DIY Garden

Until UNM starts its own community garden, students can take their food into their own hands.
Container gardening was designed for people who don’t have enough space for a garden bed, for places with poor soil quality, less-than-optimal sun exposure and for many other problems one might encounter while greening their thumb.

Chuck O’Herron-Alex, owner of Veggiegrower Gardens of New Mexico, said container gardening is perfect for students. O’Herron-Alex builds raised bed container gardens with covers for summer and winter. He calls them micro-gardens.

“A lot of students don’t have their own house or yard so container gardens let you still grow stuff even though you may have limited space,” O’Herron-Alex said. “The other advantages of containers are that you can be very successful, it doesn’t take a lot of time, it uses a lot less water than traditional agriculture and they’re portable.”

O’Herron-Alex’s gardens have drainage and aeration chambers at the bottom of the beds which helps prevent root rot.

“They have a plywood bottom and on top of the plywood there is an inch thick layer of lava rock,” he said. “And on top of that they have a semi-permeable layer so that provides drainage for the garden, and also when water is not passing through there is air flowing underneath to help aerate the soil.”
The micro-gardens range from $150 to $1,000 and, depending on the size, can feed two to six people all year long.

Container gardening can come in many forms. There are pre-made pots that allow for multiple plants to be grown in the same container. There are raised bed container gardens. There is window gardening, which can be done in containers, or through a hydroponic hanging system. Basically, there are lots of containers just waiting for a garden.

Don Childs, manager of Rehm’s Nursery, said he has about 20 containers at his house. “Always consider gardening as an experiment and don’t take it personal,” Childs said. “With container gardening you have some options but just try it a couple times. Don’t give up because you’re unsuccessful with it.”
Childs said tomatoes, chilies, garlic, peppers and herbs are all good things to grow for warm weather. But you can also do vegetables such as carrots, onions and potatoes in the colder seasons.

Here are some basics for container gardening:

DO
Choose a pot that is the right size for what you are planting. The best way to find out is to ask someone at a gardening store before you buy your pots and seeds.
Use potting soil and fertilizers that are meant for pots and not for outdoor gardening.
Keep the pot shaded from the sun. While the leaves and fruits of a plant love the summer sun, the roots might not.
Fertilize monthly.
Use a tray so that extra water doesn’t ruin your floor (if indoors).
Use mulch, such as bark or pecan shells, to help retain water.
Fertilize with fish emulsion or low nitrogen fertilizers.

DON’T
Over water. This is important for container gardens because they can easily get root rot, which will kill the plant. Only water if the top two inches of the soil are dry.
Use compost because it won’t drain and aerate as well as potting soil.
Grow tall plants because the wind might damage them and the container probably won’t support the roots.

Where to get your potting needs or more container gardening information:
Rehm’s Nursery
5801 Lomas Blvd. N.E.

Veggiegrower Gardens of New Mexico
3211 Silver Ave. S.E.