Thank you for the replies! It has rained quite a bit since then. I looked into it, and the weed killer used was Ortho Weed B Gon MAX. The active ingredients are Quinclorac, 2,4 D and Dicamba. I'll be looking into this. It would save me a small fortune if I could use the ground. This post was edited by Kafei on Mon, Jan 14, 13 at 23:58

It is hard to give accurate advice if we don't know where you are. Have you already bought seed? Peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes should all go in containers, and should probably be started indoors and grown under lights. If you don't have seed yet, buy a few plants and put those in containers when the time is right in your area. Peas should probably be planted already. You won't get many from that size bed, especially if the warm weather continues, so plant all of the peas on one side of the bed or in the center. Broccoli and cauliflower will take up a lot of space, so only plant a few seeds at a time, but do it every month. Spinach is best to grow in spring and fall, it will bolt quickly in summer. Carrots are the hardest thing on your list to grow. They must be sown in place for best results, and properly watered and thinned. Cucumbers should be sown in place, they don't transplant well. They need warm soil to germinate and grow well, so you may be better off waiting - everything depends on where you are.

Fertilizer provides much of the raw material (nutrients) that allows plants to keep their systems in order, to manufacture their own food, and to grow. Without the essential nutrients present in the soil and available to the plant, plants will rob them from other tissues and exhibit symptoms of a nutrient shortage. In containers, you'll often see older leaves yellow & fall from a lack of nitrogen. The plant is actually extracting the mobile N from older leaves, sacrificing them in effect, to supply it to newly emerging leaves. Nutrients that are not mobile, will often manifest symptoms that indicate a shortage in new leaves. As long as a plant is actively growing, it will utilize the nutrients in fertilizer. As temperatures drop below 50* F, the plant slows growth & thus its use of N. When plants are not using N, it is better to keep its concentration lower. It can feed the bacteria that causes root rot and it also feeds the bacteria that breaks down the structure of the soil. For containerized trees & shrubs I usually alternate feedings about every 2 weeks with 5-1-1 fish emulsion then 20-20-20 MG, Peter's, or a similar product. As temperatures begin to cool (in Sep in my zone) I eliminate the N from my fertilizer program and change to a 0-10-10 blend of either fish emulsion or a chemical mix. Because I use an organic 5-1-1 in my summer program, there is ample residual N in the soil as winter approaches & the plants fare very well on the altered diet. I can see no difference between chemical fertilizers and organics. Both work well in containers. In spring, if you are looking for maximum growth, fertilize as leaf buds are opening or for conifers, as candles begin elongating. If you wish your plants to remain more compact, hold spring applications until leaves have formed & matured or candles have stopped elongating & are open. This will keep internodes short, leaves smaller, and provide nutrients when the tree is concentrating on cambial (girth) and root growth. I am seeing frequent advice to use grass clippings only, as fertilizer in containers. I'm sorry, but if it was an effective method of nutrient delivery, because the supply is unlimited and free, every greenhouse or nursery operation in the world would be stuffing their containers with grass. One of the main attributes of a sound fertilizer program is the growers control over delivery timing and quantity/type of nutrients. Obviously this is lacking in the grass clipping suggestion. There are additional issues that would be associated with the practice as well. Good luck. Al

How long are you planning on keeping these roses in containers? Will you ever be able to plant them in the ground? If you plan on leaving them in pots for years, I would not use 20 gallon black plastic pots - you could cook them in full sun in a hot climate. Since you just got these roses, and just planted them in 4 gallon containers, I would leave them alone (with lots of water as everyone says) for at least 6 months. They need to recuperate from being transplanted, and need to be left in peace to grow some roots. If they were mine, I would leave them alone for 6 months, or until I saw roots growing out of the bottom of the containers. If I then wanted to transplant them again into a bigger container where they would have to stay for years, I would get a non-glazed normal clay colored CLAY container, and it would be way bigger than 20 gallons - maybe 40 or 50. If, on the other hand, you will be able to plant the roses in the ground, a 20 gallon plastic pot would probably be OK for another year or so until you can put them in the ground, but not black. Drainage - I do not put any of the pots my potted roses are in directly on the ground, cement, etc. There are many things you can buy to put under the pots (from cheap to expensive) to help them drain. I try to keep my pots up on these sort of things at least 1 1/2 inches above whatever surface they are on. Glad your roses perked up when you gave them more water. That is how we all learn about roses on here - asking for advice, and then seeing what works! Good luck, and keep us advised about how you do with these roses. Jackie