Building A Salad Table and Making a 5 Gallon Self- Watering Container Presented by: Kent Phillips

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Maryland Master Gardeners’ Mission To educate Maryland residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities.

Grow Your Own Food We Can Show You How Click on Classes Tab And Scroll down to Howard County

Getting Started A little bit of room Sunlight Salad table or 5 gallon self-watering bucket Growing medium Water Nutrients Tender loving care

Instructions Salad Table™ instructions can be found on the GIEI website Click on the “Information Library” tab, “Publications” and “Vegetables, Fruit and Herb Gardening” HG 601- Grow Your Own Greens with Salad Tables™ & Salad Boxes™

Components Lumber 2 – 2 by 4s 10 feet long 2 – 2 by 4s 12 feet long 2 – 1 by 4s 8 feet long 2½ inch galvanized deck screws 1 lb. of 1 inch aluminum or galvanized roofing nails 3ft. by 5 ft. section of fiberglass or aluminum screen 3 ft. by 5 ft. section of ¼ or ½ inch (cheaper) hardware cloth 3/8 staples for staple gun

Tools Handsaw or circular saw Hammer Drill, 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch bits # 2 Phillips bits and 8 - ¼ by 4 inch galvanized carriage bolts Tape measure Square Tin snips Staple gun Leather gloves Safety goggles and hearing protection

Assembly Demonstration Lumber has been precut and drilled You can have your lumber cut to length at the store where you purchase it. Just take the dimensions.

Container Location Minimum 6 hrs. sun for salad greens Access to water - water every day Placed on any level space Be careful of microclimates The water that drains from containers can stain concrete and wood decking Can put wheels on salad table to roll it around

What’s the “Dirt” on Growing Media? Supports plant’s root system Holds & supplies nutrients Permits drainage Needs to be light and fluffy

Growing Media Garden Soil Heavy Brings in weed seeds and soil diseases Doesn’t drain well in containers Commercial Soil-Less Mixes Excellent Lightweight Drains well Holds water and nutrients Proper pH Examples of soil-less mixes are: ProMix™, ReddiEarth™, Jiffy Mix™, and Sunshine Mix™

Stay Away From Top soil Planting soil Planting mix Potting soil Mixes containing sedge peat, wood mulch or bark fines that are heavy or gritty have very fine particles

Adding Compost to Media Highly recommended Adds additional slow release nutrients Increases water and nutrient holding capacity of media May have to add perlite to lighten mix If you don’t have compost, LeafGro™ is the next best commercially available product.

Media Mixtures Some good media mixtures for container vegetables are: 90% compost or LeafGro + 10% perlite 100% soil-less mix 50% soil-less mix + 50% compost

Happy Roots Watering needs vary depending on container size and depth ambient temperature wind sunlight humidity type of plant and its size Media in container should be kept moist at all times but not soggy Most containers will need to be watered daily in the summer Use a water breaker or watering can for soft flow Use your finger to test container moisture

Fertilizers Containers require regular fertilization Using water soluble fertilizers Good rule of thumb is every two weeks for water soluble fertilizers Immediately available to plants Organic varieties are ready available How much and how often depends Using slow-release (granular) fertilizer Inorganic such as Osmocote Organic – blood meal, worm castings, etc. Always follow label instructions Excess fertilizer can harm and stunt plants

What Can I Grow In A Salad Table Depends on the depth of the growing media 4 inch sides – salad greens inch sides – snap beans, beets, short carrots, onions, scallions, large herbs (basil, thyme, parsley, etc.) Remember that deeper salad tables will get very heavy when wet

5 Gallon Self-Watering Bucket Instructions can be found on the GIEI website Click on the “Information Library” tab, “Publications” and “Vegetables, Fruit and Herb Gardening” HG Container Vegetable Gardening: Healthy Harvests from Small Spaces

Components 5- gallon plastic bucket and lid (food grade, most often ). Bakeries, delis, and restaurants will often give them away. 7.5-inch section of 4-inch diameter perforated drain tile or used 4-inch pots 6-inch section of ½ O.D. plastic tubing 1 ½ inch wood or decking screw electrical tape empty 1-gallon milk jug

Tools Saber saw or tin snips Drill, 5/16 inch and 1/2 inch drill bits, utility knife, hacksaw Safety goggles and hearing protection

Assembly Demonstration Top has been cut down and holes drilled in lid and bucket

Gypsy PepperSnow Crown Cauliflower Examples

Container Depth Matters Match container depth to plant size 4-6 inches: greens, small herbs 8-12 inches: beans, beets, large herbs 1-3 gallons: green onions, chard 4-5 gallons: bush cucumber, eggplant, beans, broccoli, patio tomato, pepper 15 gallon full size tomato

Planting Time No pebbles, gravel, or rocks unless you need the weight to prevent tipping. Cover drainage holes with fiberglass screen or other material Thoroughly work water into the growing medium Fill container to inch or so of top of container. Don’t compact media Follow seed packet directions for planting, spacing, and care. Plant seedlings (except tomatoes) at same level as they were growing in pot or six-pack. Tomatoes can be planted deeper, for stronger root growth.

Keep those plants growing! Succession plant – spring - lettuce or spinach, summer - pepper, beans or cucumbers fall -kale, lettuce or broccoli raab to finish out the season. Don’t forget to continue to fertilize each crop! Trellis tall or climbing plants indeterminate tomatoes pole beans cucumbers Move plants around if containers are portable to maximize sunlight (for heat-loving crops) and shade (for summer-grown salad greens).

Planting & Care Container grown plants are subject to the same insect and disease problems as garden grown plants, but container gardeners tend to have fewer soil related problems. The biggest causes of plant problems are lack of water and nutrients, and overcrowding. Plants can also suffer root rot from too much water, especially if the growing mix does not drain well. Go to plantdiagnostics.umd.edu and click on vegetables.plantdiagnostics.umd.edu Diagnosing Plant Problems

Season’s End Discard the plant and soil from the pot. Do not reuse the same soil for a second season – Infected soil or mix will spread disease into the second season unless it is properly composted – Properly composted planting media can be reused. Store pots to prevent freeze damage

This program was brought to you by Maryland Master Gardener Program Howard County University of Maryland Extension