pickings can be made for dry mature chilli and 8-10 pickings for green chilli. For harvesting or plucking the chilli fruit rule is pull it in an upward direction, exactly opposite to the direction in which it bends or hung down.

That’s all folks about container organic chilli gardening.

Read: Ideas for Balcony Vegetable Gardening.

Organic Celery Gardening in Containers

Today, we discuss the topic of container organic celery gardening at your home. What is Organic Celery? Celery is a common household staple valued for its crunchy texture and distinctive somewhat sweet flavor. Organic Celery contains an abundance of vitamins and other nutrients, but is mainly rich in vitamin K. Organic Celery is 100% natural and it is organic.

Growing organic celery at home can be a challenge, but knowing that your product wasn’t sprayed with chemical pesticides. The fresh flavor is far superior to anything you can purchase at the grocery store. Give it plenty of water content and warm conditions and you’ll have a bumper crop come fall.

Celery has a reputation as one of the mainly daunting vegetables to grow. However, once you understand what type of conditions celery likes, it’s an enjoyable crop to grow in the backyard garden. Now, let us get into details of container organic celery gardening

Preparing the garden soil for Organic Celery Gardening:

Soil requirement for growing Celery is discussed below;

Celery is a heavy feeder, so work in some compost or organic fertilizer before planting the Celery transplants. Celery likes high-nitrogen soil, so a chicken manure fertilizer would work well.

Choose a gardening place that gets plenty of direct sunlight; make sure the celery gets afternoon shade or light shade all day. Celery prefers a fairly cool and moist soil, so plant it somewhere simple to water and mulch the soil as needed when temperatures rise.

Sunlight requirement for plant growth:

Patience is a key point when it comes to starting Celery from seed. Make sure Celery seeds aren’t covered by soil but set on the top of it. The Celery seeds require full sun to germinate. Germination could take from 14 to 21 days. Celery requires 5 to 7 hours of sun each day. Any less and it won’t be capable to take in the energy it needs.

Celery seed germination in Organic Celery Gardening:

Celery needs a long growing season, between 130 and 140 days for several varieties. The Celery seeds need to be started indoors, 10 to 12 weeks before your final frost date.

For excellent germination results, use organic seed and soak it overnight before planting. Begin in shallow trays of seed-starting mix and press the seeds into the surface of the soil, rather than covering them. How to save Celery seed? Celery is a biennial plant so it won’t place seed until the second year in the garden. To save celery seed, overwinter some stalks and let them grow out the next summer until they start flowering. Once the flowers die you will see the seeds begin to form. When the celery flowers are brown and dry and start to fall off the plant shake them into a bag to collect the seed. You can keep Celery seed in a sealed container in a cool place for up to 5 years. Utilize the seed to plant more Celery, or as a spice.

Read: How to Build a Greenhouse at Your Home.

Maintain the seeds moist as they germinate this can be aided by putting a loose plastic bag over the tray. Once have celery seedlings, transplant them into small peat pots or trays with several inches of potting mix, keeping about two inches of space between plants. Continue to develop indoors under grow lights until it is time to transplant the seedlings to their final destination in the garden. Keep the soil moist but never waterlogged celery likes to have its feet wet at all times and the seedling period is no exception.

Blanching Styles:

1. Mound soil approximately 4 inches up against the developing plant to hide it from the sun.
2. To maintain dirt out of your Celery, blanch by tying the tops of the Celery leaves with twine. This remains the stalks close together, hiding the center from the sun, but not close enough to cause mold.

Transplanting Celery seedlings

Be careful not to transplant Celery too early, as a drop in temperature can kill off the plants. Wait for a consistent temperature of 55°F before planting out, and confirm to harden off your transplants for a few days before you plant them. Space plants 8 inches apart.

Care for Celery in a Container:

• Celery is a water hog, so be sure to maintain the growing celery in a container moist at all times.
• Use an organic fertilizer (fish emulsion or seaweed extract) every 2 weeks.
• Once the Celery seedlings have established, there is little to do but wait for those crunchy, zero calorie stalks to mature.

