Meant to say, what I'm starting seeds on!

Hey Evan....where you at ?

I grew Parks/Twinkle this spring/summer season.

I grew them in "small" 3 gal (whitecatlitter) containers of Al's 5-1-1 Mix...

They grow happy in the containers.....at 6 months they're three feet plus tall and still producing.....slower in the HEAT.....at each fruiting site a single Female and two Male flowers bloom insuring germination.

BUT....unfortunately IF you let the fruit get larger than about 2" diameter the seeds become a major issue...I like to BBQ Grill or Fry the eggplant so my cooking options tend to be limited with the small size....I won't replant this variety.....

This season I'm going to try Black Beauty in the same small containers...

doug

Hi Evan

I have the same question like Doug, where are you?
Peppers, tomatoes and eggplants do well in containers for me, wish you a lot of success this coming season!

Hi Doug

I have 6 varieties of eggplants in the raised bed, some did better than others this season. I have black beauty, Orlando, Ping Tung, Ichiban, Fairy Tale, Rosa Bianca. I mix them all, broil them, put in chermoulade sauce and serve it with couscous, they are good!

An assortment of eggplants and yard long beans

Silvia

I just rec'd some of those freebie Virginia Sweets seeds from TGS too - can't wait to try them = )

I'm in Orlando which I think is zone 9b.

For containers I've got 5 gal painter buckets, some smaller 3 gal buckets and just got 17 gal buckets with rope handles on clearance at Target for $3 each (may still be available).

Do you all have recommended container mixes for tomatoes and eggplants? I'd been using MG potting mix with some extra perlite, but imagine I could be doing better with it and fertilization.

@Doug - Not sure the eggplant variety I've been growing, but they come out a bit smaller than a baseball, but I probably get at least 5 flowers:1 fruit with a lot of flower drop.

My plants get 3-4 hours of direct sun as the entirety of my yards have large shade trees. The black cherry tomatoes I've been growing in plain 5 gallon buckets started going gangbusters about 3 weeks ago.

@Silvia - I appreciate the knowledge and any other than you can give me regarding container gardening with consideration to how much light I get. My plants tend to stretch a bit and I'm going to experiment with staking/tying methods to get them to bush more.

Hi Evan

It looks like you are probably Doug's neighbor and we are all locals, next time that we have a get together you should come to the house and meet other gardeners and see the things that I am growing.

I use in the containers Al's mix like Doug told you he uses, it is a fast draining medium and is cheaper than MG. If you google in the container forum for this mix, there is the recipe.

Right now I am starting seeds for tomatoes and some peppers, since I am still getting peppers planted in the spring. And I have too many eggplants that will last till it gets cold.

If you have any space to work in the ground, I would recommend that you plant the herbs there, they grow better that way.

If you have any specific questions about anything, I will be happy to answer you, I would like to see a success story!

My harvest this morning, besides the avocados which are very abundant this season, figs too.

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Silvia

Wow! I've just spent the last hour or so reading Al's most recent update regarding soils and his mix for containers.

Next thing for me to is figure out if I can do a better job with the sub-irrigated 2-bucket planters. My efforts did not produce good results and I was quite clueless about fertilization.

My girlfriend's Dad is near Ocala and does 3-4 plantings per year, but he has 1/2 acre of backyard and does almost everything in ground. He gets great results and does his own composting with a tumbler and the poo from his chicken coop. Between the his advice and what I'm getting here my hope is that my next planting will be more successful and I'll have that much more knowledge moving forward.

I can't wait for the next get together, I'm definitely there (I live in downtown). What type of containers do you use and if those need to be constructed, do you have a link to plans/instructions?

Evan, my name is easy does it, lol. My containers are 13 inches deep and about 15 wide, I get them on sale on either Walmart or Big Lots, they last me for a very long time and I just fill them with the mix. They work fine for me as you can see in the next pictures

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A recent tomato harvest from the containers

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Silvia

Evan, I'm in Lake Mary, with a mostly shaded yard. Spring tomatoes were a bit of a let down, not as much as I wanted. I got my best yield from seed I saved from Camparti tomato. Camparti is a hybrid, so who knows what it was I had. This fall I'm growing Mountain Magic which is suppose to be like Camparti. Also, Red Pear and Hybrid Tropic Boy seemed not a bit concerned with shade. Same with Silvery Fir Tree. Oh, I should say partial shade.

I am going to try growing more determinate tomatoes and more of the Camparti size tomatoes and see how it goes. And save my full sun spots for a few special beefsteak size tomatoes.

Welcome!

~dianne

Evan.......We're in Colonialtown.....Mills and 50

Click on my username and send me an E-mail......we can arrange a neighborly garden visit....here you can check out the famous Al's mix in person.....and a Vendor list

We're still harvesting Cherry Tomatoes......and lots of Peppers

I "Stole" some fresh sweet potatos last nite .....Just dug around the vines until I found two small 'taters ...... Ummmmmmmm Good!

Hmmmm ......Couscous?

doug and pam

Silvia,

You've been more than helpful so far and looks like 20-30 minutes away from me.

Do all of your plants go into containers? My girlfriend was very envious of the avocados (and myself for the figs).

Evan - My tomatoes always go in containers also some herbs like mint. Peppers and eggplants sometimes, this season they are planted in raised beds. Herbs go anywhere in the garden that I can fit them, sometimes clay pots.
Fruit trees that can take the cold go in the ground avocado, fig, citrus and others, the ones that can not take the cold go in pots like sapodilla, star fruit and others.
I hope that you get to meet Doug and Pam, they are very nice and they were at my house the last get together and he is willing to share his knowledge, remember we all learn from each other.
Have a great season!

Silvia