I picked a few peppers from my little container “garden” yesterday. Because of some shade trees in the yard, planting directly in the ground isn’t a good option. Instead, I’m using portable containers that I can move around the patio as necessary to best take advantage of the sunshine.
Since I live by the seashore, I thought I’d be cute and use children’s sand pails for my containers. I knew they were on the small side when I bought them, but they were cheap (thank you Dollar Tree) and colorful, so I went ahead and tried them anyway. I figured I’d be giving up some yield by using the smaller containers, and that seems to be true. When I’ve grown things in the past I’ve always ended up with more than I could use, so it was a calculated trade-off.
Sure enough, yield is down compared to planting in the used 5 gallon buckets I usually buy from the Amish market. And since planting season was at the height of the coronavirus lockdown, I couldn’t get out to the market in Pennsylvania for the 5 gallon buckets anyway. Plus, buying them through Amazon was just way too expensive.
I’m thinking about going to an elevated raised bed system next season. It would be small, something like 2 feet wide by 6 or 8 feet long. I’m pretty sure I can position it on the patio in such way that I can still make maximum use of the sun. I’d love to build something like this: 
Here are a few snapshots – nothing earth-shattering, but I’m satisfied with the peppers from my little garden. I’ve already pickled a quart from an earlier harvest. With a little luck, I’ll probably get twice that much or more in the coming weeks. 
These past few months have been a trying time for all of us. Being able to nurture and grow a plant, and actually reap a little harvest, has done wonders for my psyche. I highly recommend it.
Leave a Reply