Growing Celery in a container:

How to grow Celery in a container? Celery can be a challenging vegetable to grow in the ground or in a container. Choose a container which is at least eight inches deep and large enough to space the celery plants 10 inches apart.  Don’t use an unglazed clay pot since it will dry out too quickly.  Plastic containers are a great option in this instance, as they maintain moist conditions. Confirm there are drainage holes in the bottom.  Fill the container with half soilless planting mix, half compost and a small quantity of hard organic fertilizer.  Mix well and water quantity with a weak solution of fish and seaweed emulsion, Let settle for an hour. If necessary, top off with a more moistened soil mix to leave two inches of headroom for mulch. You can plant Celery in a container in the early spring or in the late summer if the area has mild winters. Place the container outdoors, in a spot that receives full sun requirement.

Follow these below things whenever you grow Celery in containers;

• Fill the eight-inch container about halfway with the container soil mix. Add a trowelful of compost to the container soil, and combine together.
• Locate the Celery seedling in the center of the container, on top of the soil mix. Add more container soil around the seedling’s root ball, to about one inch below the top of the container. Don’t cover the outer stalks of the Celery with the soil, and don’t bury the roots too deeply.
• Pour about one tablespoon of compost tea into the watering can. Load the can with water. Water the celery to help it obtain established in the container.
• Water the container regularly. Don’t let the soil dry out. Celery needs a good quantity of water or else its quality will suffer. Underwater celery plants have stringy, pithy stalks. You can add a one-inch layer of mulch on top of the container soil to help retain moisture.
• Mulch deeply around Celery plants with organic compost. This helps maintain the soil cool, prevents moisture loss and creates a stable, long-lasting soil for your garden.
• Put in a handful of compost to the container soil once a month, up until the third month. Add a spoonful of compost tea to the watering can every week to maintain the plant well fed.
• Wrap a piece of cardboard around the Celery stalks and tie it in place with twine a week or 2 before harvest, if you want to blanch the celery. Blanching Celery gives it a milder flavor, but reduces the nutrient content of the stalks.
• Cut the entire Celery head on the harvest or cut the stalks separately. Cut the head from right below the soil line when the plant is bigger than about 3 inches. If you desire individual stalks, then cut stems from the outside of the plant.

Organic Fertilizers for Celery

The main role of Organic fertilizers for growing Celery;

1. The nutrient supply is more balanced, which helps to maintain plants healthy.
2. They improve soil biological activity, which improves nutrient mobilization from organic and chemical sources and decomposition of toxic substances.
3. They enhance the colonization of mycorrhizae, which improves Phosphorous supply.
4. They increase root growth due to better soil structure.
5. They increase the organic matter content of the soil, then improving the exchange capacity of nutrients, rising soil water retention, promoting soil aggregates and buffering the soil against acidity, soil alkalinity, salinity, pesticides, and toxic heavy metals.
6. They release nutrients slowly and contribute to the residual pool of organic Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P) in the soil, reducing N leaching loss and P fixation; they can supply micronutrients.
7. They supply food and encourage the growth of useful microorganisms and earthworms.
8. They help to suppress certain plant pests and diseases, soil borne diseases and parasites.

Read: How to Make Liquid Organic Fertilizers at Home.

Insect and disease problems in Celery

If the foliage on Celery curls puckers and turns yellow, check for aphids. Yellow leaves may be a sign of Fusarium wilt. Infected plants show one-sided growth and the vascular strands become reddish brown color from the roots to the leaves. Check for garden slugs if notice large ragged holes in the leaves or stems.

Organic Insecticide and Organic Pesticides

For controlling pest and diseases in the organic way we will use organic insecticides and organic pesticides.

Some gardeners use a homemade insecticide, like salt spray, mineral oil, or garlic spray. These natural insecticides fight off pests without harming you or the plant. Just remember to reapply these natural garden pesticides frequently, particularly in rainy climates.

Encourage helpful insects to take up residence in the garden. Release lady beetles, spined soldier beetles, lacewings, praying mantis, or Trichogramma wasps to help control pest insects. Grow plants that will give nectar and pollen for beneficial insects; several beneficial insects are attracted to the herbs dill, caraway, fennel, spearmint, and lemon balm.

Bacteria, fungi, or virus infectious microorganisms can be used to injure or kill garden insect pests. The most normally used microbial insecticides are Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a species of bacteria that produces a toxin poisonous to several common insect pests. Make sure with a local nursery or garden center for microbial insecticides.

