Organic Vegetable Gardening: Containers

Organic is a recent buzzword and many people are jumping on board. Unlike many fads, the organic gardening movement is not based on superficial ideas or flash in the pan possibilities. Going organic is all about going healthy-being good to ourselves and our environment.

Organic vegetable gardening has also grown in popularity. As the produce in our grocery stores comes from further and further away-putting more and more of an ecological footprint on the earth, many of us are finding it important to do whatever we can to keep our produce eating local. Enter, the organic vegetable garden.

"But, I'm a black thumb," you say. "I live in an apartment-no room," you lament. Never fear, organic vegetable gardening isn't half as hard as its name implies. And whether you have an acre to work with or a windowsill-organic vegetable gardening is possible.

First things first, you can't just go out and buy any packet of seeds from any store. The large chains of seed companies deal in genetically engineered or modified seeds and plants. If you truly want to organically vegetable garden, you have to start with organic products. Bigger companies are beginning to jump on the organic seed idea, but the best types of seeds for organic vegetable gardening are ordered from a place that has heirloom seeds-generally as locally as you can get. As a Missouri resident, I order my seeds from RareSeeds.com which is located in Mansfield, Missouri. It offers heirloom seeds and it is fairly local.

I generally order my seeds in February after having decided what I have room for and what I will use. The past two years I have lived in an apartment that faces North. I have a small porch, no yard, and not a lot of sun. Yet, two plants managed to thrive in pots on my porch.

My organic vegetable gardening started with two basics. Tomatoes and Peppers. From RareSeeds.com I ordered Chinese Five-Color Hot Peppers and Tumbling Tom Red Tomatoes.

From Lowe's, I bought three large plastic pots. I also found a bag of dirt that was organic and from Illinois. Look for locally bagged and produced products, and those that boast no additives or fertilizers. Along with these supplies, I also included organic fertilizer like Garden Safe Natural Organic Plant food.

If you're starting from seed, depending on your geographic location you should begin your seeds indoors. It is often best to consult a local gardening book on times of year that you should start seeds and plant outdoors. Each location is different, and it is important to follow these guidelines.

Starting seeds is an easy enough process, and sometimes seeds are different. It is best to follow directions on your seed packet. If there are no directions, you can often buy seed starting kits at a place like Lowe's or any garden center. Make sure your seed starter doesn't contain fertilizer or any other non-organic elements.

When it's time to plant your organic vegetable garden, you're again at the mercy of different seeds and different climates. It also depends on what kind of room you have. I maintain an organic garden in containers (pots). So, when my seeds are ready and it's the appropriate weather, I transfer my seedlings to the large pots-following directions on the seed packet.

This past year, my tomatoes were plentiful. I used the Tumbling Tom Red Tomatoes and seeded and planted according to the directions on the package (which said to start indoors ¼ inch deep). I watered them almost daily, and though towards the beginning of fall I stopped caring for them with water and fertilizer-they continued to fruit well into the colder months. Aside from watering, they took care of themselves. Because I have a second floor patio, I did not have to worry about animals getting into my plants. Also, with containers, you do not have to worry about weeding very often. My biggest hurtle was lack of sun, since my patio faced north. My plants got full sun for maybe about half the day and because it my tomatoes were late bloomers, but they did come around later in the summer and bore heavy fruit. When your tomatoes start to fruit, picking off leaves here and there helps keep all energy going towards the tomato rather than the leaves-especially if you don't have access to a day's worth of sun. Even without the fancy fertilizers or non-organic soils, my tomatoes were tasty and plentiful.

I also planted peppers. My productive plants were of the Chinese Five-Color variety. With these plants, there were no directions on the packet. So, I did research through my state's agriculture department. There are a wide variety of books on the subject on how to start and when to transfer certain vegetables. Organic or not, you can follow these geographical-dependent directions. My peppers were in the same pots as my tomatoes and received the same care. They too were late bloomers due to the sun, but in the warmer months and when de-leaved bore much fruit that was a great addition for certain dishes. These peppers are small, but very intense in flavor. Make sure to try them first before using them in your cooking so you know that you like the taste.

Organic vegetable gardening is not difficult or time consuming, especially if you use large containers and have access to full sun in the summer months. This year, I plan to extend my container garden to other vegetables, but peppers and tomatoes will always be a staple crop because of their ease, longevity, and hardiness.