Tomatoes in a pot

Even though the temperature dipped below freezing last night, Spring has officially arrived and it’s time to start planting! Indoors, that is, or if you have a green house or hoop house. I imagine the farmers are well into hoop house planting by now. Starting your seedlings indoors and then transplanting them outside either in a garden or in containers is about as local as you can get. Not everyone has access to a diggable, sunny plot of land to dedicate to growing food, but container gardening is a viable option for many people, and it’s apparently all the rage these days.

A recent New York Times article states that container gardening is a billion dollar a year retail business. There are all kinds of cool products for would-be home gardeners who want to get their hands dirty and experience the joy of home-grown goodies but who are lacking acreage. Enter the “Garden in a Bag,” for instance. Or the “Herb-Grow Bag” that you can place on the “Self-Watering Tray.” And if you’re worried that your baby seedlings aren’t going to get enough light, you can get the “Jump Start Grow Light System.” All these gadgets are great but be prepared to pony up some serious cash. (Read the full New York Times article here.)

Personally, I’m planning to put a couple old whiskey barrels into service as containers for tomatoes and herbs. In their former life they served as water gardens and they’ll do nicely for a few veggies. I just have to figure out where to get the dirt and determine the best spot for them in my mostly shady yard.

A friend of mine said that his father used to cut a hole in a large plastic bag of dirt, drop a tomato seed in the hole, and harvest lots of tomatoes come August. Judging by all the photos of container gardening online, people can and do get creative with their containers.

We have a small selection of flower and vegetable seeds available in the produce department so you can get started with a few organic varieties. The brand is “Seeds of Change” and more will be coming soon. For more information about starting your own container garden, check out no-dig-vegetablegarden.com.