Most insect pests can be controlled with moderately nontoxic sprays. A forceful spray of water from the garden hose is one of the easiest methods to dislodge pests. Mineral oil, vegetable oils and proprietary oils, such as those prepared with cottonseed oil, will suffocate soft-bodied pests. Natural vegetable based soaps or detergents are added to sprays in little amounts to make them stick to plants. Several insects dislike and are harmed by soap also.

How to harvest and store your Celery

You can cut celery stalks individually from the outside of the plant as it grows or harvests the whole head at once. If you cut the stalks about 1 to 2 inches above the soil level and keep the stump watered. Water the celery copiously and consistently after that, feed it liquid seaweed, fish meal, or worm casts fertilizer every 2 to 4 weeks. Stay an eye on the mulch, and be sure to replenish it whenever it appears necessary.

Keep Celery in a perforated plastic bag in the fridge and use as soon as possible for best flavor and vitamin content. You can freeze or dry celery pieces for use in soups and stews later, as well. Harvest Celery once it’s reached a little more than a foot in height.

Storage of Celery

How to store Celery? Store Celery in cold and moist, 32°-40°F as cold as possible without freezing and 95 percent relative humidity. Cold and moist storage of Celery is a challenge. Usage of the refrigerator is cold but the air is dry. Wrap Celery in a moist cloth or paper towel and put it in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable crisper section. Celery with the leaves attached will stay in the refrigerator for a few days, without the leaves up to two weeks.

That’s all folks about Organic Celery Gardening.

Read: Guinea Grass Farming.

Container Tomato Gardening:

Today the topic is about container tomato gardening.From your dining table to your beauty recipes, tomato is an omnipresent and most widely used ingredient in our everyday life. In culinary art tomato is used as a key ingredient in every recipe all over the world be it your salad or dip, tomato adds flavor to your food in every way. This makes tomato most desirable crop, whenever a person thinks of stepping in the field of gardening the preference is ‘tomato’ because tomato plants are responsive and easy to maintain.

But what if you don’t have any backyard space to grow red juicy tomatoes???

No need to worry tomato is a versatile crop and you can grow plenty of tomato in containers or in pots as well. All you need is to read this article as today we will talk of all aspects of growing tomato in containers. Growing tomato plants in containers also eliminate the need for an extensive in ground exercises like weeding and constantly worrying about any disease or insect infestation. So let’s get started.

Tomato is botanically known as Lycopersicon esculentum also called Solanum lycopersicum which belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is an edible vegetable, often red colored, berry of the plant is called tomato. The species is known to be originated in western South America and domestication is thought to have occurred in Central America. The word tomato has its original roots from word tomato that gave rise to the Spanish word ‘tomato’ from which the English word tomato was derived. A very well known fruit, tomatoes are widely grown throughout the world is an erect or spreading annual plant varying in size from 30cm to 2 meters or more. If you want to grow tomatoes at home, you must be aware of container tomato gardening. Most of the tomato types are suitable for container tomato gardening.

Read: Identifying Organic Foods.

Uses of tomato:

• Fruit – raw or cooked can be used as a flavorsome vegetable in cooked foods or can be eaten out of hand as a dessert fruit. It is greatly used in salads and as a flavoring in soups and other cooked foods.
• A juice made from the fruit is often sold in various health food shops
• The fruit can also be dried, tinned and ground into a powder that can be used as a flavoring and thickening agent in soups, bread or pancakes.
• Edible oil is obtained from the tomato seeds
• It is very much loved raw in salads.
• The pulped fruit is an extremely beneficial skin-wash for people with oily skin which is why tomato based cosmetic ranges are in demands. Sliced fruits are a quick and easy treatment for burns, tanning, and sunburn.
• A decoction or essence of the tomato root is ingested for the treatment of toothache.
• The skin of tomato fruits is a good source of Lycopine which is an antioxidant and imparts tomato red color, a substance that has been known to protect people from heart attacks.
• Lycopine has also been shown to have a very valuable effect upon the prostate and is being used progressively more to treat enlarged prostate and the difficulties in urination that accompany this disorder.
• Tomato is high in iron content and has a good proportion of vitamin C is often recommended to people with anemia as it helps in raising the hemoglobin

Types of tomatoes:

There are hundreds of tomato varieties varying in size, color and growth pattern. From marble-sized grape or cherry tomatoes to juicy salad, tomatoes have different sizes. Their color also ranges from deep crimson to orange, yellow, green, purple, and even chocolate.

