In 1845 Texas passed a law that allowed settlers to claim up to 320 acres of land by just living on the land, making improvements on this land, and then paying $2 dollars per acre for the land. In 1854 Texas reduced the amount of land that could be claimed for “free” to 160 acres. As you can imagine the Texas settler had plenty of land to use for growing fruits and vegetables for sustenance to feed the family.
American family farms have been on a decline for decades. While the numbers of family farms have been decreasing the price of farm acreage has been increasing. This is putting land ownership out of the reach for the average American. With less access to land people are not able to grow their own fruits and vegetables to feed their families.
There was a resurgent in the 1940s for Americans to grow their own fruits and vegetables through Victory Gardens. These Victory Gardens were grown in the name of patriotism in backyards, rooftops, empty lots, and even in containers as part of the war effort. Growing your own food during this time allowed for the food rations you received to go farther.
Today we still can help our family budget or “rations” go further by supplementing our food we buy with home grown fruits and vegetables. With many of us without acreage for planting it is necessary to use containers to grow our own fruits and vegetables. Container gardening allows you to grow plants in small spaces indoors or outdoors. Plants can be grown in containers that you purchase, build, or recycle. A growing container can be an old fashioned whisky barrel, a tub made out of metal or plastic, large plastic recycled buckets that paint or other liquids are sold in, or recycled plant nursery containers. Almost any container will work as long as it has drainage holes. Container gardens tend to dry out faster than plants grown in the ground so you will have to water them more frequently. In Texas the bigger the container you use the better, because you do not have to water the container as often.
It is recommended to use a commercial made potting soil versus using regular soil out of the backyard because regular soil could have nematodes. Nematodes are microscopic worms which are parasitic to plants, which could hinder the growth and the health of the potted plant. Also most backyard soil does not produce good drainage when just used in a container.
Other hints to growing plants in a container are to use fabric or mulch around the base of the plants to cut down on weeds that grow and to lessen water evaporation. Also do not forget to fertilize regularly with a slow release fertilizer. Also during our hot Texas weather it is not wise to move our plants to the shade because most plants require 8-10 hours of sun to grow and produce well. During this hot spell you will need to water well and regularly.
Some plants that grow well in containers are herbs, spinach, tomatoes and strawberries. Try growing a garden in containers because it helps stretch your food money and is healthier. You eat more vegetables when you grow more vegetables. Also you harvest these fruits and vegetables at the peak of freshness.
To learn more about container gardening in Texas visit your local AgriLife extension service (http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/).
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