How about Basil or other herbs? Im a big fan of fresh basil in pasta sauce.

My perennial onions and garlic find their way into the blocks and do quite well there, and yes are earlier than others.

I put marigolds in the holes of my cinderblocks (i think 8x8x16) and they are HUGE. You can't see the cinderblocks they grew so big.

I have the ugly things lining my flower bed along the driveway--my husband's idea. I always plant flowers in them. usually Allyssum or portulaca but I have grown others in there.

You are only limited by the size of the rootball and the opening. Just think of the opening as a deep pot. I imagine radish, carrots or lettuce, as well as the onions and garlic or some herbs like basil or thyme would grow just fine in them

Yeah,
Like the other posters have said, and I would add:
carrots (of course if you are not paying attention,things grow too big and have to be extracted with hand tools), This year I have been careless and beets,carrots and onions have all exceeded their size restrictions... OY VEY ;-)

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You may grow smaller flowers for tea, not sure of the varieties, but I would rather have a little something to drink from my garden than just all vegetables. What size is ginger? Ginger has been limited in Taiwan, so if our normal crops come from Taiwan, you might save you some money if you plant a few.

Maybe lavender? Spearmint, peppermint, chamomile, and any other type, can't say any but the mints are small enough, but there surely are some small herbal tea plants if you search them out.

Radishes, leaf cabbage, leaf romaine lettuce, and I can't think of anything else accept maybe some small cut flower in each one, a medicinal plant even.

In my most recent beds I used the narrow (4 inches) cinder blocks that Lowe sells. There you can grow only corn salad, miner lettuce, arugula, basil, bunching onions, and parsley, and before then you have to punch a hole at the bottom. I also have large cinder blocks like Jon, which need no hole of course, and his pictures are similar to my experience. Lots of things you can grow.

Cinder blocks give off lime, besides heat. It is no mystery why those greens like it there.

"Cinder blocks give off lime, besides heat. It is no mystery why those greens like it there."

Ahhh! More than just heat!!

So Lime is a catalyst for greens? Interesting! Wish I'd seen this yesterday when I still had time to do some gardening, lol!!!

Can anyone give me an estimate of how long the concrete may give off lime? I have some very old blocks that were on the property when I bought - they could be anywhere from 7 years to 50 even. Is it pervasive no matter the age? or is there a point where the Lime is through leaching out?

Thanks for the info and ideas....think I will go for greens this fall in the blocks!

Here in MI I can not grow most greens without some lime (wood ash, to be exact). The soil is acid and unsuitable for most of them. Chicory is fairly acid-tolerant, as is lettuce. But spinach, chard, arugula, fava (greens), beet, kale, cabbage, onion (all types), mache all prefer to get some of the stuff. They are also plants with higher Calcium requirements.

Lime and concrete are the same thing. Mostly calcium, but also some other micronutrients. Concrete leaches them slowly over long, long periods of time. I assume that stuff that grows in the blocks needs only nitrogen, and usually that is the way it turns out.

I'm glad I read this, my soil ph balance is nearing too high, 7.5. I'm planning to use rock, but not sure of what kind, but not lime rock. I'll specify if I get around to ordering, no lime rocks included.

If in a bed, high ph can be corrected easier than in ground, so really it wouldn't be a problem anyways, still it's nice to know. I would love a grocery store in my backyard! Always dreaming!

I grew onions, basil, chives, and sage in cinder blocks this year. They all did well, especially the basil.

Thanks jonhughes for posting those photos of your cinderblock garden. I saw some of your photos earlier in the season and they just are so fantastic!! DH did not get my cinderblock garden going this season but hopefully it will be up and running in 2011.

DL

JonHughes-

You garden looks gorgeous. Very nice job. I need to use more cinder blocks in my designs. You can get them for about 90cents a piece around here (8x8x16).

I used cinder blocks 8x8x16 around several planting beds in my garden. In one bed, which I used on the surface to level a bed I used for lettuce, I planted a marigold set in each void. Worked out great! Many flowers, all summer!

The other bed, I set the cinder blocks at ground level around a 1-1/2 ft deep pit that I dug in our native clayey-sandy decomposed sandstone soil. (No organic material, no N, high P & K values, pH around 7.5 - 8.0) I amended the soil with 50% native soil and about 5 cu ft of coconut coir, cotton burr compost, steer and sheep manure, & blood meal in a 4' x 5' plot. The open voids I filled with water when watering, which I think drained into the bed, since the surrounding soil was so rock-like. Potatoes grew fine, but the plants eventually yellowed, and may have been attacked by beetles or other insects. I have another bed of red potatoes, planted a few weeks later (not with cinder blocks) which still have green plants. Do potato plants always end up falling over? It seems that they would do well staked up.

I guess you could stake them up, but I've had no problems "lettin' em' all hang out ;-)

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Looks like there are gardens with just 1 level of cinder blocks. AND some with 2 or more levels. Recommendations??

I have a small cinder block garden now with just 1 layer. Thinking about a second for deeper routing plants. Using 8X8X16 inch blocks. Since the dirt isn't to the top of the blocks, I would say I have about 6 inches of growing room.

Also, since I am in central AZ wonder if I put paper or styrofoam or ?? in the holes to help keep the rest of the dirt cooler during the hot weather. Thoughts?

Thanks for your advice!!

I like three tall (2') because I don't like bending over so much, it takes a few hours per week to harvest and I would much rather be standing. but I have lots of ground beds ,(1 block high) and some only six inches. But I only plant "big stuff" in those beds, I don't mind bending down to cut off a Broccoli head or a Head of Cabbage etc etc..

All-Right...All-Right I admit it...i am lazy ;-)

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I plant strawberry's in mine, and a few pepper plants. I can never get the root crops out so I don't plant them in the blocks. Last year I had a melon grow in the opening of one and it was square.

Last year I made - more or less - a retaining wall out of cinder blocks behind the garage. I filled the holes of the cinder blocks with soil - and planted Copra Onions in them.

They were alright - but didn't do nearly as good because either I didn't start the plants early enough indoors (planted them three weeks earlier this year) - or the potatoes that were planted very close to them smothered them out from sunlight.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cinder Blocks & Onions