Smart Pots!

Life on the Balcony is a great blog about all things container gardening.  She always has some useful info cranking over there, but one that caught my eye this week was some info about SmartPots.

The secret is in the roots

SmartPots are soft-sided fabric containers. They’re borrowed from the commercial tree industry, which has been using them for years. The smaller scale version is ideal for healthy root structure of plants, which leads to better resistance to insects & better yields from the plant. More from the SmartPot site on the roots:

The bag’s tough fabric prevents the root’s continued longitudinal growth, in effect pruning it, causing the root to develop masses of lateral fibrous roots.

The fibrous root systems produced in Smart Pots are more efficient and enable plants to maximize water and nutrient uptake in the limited surrounding soil mass.

In addition to being affordable, light weight & non-breakable, there are other benefits:

• Roots Stay Cooler During Hot Weather
• Plants Need Repotting Less Often
• A Less Expensive Potting Soil Can Be Used

There’s some pretty convincing data LOTB has gathered doing a side by side comparison of plant growth in a plastic pot vs a SmartPot. Check out her detailed post here.

SmartPots (Charles Jackson) is also on twitter! Great product, Charles, thanks for all the information on your site. Can’t wait to try one of these guys in our next planting.

HR 875: Food Safety Modernization Act

A bill called HR 875 was introduced recently to address food safety issues in our food supply chains.  The last link in those chains is our grocery stores.  Given the increasing trend toward growing our own food, there has been some misconceptions about how the bill applies to folks who have a small backyard garden, or container gardens.

Just the facts, ma’am

The always wonderful Eat.Drink.Better. blog has a great article by Derek Markham which debunks 5 myths surrounding the HR 875 bill, & clarifies its main purpose. From the article:

Myth: H.R. 875 “makes it illegal to grow your own garden” and would result in the “criminalization of the backyard gardener.”

Fact: There is no language in the bill that would regulate, penalize, or shut down backyard gardens.  This bill is focused on ensuring the safety of foods sold in supermarkets.

Speaking of myths: “We’re not an agrarian society anymore!”

That’s what I overheard an elitist designer say last year at a cocktail party. I disagree, and I think the separation of our lives from where our food comes from has been a significant detriment to our quality of life, our health, and the health of the planet.

We *should* re-embrace gardening & farming – in an adapted smaller scale way. Like small gardens sprinkled everywhere. So the big bad HR 875 bill won’t impede that practice – keep on rolling with those gardening plans, be they community, container, or backyard.

Earthbox is a great solution for urban dwellers who want to grow their own but don’t have garden space. I will have to try one out firsthand next season. At first glance it looks like a winner:

• optional wheels so you can move it inside for the edges of the season when nights get nippy
• self regulating watering system
• add on staking system for climbing plants like tomatoes
• ready to grow starter kit for under $50 which includes soil, fertilizer, casters, watering system & box

What to grow?
Plenty. Strawberries, leeks, beans, artichokes, eggplant. There’s even diagrams to illustrate how to space the plants.

Ecomod: Green thumbs up.
I can’t say enough good things about this product, seriously. Like I always say, I’m a sucker for well thought out design. Clear diagrams, good information and links, easy to find the contact info if you need help, and it fills a need that’s responsible and healthy. There are even separate sections of the site that are tailored to Consumers, Educators, Dealers and Commercial Farming.

[via apartmenttherapy]

Edible container gardening seeds and supplies.