Container Gardening, December, Karachi, Newbie

[vixmemon]

I am excited and want to learn a lot from this forum of educated and skilled gardeners from Pakistan, and around the world.

I wish i could start a container garden in my apartment which is not much spacious or does not get too much of sunlight. I have purchases 4 clay containers so far, and I have a fruit crate, all of them full with soil from Karachi that i guess has some sand, and other stuff. I dont know much about the pH level of the soil i m using, i even dont know how deficient the soil is of nitrogen and other things that fertilizers provide.

Can i really start something in December? What should it be?

P.S. I am a great fan of vegetable gardening and planting something that does not disappoint me atleast when i am doing it for the first time. I would love to try multiple things so that if one container disappoints me, others dont.

Please help out, i am sure, if i am successful, a lot of people in the apartment would join me and do the same.

[Mustansir Billah]

December is a moderate month to start almost every fruit or vegetable or flower. Please inform that how many hours of sunlight your plants can get? So, members can advice you plants according to it. If you are trying for the first time and there is at least 4 hours of sunlight you can surely start with brinjal , Bhindi, tomato, peas.
Do not worry about Ph or other nutrients once the plant has started growing it will indicate you for its deficiencies.

[vixmemon]

In my balcony, around 3/4 hours, but i can choose to put them outside in full sun for 6 hours at least, and i can move them to rooftop for those plants that need maximum sun...

Can i grow brinjal, bhindi, tomato in december in karachi?

I tried some seedlings in house, none of them are showing up in 15 days. however, one of my containers got lucky and sprouted 1 pea, and 1 green pepper seed out of 100s i guess.

[Mustansir Billah]

Out of 100 . What did you did? Maybe you have sown them too deep or have not watered them well which caused seeds to decompose. Pea is very easy to germinate so are the others. This month is ideal for sowing seeds.
this is the method told by the nursery men. That is what I did for sowing seeds and it really worked great for me.
1. fill a pot of 5 inch or large about 3/4 its size with Bhalo mitti.
2. Smooth it with your fingers. Spread seeds on it maximum 6 per pot with equal distance.
3. Take well rotted manure and spread over seeds up to the thickness double of seeds.
4. Make it firm by the finger but do not press too hard.
5. wait for 3 to 4 weeks or for time which is required for the particular seed to germinate.
6. Water well and do not let soil dry but never over water or they will rot.
Best Wishes

[vixmemon]

I was lately concerned about my pea plants. The leaves at the bottom are all drying and/or rotting, but i see new leaves and top leaves (just above the rotten ones) healthy. They are 3 plants in one container, with heights 4-6 inches, they have good distance. Are these rotting/drying because of weather changes and winds in karachi.

I have also hot pepper plants a lot of them in one container, and i have sowed some tomato seeds with the paper-towel (i used paper towel to get the seeds out from tomato and dried that towel and planted seeds), I see these tomato seeds sprouting too. Is it a good season to plant these all.

The garlic that i sowed in a fruit cane is more than 6 inch tall (the greens), just wondering how long garlic takes.

Also if anyone can give me some tips on composting. I had been putting all the greens in a dustbin, and added waste paper and saw-wood (wood dust) to it, dont know how much oxygen, water, heat to give it.

[Mustansir Billah]

Pea plant are drying maybe because of over fertilization or poor medium. I have read that the garlic is ready when all of its leaves dries up.

[vixmemon]

I dont use fertilizer. I use simple bhalo matti with old khaad.. I am trying to maintain a compost been separately though. I need help preparing the compost just to avoid any fertilizer organic or non.organic...

[Sharjeel39]

Making your own compost is easy n fun but it will take time somewhat around 2 - 3 months,
All you have to do is; take a bucket or anything deep and considerably big in dia.
Initially add soil in the container and then layer by layer add dry leaves, leave clippings a bit manure(brown stuff) & green stuff like vegetable wastage, rind of friuts and vegetables.
Between evey layer of green and brown stuff add a layer of soil.

Make sure it dont smell if it smells add soil on it.

Green stuff will give nitrogenous nutrient and brown stuff will give phosphates power to the compost.
And dont forget to water it keeping the compost moist will aid in rotting of stuff inside the container.

[Sharjeel39]

Vixmemon why dont you share the pictures of your seedling, it will be easy for others to tell you abt plants deficencies.

[vixmemon]

The pictures of the plants i have put on my dropbox, anyone can view. It takes time to make them 256K for this forum.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/akmvfqbbh5d8x6s/OaPKmptJRH