Growing your own food is incredibly satisfying — there's nothing like taking a bite out of a carrot that came right out of your own backyard. But what do you do if you don't have the space for a large garden? Container gardening, of course!
The scoop
One green-thumbed Reddit user proves that growing food in a container can yield a great harvest with little space and minimal effort.
"Earlier in the summer I grew potatoes in tubs and had a fantastic harvest," says the post in the Homesteading forum. "I can't wait to grow these again."
In fact, the Redditor let a year go by and never got around to harvesting these 'taters. Nonetheless, by the end of the video, he unpacks dozens of potatoes from his large pot.
How it's helping
Growing vegetables is a great gardening alternative if you don't have a lot of space. It's also pretty darn affordable — almost anything can be used as a grower. Just be careful choosing your containers, as chemicals from certain items like tires can seep into the soil.
Container gardens are also movable, which is advantageous for those who need to adjust a plant's sunlight exposure during the growing season.
This Reddit user's method of planting it and leaving it also proves you can grow food with almost no effort. And he's recycling some of the smaller potatoes from his harvest to serve as seeds for the next cycle.
Growing your own food — whether in containers or in a larger garden — also benefits your health and the environment. Studies show that those who grow their own food tend to eat more vegetables. You also minimize your contribution to planet-warming air pollution because homegrown veggies don't require transport. Plus, you can avoid using harmful pesticides and other chemicals often found in store-bought fruits and veggies.
What everyone's saying
The Homesteading community generally agrees that container growing is a great way to save time and space while cashing in on great yields.
One person comments, "This is a great idea for saving space AND [maximizing] crops... there was a guy in the 18th century who managed to grow a quarter ton of spuds from one single tuber in a huge pile of compost..... they called him Captain Spud."
Another says, "I do this too - great way to grow potatoes…Sounds counterintuitive to only put 2 seed potatoes in a tub this big but it works really well. Planting more seeds actually means fewer real potatoes at the end (ask me how I know this - did it 348492 times before figuring it out lol)."
But the hack didn't work for everyone.
"I tried potatoes in a pot and didn't get many," one comments. "We finally switched to sweet potatoes because they do better in the hot south."
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