It's In The Bag

The Container Gardening Workshop was a blast!  Over 20 of you showed up to share some great information and tasty treats!

I've had several people ask me for my "recipes" for the snacks, and they will be included at the end of this post.

These are the Black Velvet Petunias I kept telling you about.  Very cool.

This Zebra Coleus made an excellent topper to what I am calling my Bag Lady Planter.

Here you can see me starting the Spaghetti Sauce In a Pot.

I love Roma Tomatoes for so many reasons, they grow well in containers and they are delicious in sauces.

In Spaghetti Sauce In a Pot:  1 Roma Tomato, 1 Rosemary, 1 Orange Thyme, 1 Oregano, and a Black Velvet Petunia for bling.  Congratulations to Kara Jaynes, the lucky winner of Tomato Sauce In a Pot!

Here I'm demonstrating a Confetti Container.  I chose an Orange/Red, Black and White color scheme for this one.  This container included a White Geranium, Vinca, Orange/Red Calibrachoa, Ancho Chilies and Sedona Coleus.

I love the way the Vinca is already spilling over the side of this cute little pot.  Congratulations to Liberty Heaton the winner of the Confetti Container!

Now, I'm not going to lie, I was making this one up as I went.  I decided to call it The Bag Lady Container because I used a reusable shopping bag as my "pot."  I will include a more instructional slide show on how to make one of these yourself.  Essentially, I just cut holes in the front and sides of the bag to poke the little plants through and filled it with as many plants as I could.  Included in this planter is several types of Coleus, Calibrachoa, Vinca, Bacopa, Splendor Grass, 5 varieties of mint, Cayenne Peppers, and Black Velvet Petunias.  Congratulations to Jan Busse, the winner of the Bag Lady Planter!

Each one of these cute little containers cost me less than $30 to make.  They have color combinations not often found in pre-made containers, and when properly cared for will produce vegetables, herbs, and colors all summer long.

Now a list to help you plant your own containers:

1.  Make sure your container will fit the crop you are going to plant

2.  Allow for adequate drainage

3.  Use a light potting medium like pearlite or vermiculite to help reduce the overall weight of a large container

4.  Use a well balanced potting medium like Miracle Gro Potting soil in containers, and mix in slow release fertilizer like Osmocote Flower and Vegetable.  Never use soil from your own yard.

5.  Buy good quality plants from reputable nurseries to fill your containers with.

6.  Make sure to break up the roots of your plants and squeeze as many as you can into one container.

7.  Fertilize your containers with a liquid fertilizer 3-4 times per week throughout the growing season.  For vegetable containers, make sure you are using a fertilizer that is balanced, and not high in nitrogen.

8.  Enjoy the summer and all your hard work.

I realize that this doesn't cover half of what we talked about at the workshop, but it does cover the basics to container success.  I'll be going over this a lot more, as container gardening is my favorite subject.  Don't hesitate to send me your questions either.

Now, the "Recipes"  I use this term loosely as I don't really follow recipes all that much myself.

Strawberries Fresca:

2 Containers of Strawberries

3/4 Cup Piru Canyon Avocado Honey, get yours here http://bennetthoney.com/default.aspx

The juice from two limes

Mix Lime Juice and Honey together until well blended, pour over hulled strawberries.

Rancho Verde:

6-7 Tamatillos

1 Serrano Pepper

3 Tablespoons Cliantro

1 Cup Crema Mexicana

Remove husk from Tamatillos leaving stems.  Add Tamatillos and Serrano Pepper to boiling water and boil until Tamatillos change from bright green to army green.  Drain and cool.  Remove stems from Tamatillos and pepper.  Combine all ingredients food processor and pulse until well chopped and incorporated.  I was able to find all of these ingredients at Smith's in Evanston.  Benedict's has everything but the Crema Mexicana.  If you are just making Verde Salsa, then you don't need to add it at all.  Avocados make a nice addition to this if you are not using the cream.  Serve with good quality tortilla chips.  If you don't like the heat, you can leave the Serrano pepper out completely or substitute it with something a little more mild.

Mascarpone Spread:

1 Tub Mascarpone

Garlic Salt and Basil to taste

Spread on baguette toast and add fresh tomato.

The Peach Mango Salsa I got from Benedict's.  It is Salpico brand, I love all of their flavors I have tried.  Their Roasted Tomato is excellent too.

All of these snacks are low fat, easy and delicious.

With spring kicking in and my schedule kicking in to over drive, I will be doing Can You Dig It just on Mondays.  I tried to get all of the important pre-spring information out to you as quickly as I could, and I hope it helped.  I am going to do some yard tours and interviews this summer, and I hope you keep checking in every week for good information and fun ideas.  Have fun gardening!