I punched a ton of holes in the bottom of this bin with a tool I also found in the "tool room." I put a good layer of stones in the bottom for drainage. Then I filled it with potting soil and potted the little plants. I probably put too many plants in here but I'll see how it goes. If worse comes to worse I'll have to remove a few. I spent $11.31 on the rocks, soil, and plants.
This isn't too heavy for me to lift so I think it's pretty nifty that I can move my garden if I want it someplace else. I read online that strawberries don't root too deep, about 12 to 18 inches, so they have a good amount of root space in this bin. HERE is where I found a soil depth/ root length chart. I'm going to put some coffee grounds in shortly as they're good for the soil and should keep away bugs. And you know I've an abundance of coffee grounds. This spot gets great sunlight. I read 8 to 10 hours of strong sun is preferred. I wanted to place the bin directly next to my slowly leaning pile of garage shown here with the horrid white paint but I didn't think that would offer enough sunlight.
Any tips from the pros would be much appreciated. I am clueless when it comes to "feeding" plants or gardens so if you have advice in that arena that's the one thing I'm still really leery about. I suddenly feel so accomplished! Mmmm, strawberries!
Average daily spending for May: $18.17
(counting tomorrow as a no spend day)
I have strawberry plants. Make sure the slugs don't eat yours. I had a big problem with them last year in my strawberries.
ReplyDeleteGood thought. I read online that if you grind eggs shells down to a dust and then sprinkle them on the leaves or in the soil it kills slugs. I'll keep a look out for them and get some egg shells in there if I see any... then we'll see how it goes from there.
DeleteDon't water with soft water. Use unsoftened or rain water.
ReplyDeleteCool, thank-you! So not hose water, it's not softened per-say. It's city water but it's definitely chlorinated. I would have just used the hose if you hadn't said anything.
DeleteWe use regular water (from the hose) and one tip is that if your strawberries lay on the soil directly (lower plants will, before they grow tall enough), you sometimes need to rotate the berries a bit, to ensure they get ripe on both sides, and because the side in the dirt may mold before the other side ripens. Again, only if you have low-growth plants. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tip about rotating thanks! I'll probably try and catch some rain water for watering but then I'll have to use hose water for any times that it doesn't rain so it's good to hear that it works well for you.
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