Triacia, it brings a new meaning to Pot Farming.

Are you guys handy? You could make some bases with wheels for moving them. I worked at a place once where the maintenance guy made those for all out big pots, they were the cat's meow.

Oh, and if the potatoes don't work in the ground, you can grow them in big half rain barrels.

And I was proud of myself for the 6 full earth boxes I just put out!! Very aggressive.

Lpinks got the right idea with the little 'dollies'. You can chase the sun with them if need be.

Wish I lived near you, we have 2 of the half whisky barrels that you could have. And I bet the potatoes would do fine in them.

Beth

You'll be potty by the end if the summer with all the watering!! hahahahaha. Good luck.

You can incorporate many of the same techniques in pots that you do with Square Foot Gardening. So if you haven't read the book by Mel Bartholomew, you might check it out at the library. The "All New Square Foot Gardening" book has a few new ideas from the original book. Another good book on the subject is "Kitchen Gardens in Containers" by Antony Atha.

You must be farther north and in a different Zone because I have most of the same things, many in pots, or hanging or ground bags, and some things in a small garden space, but I'm half-way through harvesting the greens, the potatoes are 12-inches above the bags they are growing in and will be harvested mid-June. Tomatoes are blooming and I have one plant that already has quarter-sized tomatoes on it and the others are not far behind, and I'm considering what I'll put in the lettuce/spinach/kale pots in another few weeks when it's too hot for them. I usually take advantage of 1/2-price end-of-the-season annuals to replace them. Pull those out in August and plant the fall crop of greens.

I harvest herbs as soon as they are big enough to trim something off of them in the early spring, and dry them for winter use, and then maintain them during the summer for their beauty, smell, and culinary use. I dehydrate some chives and start that as soon as they peek out of the ground and I can trim them off, but before they begin to bloom. They are in full bloom now and I'm snipping the blooms off and drying them.

In the fall I always bring in a pot with a clump of chives, thyme and parsley in it to use all winter.

Fall crops are planted in July (potatoes in bags) and August (greens) to harvest through the first frost (usually some time in mid-late October). I put my little homemade "dome" I use as a cold frame in a well-protected sunny space in the garden, and in a mild winter (which WASN'T last winter) I can have greens growing in it all winter long.

With careful planning you can install a drip irrigation system in your pots, or put a patio mister in place to water them. I fill one large pot with water from my rain barrels and feed that water to the plants with a small solar pump connected to the drip irrigation system, but we also do a lot of watering by hand with watering cans. Our weight-lifting program for the summer (LOL). There are rain barrels all around the house (about a 1,000-gallon capacity), so there is always a water source.

If you think collecting pots is fun, wait until you start to find wonderful examples of trellis to use to support plants or to add some interest and height in your pots. I collected enough red dogwood branches from trimming the bushes to make a trellis from them for a long narrow planter and have my pea pods running all over the red twig trellis.

Enjoy your container garden and it's bounty. It sounds like you'll have enough greens to share with your friends and neighbors, who will love you for it.

If you don't already have a salad spinner, I'd suggest you get one. You're going to be keeping it busy for awhile. ;-)

-Grainlady

Yes, this will be an adventure! DH suggested last night that maybe we should consider using our winter dry dock space at the marina as our pot garden this summer. Each space has its own water supply & there's not quite so many trees. Next week, we're going to see what the dockmaster has to say about turning the marina into a farm? :)

Grainlady, we are a coastal Zone 7(a). That sounds better than it really is...way different than, say, a Kentucky Zone 7(a). What is really means is that we don't get absurdly cold in the winter (or, at least not too often!).

Our springs are usually cold, raw, wet, & with an onshore wind. Brrrr. With spring water temps in the upper 30s to low 40s that wind is COLD. We average around 4" precip/month year around...no wet/dry season as, for example, the PNW. This year has been unusual. We had 15" in March & it's been a little dry ever since but certainly not dry enough to consider watering. Nobody waters anything here except for pots & many of those don't need water either. Rain barrels are sorta funny for Mystic. :) Sounds like you've got an extensive watering set-up.

Late May, June, & the first half of July are typically FOGGY...did I mention summer is foggy here?! lol Yesterday, the fog was so thick I couldn't see the gardens. Every surface is dripping wet until 2:00 p.m.'ish (maybe a bit earlier if we're lucky). A common joke here is that we need marine radar head gear to take a walk safely to Dunkin Donuts on a Saturday morning. It's always mid-day before you can find a seat outside & not end up with wet undies! Summer temps are in the mid-70s with evenings only dropping to the upper 60s (if we're lucky) and low-mid 70s if we're not lucky. Always less than 10 degrees difference between daytime high & nightime lows. Dew points have been climbing the past decade...mid 60s a decade ago & now are frequently more like 70-74 degrees. Hence, temp + dew point = fog. Did I mention it's foggy here! rofl

Our veggie growing problems are rot & salt related not the need to water. Fungal disease is also a problem if the plants survive long enough.

