Garden

[cookinfreak]

Anyone here have a raised bed with a trellis? I don't have room for a garden, but I do have a small space I could use one of these. It is about table height and has a small trellis on the back. It's about 3' x 4' or so and about 2' or so deep. If you have one, do they the veggies do alright? I just want a few tomato plants and maybe a pepper plant. The one I want is around $200.00 and wondering if it would be worth it.

TIA

cookin

[fthunt]

With trellis - I've seen them in garden catalogs.  My raised garden was the put-together yourself that looks like stone - but it's  fake stone.  I've planted everything in mine - once had a six ft tomato plant - had to stake with metal cage.  The soil tends to dry out quickly - so add Vermiculite to your soil (which I failed to do)  - for tomatoes deep water in the AM so plant will have enough under hot sun.  Raised gardens are fun - your knees won't get dirty!

[cookinfreak]

@fthunt

Thank you for your reply. I miss my garden so much that I have to do something. It's more money than I want to spend, but I figure it should last me a long time and the veggies alone (if they do well) would be so worth it. Love me fresh tomatoes and cukes!

cookin

[Sweetbay magnolia]

HI, @cookinfreak - tomatoes are, by their nature, vines, so this thing you are buying should be great.  Just train the young supple stems up the trellis with twine or something similar.  Peppers in the foreground of the planter should do quite well, too, if you have ample sunlight.  Water!  Fertilize every so often with a water soluble (I like fish emulsion and MiracleGro for tomatoes).

[RedTop]

I think $200 is a lot of money to spend on a raised bed to grow a few tomatoes and peppers.   You could buy LOTS of tomatoes and peppers at a market stand for that amount of money.   I would grow them in flower pots or a 5 gallon bucket.   

We have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and green beans growing in children’s wading pools in our backyard.   We use metal cages to support our plants.   

[fthunt]

For something that gives you joy and can be used year after year - like I do - - I don't think $200 is out of line.  Mine cost more.  I've had strawberries in it - tumbling tom tomatoes as well as large plants.  And then........sometimes full of pink petunias.  Have had the little garden for ...........almost 30 years.  That area was too wet to plant due to downspout drain, so raised garden was my answer to the problem.  Have fun!

[software]

My planter

I started a thread here on these forums, you can click on the link above, it takes you to my thread here, not an outside site.

I purchased mine from Sam's Club for less than $100, it's working out better than I expected because I truly do not have a green thumb.

If the price is right for you, go for it.

I'm starting with tomatoes and lettuce, I love BLT sandwiches, I live alone and rarely cook.

I'm already eating lettuce that I started from seed late in March outside.   I had to cover it a couple of times because of frost but it's growing very well.   Mine didn't come with a trellis, I purchased a couple of cheap ones plus I had tomato cages from last year.   I planted last year out in a bed in my yard and it was awful.

$200 seems high but if it's what you want, I'm sure it will last you many years.

@cookinfreak

[blackhole99]

You can grow a tomato plant in a big pot and it would not cost you 200 dollars. Just make sure it's a determinate bush type variety so the growth doesn't get out of hand.

[JustJazzmom]

To save space I use a spiral piece of metal for each tomato plant instead of a cage. The trellis can be used for the vine green beans or cucumber. Cucumbers take up a lot of space, so one plant might be enough for that trellis. 

Sounds like it will be fun deciding what to plant. 

[Fressa]

QVC has one for $99 but w/out the trellis. You can purchase trellis from a local hardware store, AT Home, Home Depot etc. This might be more budget friendly.  I just did a search "Garden Party" and found it there. Hope this helps you.