I have grown Habanero peppers in something like that in the past. Here were the babies 2 years ago:

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Below were 6 of the ones from the above picture that I kept inside last winter and grew again last summer (the plants with the orange peppers on them sitting with my plumies and oleanders and fig):

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I now have 3 that survived of the ones aboe that are in 1 gallon pots growing inside under lights and that I will put outside again when it gets warmer.

Mmmmm....seem I can even plant some more of them?...Will try adding another tomatoe plant in one of them...see what happens!!

( They look cute, also)

Lettuce is extremely easy to grow in containers, but can't take too much heat & sun. I usually start some in the early spring, then use that same container for basil in the summer, then throw some more lettuce seeds in for fall. Although, last fall something (squirrels?) ate all my lettuce before I had the chance to :(

My appartmnet has a large terrace at the 10th, S/E floor in Toronto. It is quite windy.
What vegetables would you recomend I grow at my 2 raised beds?

Thank you

Lubomir

This year I am growing all my edibles in 56quart storage containers. I just drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage and in went the plants. Much better than the various sized pots that I used last year.

Manda in Seattle

Wow: I was just searching for posts about growing habaneros in pots. Yours are beautiful, Jenny! And you're in Pa.? I'm in western mass. How much sun do they need?

My real question, though, is can I get the seeds from habenero peppers that I buy in the grocery store? I've got some of those seeds sitting on a paper towel right now, wondering what to do next. I'm not a talented gardener. Will it work? Do the seeds have to be dried first? do I have time to start this now? or should I just buy plants at a nursery come planting time?

Kim

Hi Kim! I know all about Western Mass (went to UMASS back in the day...LOL). Yes I am in PA (Philly).

Habs like other peppers do like alot of sun, which is needed for flowering. That corner where I usually put them gets about 5 - 6 hours of morning sun and since I have one of the end balconies on the floor (my end being on the western side of the building), I get about 3 - 4 more hours of afternoon sun that cuts across that corner as the sun is setting. Because I am up on the 18th floor, I have no trees or other buildings blocking the sun, which helps since my balcony faces NE.

You could try growing from those seeds but chances are, they may turn out to have been pollinated by other peppers if you had any others and might not look like a habanero.

With respect to treating seeds, I know that the tomato people go through a "fermentation" process where they scoop out the seeds including the goop around the seeds and let that sit in a covered cup in warm conditions until it just starts to mold and then they'll rinse the seeds well and dry on paper towels or paper plates. The pepper people might do the same but I haven't checked the Hot Pepper forum in awhile to confirm. You might want to pop over there to see what they do with seeds.

Mine were bought as baby plants and the 3 that I have left are in 1 or 2 gallon black plastic nursery pots that I have kept inside under my lights in winter (a 500W halogen worklight). Soon as it gets consistently warm out, I will put them outside. They're all blooming right now and I have a fan blowing across the area, so hopefully a bunch will set before they even go outside since they take a long time to produce and ripen.

Thanks. I'll try that hot pepper forum. I also deseeded some jalpenos. We figure those are two things the bugs around here won't be interested. If earwigs eat habaneros, I give up. I'm about 1/2 hour from UMAss, was just there the other day. (It's just beginning to look like spring here!!)

One potato in a container about 30 x 30 cm will produce about 30 or so small (and very delicious!) potatoes. The plant is attractive too. I've also grown peppers, lettuce, and tomatoes, and this year I'm trying a few beetroot. Good luck!

Just as some more examples, I always used to grow vining cucumbers in my trough, about 3 - 4 plants in that size. They loved to attach to my balcony rail and much of the crop appeared on the other side of it or in the oddest locations. LOL

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I have also grown eggplant in the past and tried it again last year. They could probably go in a trough that size too... Mine was in a 12" pot.

