Agree PV. The recommendations for tomato and pepper heads on those respective forums has been about a minimum of about 3 gallon size container (~10" diameter) for peppers and minimum 5 gallon (~12") for tomatoes. Larger would be better, particularly if you go with indeterminant tomatoes that can grow to 7ft or bigger even in a container. And yes, you can grow carrots in a container (I did it one year). Depending on what type of carrot you choose to grow, choose the container size accordingly. I have some Rubbermaid veggie containers (they don't make them anymore) that are like 15" x 15" x 12" deep that were perfect for carrots, but any type should work although you need to thin to allow room for the carrots to grow optimally. Good luck with your wee farm! :-D

Thank you! Looks like sunlight is important for these guys. We'll see how it handles the San Francisco "summer"

Ada, My favorite method of planting is most like that used by busy1. I don't furrow plant but just scatter sow on the surface and gently "pat" the seeds into the soil surface just the tiniest bit. I do water the bed before I plant, and then mist it very lightly afterward. Once they're up about an inch, I thin them. The advantage to using any sort of cover over the seed bed is that it keeps the seeds moist so they'll germinate more quickly and it keeps them from blowing away or washing away before they germinate. I haven't tried the burlap, but have done something similar using large sheets of cardboard. Once they start sprouting, you lift up the covering right away so they don't get black or brown mildewed leaves from having excess moisture. I've done the seed tapes and they work OK but you have to really wet down the paper to get it to soften up enough for them to germinate right through it. Some people use toilet tissue or paper towels because they dissolve more easily. The big advantage is the orderly spacing and the ease of planting. You "waste" less seeds because you don't have to thin them out as much as when you scatter sow. If you're wondering if there is any one method that's better than the other, then I'd say not really. As long as you have loose, friable soil they'll germinate just fine. If you have heavier clay that crusts over, the small carrot plants can have a hard time breaking through the soil surface. You can work around that by planting a radish seed in the row of carrot seed every inch or two. The radishes will sprout first and break the soil surface, thereby paving the way for the carrots. Most radishes are ready to harvest in 3 or 4 weeks, so you'll have a nice early crop of radishes too. Dawn

It is almost cement, but is indeed earth of some sort. I Have 5 acres in san Diego, but am in a new home, so the carved away the earth to build my house. I am building my SQ FT Garden near my house, so it is almost totally on Granite. I am also putting landscape fabric down to keep the pesky mustard seed plants from overtaking it. I never did well with my 8 gal. planters...that's why I'm asking everyone!! I'm a farmer at heart, but a city girl by birth with a brown, maybe even black thumb. EEK