Types of tomato on the basis of their growth habits:

Determinate Tomatoes are the bushy type that grows 2-3 feet (60-90cm) tall, and then the buds at the ends of all the branches form flowers instead of leaves. They flower all at once, set and ripen their fruit, then die.

Indeterminate Tomatoes are vining types that need caging or staking for support when loaded with fruit, they continue their vegetative growth and along with fruit setting until frost kills them. They’re generally last longer than the determinate tomatoes, and produce larger crops over a longer period.

Types of tomato on the basis of their fruit size and use habits:

Cherry and Grape Tomatoes

If you’re growing tomatoes for the first time or growing tomatoes in containers, Cherry Tomatoes are a good option to start. Cherry and grape tomatoes are small, usually less than the size of 2.5 cm, and they grow in large clusters. Cherry tomato plants bear small sized fruit which means they’re more appropriate if you’re growing tomatoes in containers. They tend to have better disease resistance than the larger tomato varieties, and they’re more tolerant to drought stress and poor soil.

Read: Garden Soil pH Testing Guide.

Salad Tomatoes

Salad Tomatoes form bear fruit with a size of 5-7.5 cm (in diameter), they are perfect for slicing on sandwiches or chopping into salads. They’re usually a little tarter and juicier than cherry tomatoes with some acid to balance their sweetness. Some may have undertones of tropical fruits. Salad tomatoes make a great, quick tomato sauce and are more preferred for everyday usage. To meet the demand more work has been done to get quality variety with high yield potential as a result salad tomatoes have more cultivars than any other type of tomato.

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Beefsteak Tomatoes generate large and heavy fruits. These are the big, thick, meaty tomatoes that are so appreciated for sandwiches and it is one of the main reasons for growing these tomatoes in western countries. Some varieties of beefsteak tomatoes may reach size about 6” (15cm) in diameter. Beefsteak tomatoes need a longer growing season and high-temperature demand than the smaller varieties, so they may not be suitable for short-summer or cool-summer gardens and not for raising them in containers.

Roma (Paste) Tomatoes

Roma (Paste) Tomatoes are the dense Italian plum tomatoes with sweet, firm flesh, high pectin content which makes its coat thick; it doesn’t have not much juiciness and contains less seed. It is the perfect sauce tomato since it thickens naturally and needs less cooking time to evaporate off the excess moisture. Their low moisture content gives them extended fresh storage time or shelf life, and they’re great for drying or topping pizzas.

Types of tomato on the basis of their genetic constitution:

Heirloom tomatoes:

Heirloom tomatoes are often open-pollinated, which means that they are pollinated naturally, by agencies like birds, insects, wind, or human activity they reproduce true to form from the saved seeds. Heirloom tomatoes have high potential and variability because their DNA hasn’t been manipulated. They are known for superior flavor under local optimum conditions, and their seeds have been passed down through ancestors and saved for generations. These juicy, thin-skinned beauties can’t be shipped long distances due to less shelf life. These heirloom tomatoes can be grown easily at home in containers.

Varieties of heirloom tomato suitable for growing in containers:

Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes:

• Black Cherry
• Pantano Romanesco
• Valencia
• Stupice
• Black Zebra
• Green Zebra
• Clear Pink Early

Hybrid tomatoes:

These are the modern world tomatoes developed by crossing two different varieties of tomatoes with an objective to develop new combination with high quality, high yield characteristics, disease resistance, ease of harvesting and longer shelf life. Hybrid varieties are most widely used tomatoes.

Short season hybrid tomato varieties suitable for container gardening

• Tumbler

This determinate type tomato plant produces compact sized sweet cherry tomatoes only in duration of 50 days.

• Patio F1 Hybrid

A determinate hybrid that produces tennis ball sized fruit within 70 days.

• Bush Early Girl Hybrid

This perennial favorite is common in nurseries. Shows disease resistance with a compact and Produces small fruits within 54 days.

• Oregon Spring

Bred for short-season gardening, this determinate plant in 58 days the plants offers fruit for harvesting.

• Better Bush Hybrid

This determinate plant has a strong stem so you can get away with little or no staking or caging. Takes only 68 days to harvest.

• Sungold

This variety has a compact yellow cherry tomato which produces fruit within 56 days.

Read: How to Grow Carrots in Pots.