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i don't mean to jack the thread, but, bultman, how do you grow potatoes in containers? do you fertilize? do you water a lot or a little? when do you plant them?
thanks
heidi

Hi Heidi! In answer to your question - I take a potato which has already started sprouting some roots (as they do when you store them a little too long) in the spring. I planted one about 3 weeks ago and it's already about 10-15cm high. I normally use the same potting soil as I use for all other plants on the balcony. You could fertilize if you like - I prefer organic fertilizer for things I'm planning to eat - but they'll do fine in most kinds of soil and I usually don't bother fertilizing at all. The plant needs to be watered pretty regularly, but not so much that the potatoes rot - so daily if it's very warm, otherwise every 2 or 3 days. Harvest them when the flowers begin to open if you want them small, after the flowers are finished if you prefer larger potatoes. Enjoy the feast! :-)
Bernadette

But how large of a container do you need for potatoes?

In answer to the original poster's question: I'm growing purple bush beans, tomatoes (beefsteak and a cherry variety)summer squash, bell peppers and jalepenos, as well as several herbs.

silverbug - I have seen a couple of posts over the years where people grew them in large Rubbermaid garbage cans. They would drill alot of holes at the bottom and all along the sides, put down their soil and/or some sort of hay/straw/compost mix at the bottom and plant the seed potatoes, and then as the stems grow, they would successively cover the stems with the soil/hay, higher and higher unti they reached the top... And at the end of the season, they would dump out the garbage can and harvest. I would think that this might be tricky on a covered balcony unless it gets a good amount of sun that can reach down into the can.

I've just been out measuring my potato container - it's about 30x30x30cm (that's about 12x12x12 inches) for sowing one seed potato (which produces about 30 or so potatoes). Good luck!
Bernadette

Last year I was gowing some potatoes, the crop was fine (well not as big as Bernadette's).
And the peppers were growing better than this year Bellpeppers and Jalapenos : Espelette and Cayenne;
Agnes

Here is a link that might be useful: To last year album

You know what you guys? I have a sweet potato that has sprouted small stems with leaves. I read that you could actually pull the sprouts off and plant those (they call them "slips" I believe - took me a long time to find out what they meant by "slip"). The slips root along the stems and will eventually form new tubers that will become new sweet potatoes. I've been thinking of planting some in my sister's yard in a container since I have run out of room on the balcony (LOL) and she gets alot of sun. Maybe I should... heh

I've planted one tuber last year and got 3 sweet potatoes of a fair size. I think it's a good idea to try it in your sister's yard.
I don't know if you remember my attempt to grow some chayote : no fruit.But I'll try again this year and will let the plant outdoors, protected, during Winter.
Agnes

Oh no! You are starting to enable me again! LOL

I hope you do better with the chayote. That is one strange plant but it tastes good!! :-P

One of my favorite things to grow in a container is carrots. If you put really good dirt in you can have some great carrots that turn out perfect.

I don't usually grow vegetables, but there is always room for a radish. And I have grown a sqash ones. I grew it in a fairly small pot, and it produced 2 fruits. They are also vere decorative plants.

I live on the seond floor apartment with a 26' porch, but the only sun it gets is on the other side of the railing... 8 feet off the ground. So I have roughly 1 foot by 26 feet of sunshine, but all the trellising I could want :D

I've got 12 Roma Tomato plants planted in 3 of those "Al's Flower Pouches" as well as 2 Pick-a-lot cucumbers (one grow-bag each), 2 Alwaha Melon plants (don't ask me, they were free seeds from Parks so I planted them out of curiousity) planted in a 16" planter and have about 6 good sized melons each, and a windowbox full of Strawberries :)

Tomatoes
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Melons
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Best Wishes
Amino-X

I am trying to find the name of the two types of Irish/white potatoes.
1 only grow taters on the bottom, no matter how deep the plant is in the can.
The other type will form taters all alone the buried stem & that is one of the reasons for the 32 gallon can.
That is about 25-30 inches of buried stem & a bottom crop, too.

If your interested in different kinds of gardening styles go to Photobucket/ChristianWarlock there are instructions on building everything.