How to Start a Sweet Potato Vine From a Cuttings

October 15, 2018 by Rhonda Gales 2 Comments

Today I’m sharing flower garden tips on how to start a sweet potato vine from cuttings. I love sweet potato vines in my summer container gardens. They really fill the containers, and gives it elegance with the overflow of the vine. Unfortunately, sweet potato vines can be a little pricey when purchased from a garden center or nursery. Starting your own will cut down on your garden expenses. So, I decided to grow sweet potato vines from cuttings using the plant that I purchased back in the spring. Furthermore, starting your own will allow you to use the vine in several containers.

We’re expecting frost in my area within the next week. Rather than let the frost kill my sweet potato vine like I usually do, I’m finally going to produce additional plants by rooting potato vines from cuttings.

How to Start a Sweet Potato Vine:

First, you will need a container filled with water. This is the container that you will use to place your cutting in. I used 2 pint size mason jars. However, you can use what you have on hand. Make sure the stem of your cuttings will fit into the container and there’s room for the roots to spread.
Additionally, you will need a clean pair of sharp scissors or garden shears to cut the vine.
Newspaper to work on.

Next, cut off the top of the vine.
Afterwards, I cut the remainder of the vine into pieces. Make sure the pieces that you cut are long enough for you to remove at least 3 – 4 of the bottom leaves. Most importantly, you want to make sure the stem is long enough to submerge in water to form roots.

Don’t leave your stem too long. I cut this piece about 2 inches from the bottom leaves. You want to make your cut just below the leave node, where you removed a leaf. (The arrow is pointing to my cut mark.) Remember, your goal is to transfer the rooted stem to a pot of soil once it roots.
Don’t forget to change your water regularly. You want to make sure your plant is healthy enough to transfer out in the spring.

Last, a sweet potato vine looks gorgeous in containers with petunias or other low growers. I like to pair mine with marigolds. Get creative. I’m sure you will find the perfect combination. You may also like: 7 Uses for Sunflowers.

Gardening Options When Space Is Limited

April 21, 2017 by Rhonda Gales 1 Comment

The dream for most of us is a huge, rolling garden that sprawls as far as the eye can see. It’s just waiting for us to fill it with projects, flowers, and vegetables. But reality sets in, and for most of us that’s not quite how it works out. Backyard vegetable gardening is a dream for many home owners and renters, but a lack of space is a big deterrent. However, on the hand a huge garden comes with a huge price. It takes time and energy to maintain a garden.

Having a large garden might be something you can work towards in the future. Deciding where you want to garden, increasing your knowledge of gardening, and learning to utilize the space you have to work in should be factors.

Backyard vegetable gardening might be a total restriction on outdoor space if you’re living in an apartment. Or you may have a garden, but it’s too small for all of the innovations that you want to try. So what can you do? Give up the green thumb dream until you can move somewhere with the space you need? Of course not. Where there’s a desire to care for plants and grow things, there is always a way!

Option 1: Indoor Gardening

Gardening and the outdoors tend to be synonymous with one another. After all, plants need the sun to grow. So, you’re not going to have much luck growing them in your living room unless you get lots of light.

Furthermore, you can grow indoors with the help of LumiGrowth. It mimics the sun’s rays. It will need to be set up, and it takes some adjustment, but the benefits are great. Not only do you not have to compromise on outdoor space, but you also have the option of growing what you want. If you fancy growing strawberries just in time for Christmas, then with careful practice, that’s genuinely something you can do.

There’s plenty of resources to help get you started if the idea is appealing. You can find which plants work best when grown indoors and the various methods of caring for them with just a few clicks.

Option 2: Vertical Gardening

If you don’t have space in terms of length and width of your outdoor space, then make the most of the space you do have. However, vertical gardening has no limits. Except beyond what you can comfortably reach.

The best way to grow vertically is with stacked plants and/or stacked beds. Not only is this an effective method of outdoor gardening, but it’s also a great way to save on water – as watering the top layer will eventually trickle down to the layers below.

Option 3: Growing In Pots

For most seasoned gardeners, pots are the beginning of growth. However, the eventual goal is to plant into beds, the ground or raised beds. But you can grow some vegetables successfully in pots. For example: sweetcorn responds well to pot growing. Just ensure that as your plants grow you stake them. Depending on what you are growing, if not stalked, the plant may spread.

Check out my flower gardening tips before you leave.

Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Nature-Gardening, Vegetable Garden Tagged With: container gardening, gardening tips, simple gardening

Container Gardening Tips for Flowers

August 9, 2016 by Rhonda Gales 4 Comments

Container gardening tips for flowers are the topic for the day. Container gardens can bring decks, patios, front porches and sidewalks to life. Today, I’m going to share a few container gardening tips and gardening tricks for flower container gardens. So, you can add containers to benches, tree stumps or any other areas that needs a bright spot.

Next, the best way to save money is to start plants from seed. You can start them inside under a grow light and transplant them into containers in the spring. However, not everyone has the time or desire to take that route. So, if time isn’t on your side the clearance rack on your local Walmart or Lowes is a good place to start. I enjoy seeking out plants on clearance that are on the brink of death and nursing them back to health. Seeing them flourish in a container or in your yard is so rewarding.

Again, I find the best bargains at Lowes, Home Depot and Wal-M art clearance stands. Creeping Jenny, a Spike and French Marigolds fill the container below. I companion plant marigolds with my tomatoes and peppers in my vegetable garden every year too. I purchased a few extra pots of marigolds on clearance and decided to incorporate them into the containers on my deck. Spikes, Sweet Potato Vines, and Creeping Jenny are my most expensive plants during the summer. Unfortunately, I have never seen them on sale or clearance.

