Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
April 11/10 Year in Sustainable Garden: 'How to' Create a Kid's Edible Planter with Peppers
Funky Pepper Planters Your Kid's Can Create
One of my biggest mantras when it comes to creating sustainable gardens or environments is that we have to engage our children - our future generation with nature. In order for kid's to create such a bond, you have to get them early - as young as 10 or 11. By the time I was 12 I was already busily growing plants in a lean too greenhouse that my father built me at the family home. It didn't take much to get me and keep me interested in nature, gardening and growing plants.
Now adays with x-boxes, ipods, iphones and internet there is a lot more competion for a child's attention. When it comes to gardening and nature, one the of the best ways to get their attention is to engage children in hands on projects, growing plants that they can also eat! Take that one step further and get your kids involved in creating fun and funky craft like project that also are related to gardening.
Finding Your Pots in an Unlikely Place
A couple fo weekends I was cruising through the dollar store in Vancouver and came across a stack of colourful plastic ice buckets. They caught my eye because they came in an array of bright, fun summertime colours of primary red, blue and lime greens. My first reaction was that these containers would be make perfect pots (with a little modification) to grow colourful vegetables and fruits such as minature peppers and tomatoes.
And the vast array of cultivars available make it easy to select miniature varieties that will grow in smaller containers such as these that come in a wide array of complimentary coloured fruits/vegetables. For my step by step demonstration below I paired Yellow and Red Baby Belle Peppers with a lime green bucket. The effect will be like looking at a crayola box - funk and funky for an outdoor table or a children's garden.
What You Need
All you need is
1) A colourful plastic bucket
2) Gravel for a drainage layer at bottom
3) Water Retentive Soil
4) Colourful edible vegetables that will compliment your colourful planter
5) A drill to create drainage holes in pot
Step By Step How To
Step 1
Drill 1/2" holes in bottom of plastic pot. The more holes the better to allow excess water to escape from saturated soil. Edibles generally do not like to be water logged and appreciate moist but well draining soil. Drill holes consistently thorugh bottom of pot.
Step 2
Add drainage layer to bottom of pot. I like to use pea gravel at a depth of 1" . This allows an easy avenue for water to escape out the bottom and prevents soil from eroding out the bottom.
Step 3
Add soil to container. I like to use a specialty container mix that contains water holding polymers. These polymers act like sponges and slowly releases extra water into the soil as the soil dries. This means less watering for you!
Step 4
Plant your edibles at top of pot. Make sure to place the plants at the same soil level they were originally grown at or you could smother the roots with excess soil and kill the plants.
Step 5
Water well to saturate soil and plants. Place in full sun - tomatoes and peppers are sun lovers needing 6 hours minimum of direct sun. Harvest and eat your rewards and bon appetite!
