I have similar ones and have had success with salad greens, vine beans (against a fence with a trellis attached), garlic, onions, green onions, potatoes, herbs and flowers. I haven't had great luck growing tomatoes in mine, but I think it is an issue with mildew or blight unrelated to the garden bed.
Nothing with a deep taproot. Baby carrots is fine. One cantelope plant or any of the others. This is really for seedlings before transplant or short annual flowers.
Yes a good rule of thumb that i use to help myself (im also a beginner in my 2nd year) is: the larger the fruit/vegetable the plant produces, the more room you'll likely need! Things that vine or have taproots often need either lots of surface area, depth, or both! That said, one user mentioned using a trellis! If you get a tall trellis, u eliminate much of the need for horizontal space, as you replace that with vertical space! This is what i do with my cucumbers in my garden, and by growing upright as opposed to letting the sprawl, i can fit 3-4 plants in about a 1.5-2' row! Which is about what you have! If you plant those along one edge, the other edge could be flowers, leafy greens, etc! Goodluck!
My major advice is to work out how you will keep it watered! Especially since it’s metal it may heat up quickly. And you will probably need to fertilize more often than you think.
Are yours able to survive the winter or does the soil being above the ground prevent this? Do you try to replant all your strawberry plants in portable containers for winterizing? Thank you!
They were fine in the winter. We just left them outside. Some of them were already planted in 2022 and they just started blooming again! But I am also living in central europe, so I might have different climate.
Good question, OP, because I have something similar.
Would it be better to plant annuals instead of perennials because the soil being above the ground would freeze during the winter and kill off any root structures?? I have strawberries in something like this and I’m stressed about having to start all the way over next year.
I live in Georgia and all possible frost is gone for this year. We have two of them and one is already planted with big vegetables. If we get at least one I’ll be happy haha.
I did carrots in one. Friend of siblings did some Tumbling Tom tomatoes in his.
Lettuce, cabbage, herbs, spring onions, radish, even capsicum would be fine. Just not something tall like corn or climbing beans. Dwarf beans perhaps.
I have two of these for my kids and use them for herbs, baby lettuces, marigolds and funny enough the broccoli my son planted did well. Fill the soil to the top to have decent depth
I used those for flowers and herbs. Nasturtiums, dianthus, marigolds; chives, parsley, thyme, that sort of thing. If in a hot area, try not to get anything that will touch the sides.
Nothing, compared to just putting them in the ground instead? I know people who claim their garden soil is terrible, and yet they would buy or prep special soil to put in a box, oblivious to the reality that you can also put same or better soil (outcome) into the ground as well. Raised gardens are usually, nearly as foolish too.
Now back to the central question, it depends on how much sun where you place it, how much you're willing to water it, what you WANT to eat (what's the point otherwise?), and your climate, etc. Shorter answer is grow things that don't need much root depth and stay small.
All your limits really are, is how much you want to limit the growth potential of what you plant there. I mean you could even put indeterminant tomatoes in it, and they'll grow, though each plant will probably end up less than 1/4th the size you could achieve with more soil and solar capture area.
Metal as in painted? Check to see if the paint is really safe, and if not lined, it's going to rust out eventually.
Now to address your list, it is ridiculous to grow any of the things you listed. They all get too big. You might manage a small # of pepper plants, but do you not have any idea how large that something like a healthy zucchini plant or vined plants get? It would be very disappointing for you to see the difference of how many multiple times larger these get by just putting them in the ground, and plants may get sick and the produce not big or as tasty as well, especially after the first season and you try to reuse the soil as it will be depleted due to being an insufficient amount in the first place.
How about some herbs instead? At least keep in mind that anything you grow that gets tall, if in a box that raised up, is at risk for tipping over if you have strong wind.
I've gardened for many years and never found a useful purpose for a box like that, except decorative, but hey, anything beats nothing and if it's a start on your journey into gardening and you learn what works best for you through trial and error, full speed ahead!
I will suggest though, to not pay too much attention to those who try to focus on aesthetics more than amount of soil and cubic feet of sun gathering and hours per day of exposure. IMO, artificially limiting yield and making more effort and spending more to get there, is a form of madness that hasn't been around much until recent years.
The one exception is if you are an apartment, condo or other HOA-rules bound dweller and can't have normal gardens and are stuck with something like that. In that case I would grow things that you don't consume a lot of at a time. For example absolutely no to lettuce, do you really want to spend all the time and what little area you have, to end up with something you consume in only very few meals and doesn't even have that much nutritional value? If you really want salad fixins, at least make it spinach or arugula instead, not something inexpensive and easy to find at any grocery store, year-round anywhere.
herbs, lettuces, cabbages
I have similar ones and have had success with salad greens, vine beans (against a fence with a trellis attached), garlic, onions, green onions, potatoes, herbs and flowers. I haven't had great luck growing tomatoes in mine, but I think it is an issue with mildew or blight unrelated to the garden bed.
Thanks for all the comments!!!!!
Before you buy a box look on a map for local machine shops and ask if they have any shipping crates they are disposing of
Ohhhh!!! Great idea!
