Saturday, August 11, 2012

Peppers in a Grow Box


We grow lots of veggies in our two side-yard raised beds.  The beds are relatively small, but since the soil is rich, we use succession planting, and we plant our veggies intensively, we're able to get a lot out of those beds even though they each get only part sun.

We extend our veggie-growing space using containers.  This year we're trying out Grow Bags and Grow Boxes, compliments of the companies that make them.  I'll show you what we did with the Grow Bags in a future post.

Last May, we were lucky enough to attend Garden2Blog 2012, hosted by P. Allen Smith and sponsored by a number of garden industry companies he partners with.  After the event several of those partners shipped us free products to trial.  The Grow Box, along with Black Gold organic soil we received from event sponsors were used to grow these peppers.  

For the second year, our peppers are growing in our front foundation landscape where we actually have full sun.  We've grown peppers successfully in our part-sun veggie beds, but they ripen quicker and are more productive out in front.  

We had a bumper crop of all sorts of colorful peppers in individual pots last year.  The downsides of individual pots were how much time it took to water them, how much water it took, and the amount of space needed for all those pots.  All the downsides are solved with the Grow Box.  

As unbelievable as it seems, there are eight pepper plants jammed into this planter, and they are easily as productive, if not more so, than they were last year in individual pots.  Thanks to the unique design of the Grow Box with it's very efficient use of water, they've needed a lot less water a lot less often.


today's harvest

After trialing our Grow Box with peppers this year. I'm sold.  They're a fantastic option for small-space veggie gardeners.  They'd also be great for gardening with children, an easy-care option for patio and balcony gardeners, and wonderful for older folks who find traditional vegetable gardening too physically taxing.  For me, they add precious space to our veggie-growing real estate and are attractive enough to plunk down amidst the flowers growing in full sun in our front foundation landscape.

Our veggies are grown organically, so naturally we use organic soil in containers.  I've been pleased with the quality and performance of Black Gold.  I love that Grow Boxes offer organic fertilizer as an option for their kits.  New fertilizer and organic jute covers can be ordered separately, and the box and soil can be re-used in future gardening years.  

Many thanks to the nice folks at Black Gold for the soil, and Garden Patch who makes the Grow Box for letting us test their products.

13 comments:

  1. Very nice harvest, Girl! I love the yellow ones more, with other veges in salad.

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    1. Thank you, Nadezda. I love the yellows too, and the purples, reds, and oranges. My favorites are the pimentos - those are the red ones in the the photos. They're very sweet and flavorful. I love to mix them up for all those bright colors and subtly different flavors.

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  2. Hi Garden Girl
    The peppers look delicious! My vegetable is growing in pots too... on the balcony because there they've got a lot of sun and no snails! Next year I'm going to try the peppers... you made me to want them too :o).
    Have a lovely Sunday!
    Alex

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alex! I've definitely noticed less pest problems with some veggies and herbs when they're in pots. This year I put basil right in the garden, but it always seems to be bigger and less bothered by pests when grown in pots instead. Next year, basil will be in pots again.

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  3. Rich, luscious fruits with all the colours of summer. I feel inspired to plant them too.

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    1. Go for it Stiletto! Organic peppers are so expensive, and we grow enough to last from harvest to harvest. We freeze the ones we don't use fresh, and use them in soups, sauces, for roasting, and even in salads.

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  4. Wow, your pepper plants look great, Linda! My peppers have not done well at all the past two years in the veggie garden; I'm going to have to check out these growboxes and think about using them instead next year.

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    1. I'm very pleased with the peppers, and the Grow Box, Rose - so much easier than regular containers with the large water reservoir, and the mulch cover that helps keep moisture in the soil.

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  5. Anonymous12:13 PM

    Yours look great. I have a couple of peppers planted along with my tomatoes in both of my Grow Boxes this year, and I can't tell you how thankful I am for these planters this year. No wilting and, best of all, no plant death because I forgot to water ;0)

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    Replies
    1. This brutal summer has been a good test of how well the Grow Boxes work, MBT. They are very forgiving.

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  6. Hi Linda,

    With my small veggie area these boxes might be the answer to put along the perimeter of the raised bed. I seem to never have enough room to grow what I want.

    Eileen

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    1. Hi Eileen, I'm in the same situation - not enough space for everything I want to grow. The Grow Boxes are a great solution. They take up very little space. I was very skeptical about growing eight pepper plants in just one box, but I'm a believer now.

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  7. Hi Linda,
    Your peppers look so happy in those grow boxes. It seems that they thrived being crowded. Maybe being a little on the shady side helped this year. My tomato in the shady part of the yard has done the best.
    Balisha

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