A complete guide for growing tomatoes in containers or pots

The first and foremost point to be noted down is you should have a proper place for keeping your tomato plant container which receives at least 6-8 hours of sunlight. All types of tomatoes can be easily grown in containers but you must select variety according to your requirement and climatic adaptability rest plants need an appropriate container, climate, and soil and moisture availability to thrive.

Find the right container

To cultivate tomatoes in pot or container you must be alert and careful when choosing the container as it works as a sole reservoir from which your plant will fulfill all its needs.

The tomato plant has a deep root system so your container must be of 25 cm deep at least with 4- to 5-gallon capacity.

The size of the container also varies with the type of tomato plants bushy tomato plants require smaller container than the vine indeterminate tomatoes.

If your area has hot summers, then it is advised to use non-porous containers such as plastic or glazed ceramic to cut down the water loss from pot surface.

Wood containers are another option but they may face termite attack.

Clay pots are porous and allow water to evaporate from the soil through the surface of the pot hence, tomato plants in them need more frequent watering than those in non-porous containers.

Each container needs at least four drainage holes at the bottom; you can drill additional holes if necessary.

To speed down the rate of evaporation you can use light-colored containers that will capture less heat.

Good drainage and healthy roots go together for ensuring proper drainage without washing off all your soil you can line up the bottom of the container with any tray or saucer with the net.

Give your plants a fine start by using clean containers. Before planting, clean all parts of the container with soap and water, and rinse them well with water.

The next tasks are to disinfect them with a solution that is one part household bleach and nine parts water and to rinse them thoroughly with water.

Use potting soil for enriching tomato plant with nutrients

Instead of usual garden soil, it is recommended to use a mix of potting soil that contains vermiculite or perlite and fill your container up to 6 to 8 inches.

Cut a layer of mesh window screen to fit the interior bottom of each pot or container, and put the screen in place before adding the soilless potting mix so that the mix doesn’t seep out out the pot’s drainage holes.

The potting mix must be light and well drained so that it provides proper aeration and moisture to the developing plants.

You can always enrich your soil with balanced organic fertilizers to uplift the fertility gradient.

Sowing tomato seeds in the container

It is the most important step in container gardening, you have two options when growing tomatoes either sowing the seeds directly into the container or fetching seedlings from the nursery and then transplanting it into the container. You can also raise tomato seedling yourself with the help of a growing tray.

Raising tomato seedlings at home

• For this, you need a pot or growing tray with holes at the bottom for the drainage. Make pour in the soil in the tray or pot by leaving at least space of ½ inch at the top and now wet the soil by sprinkling water.
• Dig small holes in the soil with the help of small stick by keeping proper distance after this sow the seeds and cover it with some loose potting soil.
• Again sprinkle some water on it and keep the pot in a warm place.
• After 10-12 days you will observe the sprouted tomato seeds.
• As the true leaves appear, start feeding them with fertilizers if required and keep the pot in sunlight for 6-7 hours a day with a constant supply of sufficient water.
• As they reach the height of 2 to 3 inches your seedlings are ready to be transplanted to the desired container make sure when you transplant the seedlings mix the potting soil with the organic fertilizers.

Provide Enough Water

Tomato plants grown in containers are more exposed to environmental conditions than the in ground tomatoes because they’re not bordered by as much insulating growing medium. Your container tomato plants’ potting mix should be watered every day and during summers twice per day, particularly if the containers are in full sunlight or are clay pots. Windy conditions also call for more frequent watering. Water each container’s potting mix unless you see water coming out the container’s bottom drainage holes. Conversely, tomatoes’ potting mix shouldn’t be constantly kept wet, which promotes root rot. If the moist potting mix clings to your finger or a wooden pencil after you inserted it into the top 2 inches of a tomato plant’s potting mix and removed it, then the potting mix doesn’t require watering.

Supports for tomato plants: stalking and training

As soon as your tomato plants attain a height of 2 to 3 inches they need to be supported. For the determinate of bushy tomato varieties you can use tomato cage or stakes for indeterminate varieties you can use string trellis, tall stake or strong cages you can make a web-like structure with nylon net or simple thread for support.

Thinning tomato plants

When you observe excessive vegetative growth in your tomato plants such as condition where tomato leaves or branches growing too close starts blocking sunlight and air you can trim such branches to encourage proper interception of light and hence high yield.

