Hi Patty! Why would perennials and veggies not make good container plants (trick question... ;-))? You don't have to limit yourself to 99¢ annuals just because the plants would go into containers. Almost everything I have out on the balcony in my container garden are perennials, shrubs, and trees, with a token few annuals for the windowboxes. Regarding your selections - for that first one, you could probably do what you suggest although it looks like the nemesia may get to a fairly good size and you might only want to put 1 or 2 of those rather than 4, unless they are very small to start. Also watch out for color clashes with the black-eye susan vine as a combination if you're not sure what color the nemesia blooms will be. The 2nd one - both are sortof low growers/mounders and they might run into each other... unless that's the effect you want. The 3rd one - should be fine. You might be able to do a few more verbenas if you use them as the trailing plant around the edges.

I'm guessing that rot-resistant is chemically-treated, which I wouldn't use for food growing. I actually prefer not to use it at all. I have a raised bed against a fence where I used masonry blocks for the back wall, and filled the holes with dirt so they wouldn't be spider habitats. If you need to go over two levels I would consider reinforcing with short pieces of rebar or something. But I would also ask first, whether a raised bed is really necessary, rather than edging.

Thanks - already started planting 2ft apart (a couple CP and rest BW). Just ran back in the house for cutworm collars, newpaper, and filling a 50-gal barrel with water. I wasn't planning on pruning those, just clipping to remesh fence behind them. I'll plant the determinates closer together (will have to weave those, no room in row next to fence). Martin - thanks for the info on potatoes - think I can sell Red Norland/Pontiac and Yukon Gold for that? I emailed Ag Dept, offered them new potatoes for $4/quart (about 2 lbs) and mature potatoes for $10/half peck(about 7.5 lbs) or $5/2qts(roughly 4lbs). No answer - but they haven't gotten back to me about edamame either and I need to know ASAP so I can plant enough for 30 families!

Every year is a new experiment. This year I have densely planted maters in my 8x8 raised bed. I have 4 sections of tomatoes growing vertically: 4 Romas, 3 Big Boy (was more than that but I, uh, pruned off the main stem and they never recovered), 4 beefsteak, and 5 cherries (didn't know how prolific they were!). In the same bed I have 7 pepper plants (some of which are too shaded from tomato plants), 3 basil plants, some beets, carrots, and bush beans. I also stuck some lettuce seeds in the shade of the tomato plants. There's an 18" path right down the middle. So far, so good. I do not have the yield I see in some of y'all's photos, but it's not bad, either. The plants all seem to be healthy. Follow link for photos. In the fall I need to reorganize b/c the frame timbers are rotting. I'm thinking of using square foot spacing and am wondering if anyone here does that? I realize that some of the most successful people here do not - I'm thinking of those giant cages digdirt and others make - and of course the self-watering containers. Are there any square foot gardeners on this board? Pat Here is a link that might be useful: Pat's garden pics