Rosefiend Cordell - Big Yields, Little Pots

BIG YIELDS, LITTLE POTS

BIG YIELDS, LITTLE POTS

Container Gardening

for the Creative Gardener

The Hungry Garden series #1

Rosefiend Cordell

Rosefiend Publishing.

BIG YIELDS, LITTLE POTS

Copyright 2020 by Rosefiend Cordell, aka Melinda R. Cordell

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Rosefiend Publishing. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, alien transfer, ESP, or other without written permission from the publisher. And she already knows youve tried the ESP thing, so watch it.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge at proof time. Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in the book was correct at press time, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any part for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from a FREAKING WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, toilet paper hoarding, intensified introverting, panic shopping, still not calling your mom even though you probably should, the fact that youve drunk all the good tea and cant make it out to Simply Tea for a while, excessive microwave mug cake baking, unfriending conspiracy theorists, climbing the walls, or other causes.

P.S. Wear a mask! Wash your hands! <3

Ordering information: For details, contact the publisher at hello@melindacordell.com

Cover design by Melinda R. Cordell

Book formatting by Melinda R. Cordell

ISBN: 978-1-953196-51-4

First Edition: July 2020

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 blast off!

For more information (and books!), visit my website at https://melindacordell.com/

Subscribe to my Newsletter

and get a free gardening book.

The Hungry Garden Series

B ig Yields, Little Pots Container Gardening for the Creative Gardener

Book 1

Edible Landscaping Foodscaping and Permaculture for Urban Gardeners

Book 2

Beneficial and Pest Insects The Good, the Bad, and the Hungry

Book 3

Indoor Gardening Lights, Camera, Plants!

Book 4

Tiny Vegetable Gardening Making the Best of Garden Spaces

Book 5

Victory Gardens We Can Grow It!

Book 6

Just to say Thank You for purchasing this book, I want to give you a gift.

Perennial Classics: Planting & Growing Great Perennial Gardens from my Easy-Growing Gardening series.

Click here to access your free gift!

https://melindacordell.com/subscribe/

Do you have a gardening story youd like to share? Tell me your experience with container gardening (or any other gardening stories) at ! If it fits the topic, I might use it (with your permission and correct attribution, of course) in one of my future books.

INTRODUCTION

Container Gardening for the Rest of Us

T HIS BOOK IS ABOUT GROWING vegetables, berries, herbs, and edible flowers in a variety of containers, and will cover all the details you need to know to succeed in this endeavor. Now, I have to tell you that container gardening is not going to support a whole family (unless you really, really, really go to town with these pots) but container garden can supplement your diet in all the best ways.

If you have come to this book looking for pretty design ideas, Im afraid youre going to be disappointed. My landscaping style, if youre generous, could be considered shabby chic but to this country girl, its probably a lot closer to redneck lite, which means its a little rough around the edges but perfectly serviceable. (If my landscaping job were full-on redneck, then thered be an old car parked in the middle of my garden.)

However! If your main objective in picking up this book is to grow a truckload of vegetables in a bunch of pots, then youre in the right place.

Ive worked in horticulture for half of my life longer if you count when I was young. I started learning how to identify wildflowers when I was in fifth grade. When I was a freshman in high school, Id sit in the library reading Steyermarks Flora of Missouri , not for any class assignments, but for FUN. When I was a high school senior in 1989, I got my first plant-related job at a small-town garden center. (I also worked as a newspaper carrier and church pianist.)

Since then, Ive worked in retail and commercial greenhouses, as a landscape laborer and designer, as a perennials manager, and as a municipal horticulturist and public rose garden potentate. When I was city horticulturist, I took care of 36 gardens and a bunch of trees, shrubs, roses, over I dont know how many square miles of city. I had a schedule that I really had to try and stick to, because if I didnt, I ended up with a train wreck of unfinished chores and as a result, all the gardens suffered.

These days, I work as a gardening author which is much easier on the back and joints. After all these years of working in 95-degree summer heat, I really, really, really love air conditioning.

My books are written out of three decades experience with the plant world. I write out of a deep understanding of plants and how to grow them, and I do my best to keep updating my knowledge, so I can pass on the best information I can, while making it fun.

Me in my horticulturing days, lying in front of the fan and trying to cool off after a 95-degree day (Marcus is the awesome little dog there)

A Rule of Thumb (green or otherwise)