Countering Insect, pest, and diseases in tomato plant

Always be alert and consistently monitor your containers. Keep a check on your plant’s health, look for any larvae and other insects, and be watchful about for the signs and symptoms of any disease.

• Give your plants good soil & fertilizer and regular watering; healthy plants are much more likely to resist diseases and other problems.
• Keeps your container free of weeds though it is a rare problem in case of container gardening and remove debris where insects can breed and diseases can incubate.
• Change your growing medium i.e. soil so that soil-borne pathogens never have more than a season to get themselves established.
• Remove unhealthy foliage; pull unhealthy plants to cut down on the spread of fungal spores.
• You can opt for resistant varieties to minimize the loss due to insect, pest infestation or any diseases attack.
• You can use biological material such as Neem oil cake to ward off pests like aphids, flies, and caterpillars.
• Do not over water your container as standing water and soggy soil may cause disease like root rot which affects the yield of your tomato plant.

Harvesting and storing tomatoes

Tomatoes can be harvested based upon the maturity duration of the variety used rest basic thumb rule is harvest tomato when they easily come off from the vine with a simple twist. After harvesting wash off fresh juicy tomatoes can store them at room temperature indoors (65°-70°F) or in a shady place outside, for longer duration you can store them in refrigerator wholly or even in its pulpy form.

That’s all folks about tomato container gardening.

Read: How To Conserve Soil Moisture.

Guide for Planting Carrots in Pots

Today, let us learn the planting carrots in pots. Carrot whose scientific name is Daucus Carota is a biennial plant which belongs to the family of Apiaceae and is also herbicious. This will also produce a taproot which is edible. The carrot plants will need cool temperature to moderate temperature and these cannot be grown in summer especially in the regions which are usually warm. Hence growing carrots in winter would be helpful. Carrots will need soil which is loose and also packed. If the space in your garden is limited, you can choose to grow carrots in pots. Most of the carrots which have standard length will not be able to grow so long in pots, only the carrot varieties which are small can survive in them. Always ensure that the pot you are using to grow carrots is deep and also allows the root to grow in a good manner into the soil and keep the soil moist in order to increase the growth. For home gardening of carrots, one must have good knowledge of planting carrots in pots.

Preparation of pot:

• Always choose a carrot variety which is shorter. The carrot varieties which are smaller will be flexible for growth in a pot rather than the carrot varieties with a standard length. It is also a very good idea to select the varieties which have less time for maturing. Smaller varieties of carrots are like Romer, Thumbelina, Parisienne, Little finger. You also have options such as Shin Kuruda, Danvers half long, Parmex.
• Select a pot which is wide and has a depth of at least 1 foot. As carrots will grow underground, the root system will require more space for their growth. In the same way, you can grow more numbers of carrots depending on the width of the pot.
• The pot should have very good drainage holes for the prevention of additional water from damaging the carrots by causing rot.
• The type of pot is not a big deal as long as it has a sufficient amount of depth. You can use any type of pot which is made of clay, stone or plastic. The shape also depends on your decision, it can be circular or rectangular.
• If there are no drainage holes present on your pot, then you can start drilling your own drainage holes.
• Now, it is time to clean your pot with water and soap. If the pot is previously used for any other plant growth, you will need to scrub the pot internally before you start the plantation of your carrots. The eggs of microscopic insects and the bacteria will mostly hide in the used pots and these may reduce the growth of your carrots by infecting them.
• Choose a potting medium which is well-drained and loose. You can use both the soil and soilless mixtures. If you are interested in purchasing the soil, choose the one which is meant for the vegetables which are to be grown in pots. If you are purchasing the soil on your own, make sure that you are adding peat moss to it. It will make up to 50% of your soil. As an alternative, you can also add the horticultural sand to the potting medium and it will almost make 25% of the soil.
• You can also try by adding a mixture of red soil, compost which is decomposed and the sand which is added in similar proportions for a soil media you are making for yourself.
• You can also take into consideration the coco peat mixed with a little amount of perlite for a potting medium which has no soil.
• You can search and find all these components in your local garden stores, For help, you can also approach any sales agent.
• Now, the pot must be filled with soilless or soil medium. Please make sure that you are leaving at least 1 inch of space in between the medium’s top and pot’s rim. You can also add a slow releasing fertilizer to the soil, but you will need to select the one which has less content of nitrogen. The ratio can be 5-10-5. Nitrogen will help in the encouragement of the growth of leaf instead of the growth of carrots.