Container Gardening Tips for Beginners:

So, Creeping Jenny is an invasive plant. But, it is so beautiful in containers. Actually, planting it in containers is the only way to control it. When I planted the Creeping Jenny initially, I wasn’t expecting it to return year after year. This is the third year that it has returned in the pot below. The contrasting color (light green) of the Creeping Jenny, and it’s ability to hang over the pot’s edge makes the pot come to life.

This pot contains:

1 Spike
Yellow Marigolds
Purple Petunias
Creeping Jenny

I carried on the French Marigold and Spike theme on the other side of the deck. Since I planted the Creeping Jenny in one container garden on the deck, I planted a Sweet Potato Vine in my other container. Planting the Sweet Potato Vine on the side of the container garden allows it to cascade down to the floor of the deck. I’ll be planting this trailing vine again next year. Sweet Potato Vines can be pricey, so I’m going to try growing my own next season.

This pot contains:

1 spike
French Marigolds
1 Sweet Potato Vine

Additionally, Moss Roses fill this pot along with a Spike, which give the plant some height. This plant is easy to grow, and can take hot, sunny spaces. I love that it produces pops of color all summer. If you’re lucky, this plant will return for several years. It produces beautiful flowers in a variety of colors. White, pink, yellow, and red flowers brighten this spot.

This pot contains:

1 Spike
Moss Roses

Finally, my boxes that I use on my deck railing always filled with petunias. I change colors periodically, but purple, red and white are the usual colors. Occasionally, I add in pink. I add Vinca to create a trailing effect. I usually add 3 Vinca to my boxes; however, this year I only added 1 and used more petunias. It really cut the cost of the expenses for the 4 boxes.

This box contains:

1 Vinca
Variety of Petunias

Get creative and mix what you love in your containers and watching them come to life. You can use simple designs or get elaborate all depending on your space. Also, head out to your local flea market, yard sale or clearance isle and grab a few pots this gardening season.

Last, container gardening is a great way to bring in color and liven up your outdoor living space. So, try a few pots on your deck or patio this summer.

You may also like these Container Garden Ideas.

Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Nature-Gardening Tagged With: container gardening, gardening, home gardening, outdoor spaces

10 Vegetables For Container Gardening

February 21, 2015 by Rhonda Gales

Backyard vegetable gardening can be done in containers. So, if you’re short on space but big on fresh vegetables in the summer containers can be a solution. Today, we’re going to discuss vegetable container gardening and the best vegetables that can be grown in containers. There’s nothing better than fresh veggies during the hot summer months. Most people think that they must use large plots of land to create a kitchen garden. However, that is simply not true.

Vegetable container gardening has become popular over the years. It’s a great way to grow fresh vegetables when you have limited space. I have listed 10 vegetables that I plant in my garden each year, but are also excellent choices for containers. You containers can be regular flower pots, crates, 5 gallon buckets, or plastic tubs from the dollar store. So, get creative and use your imagination. Here’s 10 vegetables for container gardening:

1. Cherry Tomatoes – First, cherry tomatoes are a great choice for hanging baskets on patios or balconies. Don’t you love the idea of reaching up and grabbing a few tomatoes for a salad or snack. My favorite cherry tomato is the Sweet 100. It’s hard for me to make it out of my garden with devouring my harvest.

2. Eggplant – Great for growing in pots. A 4 foot garden stake can be used to support the plant. Black Beauty is an excellent plant for containers. The blooms alone are worth finding a spot in the garden for eggplant.

3. Bell Peppers – Second, green, red, yellow, white or orange peppers can be grown in pots. Five gallon bucks make excellent pots for container gardening. You will need a 4 foot stake to hold the plant.

4. Herbs – Small clay pots are excellent for growing herbs in windows or on a patio. Basil, oregano, sage, mint or Rosemary can be grown as shown.

5. Chili or Jalapeno peppers – Depending on your pot size, you will need a 2-4 foot stake to support your plant.

6. Salad Bowl – Next, I have 2 wash tubs that I use. For example, I grow Butter Crunch, Black Seeded Simpson and Salad Bowl lettuce so that I have a good mix of salad greens. If you use metal containers, place bubble wrap or newspaper at the bottom to keep the roots of the plants from burning. Lettuce likes cooler weather so if you use metal containers remember they hold heat. Place your container in a shady spot so the lettuce doesn’t bolt.

7. Lettuce – If you’re lucky enough to have wine crates, they’ve excellent for growing lettuce and herbs too.

8. Tomatoes – Five gallon buckets, rectangle, square or round pots can be used. Depending on the variety you will need to stake or cage them. A 5 foot stake or cage should suffice, but be sure to stake or cage early. Look for varieties that can be grown easily in containers like Early Girl, Patio Princess or Tiny Tim to name a few.

9. Cucumbers – You will need a trellis so they an climb. Nothing fancy, find 2 sticks in your yard and wrap twine around them as shown.

10. Radishes or Carrots – Last, grow a pot of rainbow carrots with your children or grandchildren. The rainbow carrots are yellow, orange, purple and red. Great idea to introduce kids to gardening while having fun.

Finally, make sure your containers have adequate drainage. For example, use a quality, organic potting mix. Don’t limit yourself to the 10 suggestions above. You can also grow peas, beets, squash, and zucchini in containers too. Now that you know space is no longer an issue, you can enjoy fresh vegetables too.

Additionally, you may also like: How To Grow Bigger Tomatoes or How To Stake and Cage Tomatoe