This is rhoddy, azalea, & hydrangea territory. We have almost effortless drop-dead gorgeous ornamental gardens but growing veggies is challenging. Add the salt spray & my neighbors are going to have a good laugh seeing our veggie pot garden. :)

Fall is great in New England. Clear skies, still have our routine 4" of rain/month & little fog. Here, at the southern coast our growing season extends to Thanksgiving & often well into December. Leaf raking is a Christmas & New Year's activity. We don't get the beautiful New England fall folliage colors because it doesn't get cold enough at night...have to go inland for the famous New England leaf peeking.

Anyway, even though it's been a warm spring it's ridiculously cold (45 degrees right now) & windy today. Certainly not good basil weather (they are in the garage).

I do hope we get lots of greens. Our summer dinners are usually huge salads with fruit, nuts, & various seeds topped with either a piece of fish or chicken. I use herbs as salad greens also. I've always grown those...even basil adjusts to the fog & develops more intense flavor than when I was living inland. But potatoes, onions, tomatoes, squash, etc...not so much so we'll see how this experiment goes. If nothing else we'll give the marina & neighborhood something to chuckle about all summer!

/tricia

Tricia, great group of tomatoes you selected. I have grown most of them. Can't beat a homegrown heirloom tomato! Have fun! Jaune' Flamme' is one workhorse of a tomato! You'll literally get hundreds on a plant. They are real sweet and great in salads...just cut in half...perfect size. That is the only tomato plant I've ever seen where you can pick all of the ripe 'maters....turn your back and count to ten....and then the plant has more ripe ones! Unbelievable.

If you got hardneck garlic October is the perfect time to plant for harvest next summer. It won't rot. Keep it wet as much as you can....and then forget about it. Homegrown garlic is like most everything homegrown...FANTASTIC! You'll never want that old grocery store garlic again!

Duane

If you do try building your own rollers for larger pots, make sure to research just how heavy those pots will be when filled with wet soil and make sure the casters you use are rated for that weight. I used to do quite a bit of veggie container gardening, with a similar problem of having to move the pots as the sun changed position. I made the rollers, but used inadequate casters under my half wine barrels, and they just squashed.

The problem I might see with the Marina is that you might be adding wind damage to your other problems.

Duane, thanks for the encouragement about our tomato choices! The garlic will get whatever moisture falls from the sky...we don't water our gardens. They get a drink at planting time then they are on their own. Hope you're right about them not rotting. For some reason I thought onions & garlic would benefit from the soil drying out a touch sometimes. Their garden neighbors will be moss. :) I've got a beautiful secret moss garden that I've been nuturing & we'll plant the garlic just on the outside perimeter of the blue spruce that shelters the entrance to the moss garden in & amongst a perennial area.

rachelellen, DH isn't likely to make roll arounds for the pots. I'm sure he'll just use his dolly. Buying all of those casters would be expensive. The trees at our site do give us some wind protection compared to the marina but probably not much since the marina is only 150' away. The trees there are situated such that afternoon sun is better. (We've got a gale warning issued for today until mid-afternoon.) It's a dockominium & we own our slip. I already do some gardening there but just limited to one potted hydrangea that stays year around & one large pot for annuals. This morning, we realized that using the marina isn't such a good idea though anyway. In the event of a storm emergency when all the boats have to be hauled in a short amount of time our little gardening project would be a real hazard for the lift. :( So, the driveway it is!

/tricia

Triciae - I wish you luck! My sister can grow tomatoes and things in pots but but I can't. I know you've probably considered this and have discounted it but since the horticulturist seems to think that you can do potatoes and garlic in soil I would think that a raised bed with a lot of amended soil might add to your chances.
Rutgers is the tomato that has always worked best for me.

Triciae - I wish you luck! My sister can grow tomatoes and things in pots but but I can't. I know you've probably considered this and have discounted it but since the horticulturist seems to think that you can do potatoes and garlic in soil I would think that a raised bed with a lot of amended soil might add to your chances.
Rutgers is the tomato that has always worked best for me.

You made me hungry just looking at your list!

Tricia, I've also had some luck with most of those varieties, I wasn't fond of Brown Cherry and never tried Oregon Spring.

Garlic should do fine, I plant in October/November and harvest in July of the next year and mine has grown just fine in my flower boxes so garlic doesn't mind containers.

My new projects this year are fingerling potatoes in three colors and leeks. I planted from seed last year and my leeks were about the size of a pencil, we just don't have a long enough growing season, so this year I ordered plants from Dixondale, I'll grow leeks yet!

Annie