Growing veges in an apartment

Hi,

I recently moved to Boston. Heard that the climate here is good only for 4 months. I want to grow tomatoes,mint and coriander and any other veges possible in an apartment. Can anyone tell me from where I could get the sampling plants for the same. I dont want to start of from the seeds because they take in more time to grow... :)

Thanks
Vanitha

Hi ,
You can get baby plants from homedepot or lowes or even ur wholefood stores, shoprite or any other supermarkets. try to get the ones which are good for container gardening. they would be small and can be grown in pots in the apartment.
For mint it is easy to plant the stems from our grocery store, just remove the leaves except the tips and then plant them. they come very quickly.

coriander too you can use coriander seeds from kitchen( it will work if the seeds are not toasted) if this doesnt work then buy seeds, corianders are also easy to grow from seeds.

Do try bell peppers, green chilli and also methi leaves. all these comes fast and good to grown in containers. i usually grow two pots of green chillies i will have enough stock until dec.

I tried bittergourd last yr in pots and came out good, only i was not able to do somethng for the creepers, less space.

for tomatoes check the type of the plant if it is suitable for container gardening.

Good luck!
I haven't started any gardening yet, too lazy and tired.

Priya

Thanks Priya.. Last time I tried to grow chillies it didnt turn out at all.. :( they grew to a height of 7 inches.. but nothing happened after that :(
will try to grow methi and coriander in separate pots this time.

which seeds did u put for chillies? i tried thai chilli plant from homedepot, it was very beautiful with red chillies but not spicy for our indian cooking. so last yr my friend tried seeds from her kitchen and she too said she didn't get any chillies but i got 1 ziplock full of chillies.

i think the chillies we get are hybrid and so the seeds are not true ones, sometimes we might chilies sometimes wewont,so better to buy the plant or seeds from supermarket and try. this yr i am planning to try jalepeno as i think half the chilli would be enough for a curry as it is very spicy.
also important is when u grow in containers , u must add some fertilizers, dont use foliage ones or blooming ones just regular. once i tried the foliage ones which i had for house plants and i got only leaves and no flowers/veggies.

Maybe i should start some seeds today or tomorrow as the weather is good here.

Thanks Priya... I went and bought a small container tomato plant from Lowe's. Need to place them in a pot.
I tried the dry red chillies we use for cooking. The shoots did come up but after that no improvement. Do you have any idea whats the name of the chillies we use for indian cooking?

for mint, try planting the stem of the used mint. my friend tried it. out of 5 stems 2 stems survived.

Be sure to get a good quality potting soil for your pots. They now have ones that are organic types in addition to the other ones. For flowers I had very good success with the Miracle Grow soil. If you are getting any insects in your plants, a super safe way to treat is Safer insecticide soap with neem oil in it. You can also mix a few drops of neem oil in some water and spray your plants.

I have used Miracle Gro's Oragnic soil this time. I have planted mint,container tomato,hot pepper,coriander(from dhaniya at home) and also methi.

Is there any particular fertilizer i need to use. Can you mention the exact name as well.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I am also trying my hands on gardening. i have started with container gardening. i am from nj where we have Produce junction, we get some nice good plants for sale at minimal price than Lowes or home depot.
I have bought some Mint,Rosemary Sapplings . And have sowed Oregano and okra seeds too. Though Oregano and okra have bloomed well. But i doubt i can do Okra in container. Lets see.

I used miracle grow soil too and have bought miracle house plant food. I am also looking for Good brand fertlilzer...Pls suggest.

Miracle Grow fertilizer has worked well for me and now they have a natural type also. They are easily available and moderately priced. If you are doing an outside garden, you can get an attachment for the hose into which you put the Miracle Grow crystals and they dilute automatically as you water your plants. Its a very easy way to fertilize a garden in your yard. The Miracle Grow potting soil has the fertilizer in it so you won't need to add more for some time....check the directions on the bag.