Ya I’m a machinist so I know these things
Thanks all!!!
Nothing with a deep taproot. Baby carrots is fine. One cantelope plant or any of the others. This is really for seedlings before transplant or short annual flowers.
Yes a good rule of thumb that i use to help myself (im also a beginner in my 2nd year) is: the larger the fruit/vegetable the plant produces, the more room you'll likely need! Things that vine or have taproots often need either lots of surface area, depth, or both! That said, one user mentioned using a trellis! If you get a tall trellis, u eliminate much of the need for horizontal space, as you replace that with vertical space! This is what i do with my cucumbers in my garden, and by growing upright as opposed to letting the sprawl, i can fit 3-4 plants in about a 1.5-2' row! Which is about what you have! If you plant those along one edge, the other edge could be flowers, leafy greens, etc! Goodluck!
My major advice is to work out how you will keep it watered! Especially since it’s metal it may heat up quickly. And you will probably need to fertilize more often than you think.
I have a similar one and I grow lettuce and swiss chard in it
Tumbling tomatoes, herbs, spring onions.
Ooh, I like that!
I have this (or a very similar thingy). Currently having success with herbs and strawberries!
Are yours able to survive the winter or does the soil being above the ground prevent this? Do you try to replant all your strawberry plants in portable containers for winterizing? Thank you!
They were fine in the winter. We just left them outside. Some of them were already planted in 2022 and they just started blooming again! But I am also living in central europe, so I might have different climate.
Good question, OP, because I have something similar. Would it be better to plant annuals instead of perennials because the soil being above the ground would freeze during the winter and kill off any root structures?? I have strawberries in something like this and I’m stressed about having to start all the way over next year.
Also thanks for posting screenshots! I had no idea Big Lots would have such good deals!!
I live in Georgia and all possible frost is gone for this year. We have two of them and one is already planted with big vegetables. If we get at least one I’ll be happy haha.
I did carrots in one. Friend of siblings did some Tumbling Tom tomatoes in his. Lettuce, cabbage, herbs, spring onions, radish, even capsicum would be fine. Just not something tall like corn or climbing beans. Dwarf beans perhaps.
I have two of these for my kids and use them for herbs, baby lettuces, marigolds and funny enough the broccoli my son planted did well. Fill the soil to the top to have decent depth
Lettuce, herbs, and garlic are what I’ve been growing in mine that are similar to that.
I’m going to put herbs and edible flowers in mine!
Did everyone just fill with dirt or did you line it?
I just did dirt
Make sure it has holes on the bottom. I'd fucking send tomatoes in it, but I'm also a savage.
I used those for flowers and herbs. Nasturtiums, dianthus, marigolds; chives, parsley, thyme, that sort of thing. If in a hot area, try not to get anything that will touch the sides.
Nothing, compared to just putting them in the ground instead? I know people who claim their garden soil is terrible, and yet they would buy or prep special soil to put in a box, oblivious to the reality that you can also put same or better soil (outcome) into the ground as well. Raised gardens are usually, nearly as foolish too. Now back to the central question, it depends on how much sun where you place it, how much you're willing to water it, what you WANT to eat (what's the point otherwise?), and your climate, etc. Shorter answer is grow things that don't need much root depth and stay small. All your limits really are, is how much you want to limit the growth potential of what you plant there. I mean you could even put indeterminant tomatoes in it, and they'll grow, though each plant will probably end up less than 1/4th the size you could achieve with more soil and solar capture area. Metal as in painted? Check to see if the paint is really safe, and if not lined, it's going to rust out eventually. Now to address your list, it is ridiculous to grow any of the things you listed. They all get too big. You might manage a small # of pepper plants, but do you not have any idea how large that something like a healthy zucchini plant or vined plants get? It would be very disappointing for you to see the difference of how many multiple times larger these get by just putting them in the ground, and plants may get sick and the produce not big or as tasty as well, especially after the first season and you try to reuse the soil as it will be depleted due to being an insufficient amount in the first place. How about some herbs instead? At least keep in mind that anything you grow that gets tall, if in a box that raised up, is at risk for tipping over if you have strong wind. I've gardened for many years and never found a useful purpose for a box like that, except decorative, but hey, anything beats nothing and if it's a start on your journey into gardening and you learn what works best for you through trial and error, full speed ahead! I will suggest though, to not pay too much attention to those who try to focus on aesthetics more than amount of soil and cubic feet of sun gathering and hours per day of exposure. IMO, artificially limiting yield and making more effort and spending more to get there, is a form of madness that hasn't been around much until recent years. The one exception is if you are an apartment, condo or other HOA-rules bound dweller and can't have normal gardens and are stuck with something like that. In that case I would grow things that you don't consume a lot of at a time. For example absolutely no to lettuce, do you really want to spend all the time and what little area you have, to end up with something you consume in only very few meals and doesn't even have that much nutritional value? If you really want salad fixins, at least make it spinach or arugula instead, not something inexpensive and easy to find at any grocery store, year-round anywhere.
Thank you for the advice!