Read: How to Mulch Your Garden.

Plantation of carrot seeds:

• You can start planting the carrot seeds after the completion of the first frost if you are planting the carrots in the outdoor locations. The temperature preferred for the growth is around 13°C or it can also be a little bit warm. So it is always better to start the plantation in the early stages of spring. Anyways, the seeds will not do their best if the temperature is more than 29°C.
• The holes must be dug at a depth of a ½ inch. The carrots must have a distance of at least 1 inch between them. The plantation can be done apart if you would desire to. You can drop at least 2-3 seeds of carrot in one hole. The seeds of carrot are very small and are really difficult for plantation. If you drop a few seeds, that would be okay. You can prune the plants afterward as soon as they start sprouting.
• The holes must be completely filled with your potting medium. Make sure that you are not packing the medium into the holes. If you do so, there is a chance that your seeds get crushed. Rather than that, drop the soil medium in a light manner into each and every hole. Always ensure that you are filling all the holes. In a gentle manner, tap the soil down as soon as you are done.
• The seeds need to be watered in a thorough manner. You will need to add sufficient amount of water for making the medium wet. There is no requirement to make puddles, but the soil you are using should be wet when you touch. Just being moist is not sufficient. The seeds will require sufficient water to initiate the process of germination.
• You can make use of a sprayer so that there would not be any requirement to stir the seeds.
• Your pot has to be kept in full sun. Most of the carrot varieties will love to be in full sun. That means they will need full sun for a complete day. Select a place in your backyard or terrace which do not receive any shade in the day time where your carrots will get sufficient light for growing well. Always make sure that you are gaining some knowledge about the carrot varieties you are growing. For example, few carrots may like the partial sun.

Read: Neem Oil Pesticide Formulation.

Caring your carrots:

• The carrots need to be watered on a daily basis especially when the weather is warm. You may also require to water them two times a day at the time of sunny and hot weather. Make sure that you are not letting the soil to stay dry to any amount of time.
• Touch the soil with your finger to see if it is moist. If it is not moist, it means that it has to be watered.
• In most of the scenarios, tap water will work very well for carrots. Anyways, if the water which you are using is treated with a water softener, you should use distilled water.
• Your carrots have to be fed with fertilizer for one time in a week so that it would help in their growth. You can try the fertilizer with N-P-K ratio 5-10-10 where the nitrogen is less in content. This will help the roots to grow rather than the leaves. Anyways, it is not that required to use fertilizers for the growth of carrots.
• The carrots have to be thinned once they reach a height of 1 inch. Once they begin to grow into seedlings, you will need to remove any additional plants with the help of gardening shears or scissors. The carrot plants need to be spaced for about 3 inches apart so that it would help them in their growth.
• Please make sure that you are not pulling the seedlings which are unwanted as they would cause damage to the other carrot plants present in the pot.
• You can use some more amount of growing medium to solve any problems with growth. If you see that your carrots are leaning, you will need to make them straight in a gentle manner and add soil so that they get stabilized. In a similar way, if you see that your carrots are peeking through the soil’s top, you will have to cover them with some more amount of soil. When the carrots come out of the soil, they will turn into green color at the top. It will not cause harm to them, but they seem to be less attractive.
• Your carrots need to be sprayed with antifungal spray if you see any white mildew. The pot carrots will not be prone to pests and diseases, but there is a chance that they get few fungal infections depending on the time. You can see a substance which is white and powdery present on the leaves. You can also purchase antifungal sprays or prepare it on your own.
• Prepare a spray which is against mildew by mixing a tablespoon of baking soda to 4 liters of water with a pinch of liquid used for dishwashing. Stir it and apply to the plant with a spray bottle one time in a week.

Harvesting carrots:

• Your carrots have to be harvested when their color reaches the peak. Based on the variety of carrots, they could be red, orange, purple. Basically, they will be taking at least 60 days to be matured completely and reach the perfect color. Catch hold of the greens close to the root’s top and in a gentle manner, wiggle them out of place. The sooner you harvest the carrots which are mature, they will be sweeter when you eat them.

That’s all gardeners about planting carrots in pots or growing carrots in containers. Keep growing plants!.

Read: Aloe Vera Juice Extraction Process.