The education staff at PHS has a near-endless supply of DIY projects to share. Here’s one conjured up by Sally McCabe that’s both easy and affordable. If you want bang for your buck, this is surely something to attempt this weekend.
To build a four-season container, the first thing you need is a container, one-gallon size or larger. This is one of those times where the cheaper the product, the better off you’ll be. Because this container will remain outside all winter, something rigid—like a ceramic pot—won’t work. A flimsy plastic container, the kind you often find by the dumpster at garden centers, is perfect.
Next you’ll need soil. At PHS we prefer to use organic products. The Pennsylvania-based company Organic Mechanics has great potting soil derived from compost.
Fill your container about one-fourth of the way with soil, then insert an odd number of late-spring bulbs. Daffodils work wonderfully; tulips will do the trick as well. Whichever you pick, cover them up with additional soil until the container is about half full.
Then you’ll arrange some early-spring bulbs in the container, again using an odd number. The chipper crocus is perfect in terms of season and size. Add even more soil until the container is just about full.
The final step is adding plants for the top of the pot. You can go ornamental with hardy pansies, or practical with plugs of lettuce, kale, or spinach. Sally actually recommends using a combination of the two. Place them in a way that’s pleasing and you are good to go!
Now that your container is complete, here’s what to expect. For the remainder of October and all of November and December, you can enjoy lots of leafy greens (imagine how impressed your Thanksgiving guests will be). The pansies will also endure the increasingly cold weather, giving your deck, stoop, or fire escape a pop of color. Sally feels strongly that even a foot or two of snow won’t harm these top-level plants. And remember, no matter how nasty the weather gets, don’t bring the container inside; the warm indoor temperatures will confuse the bulbs below the soil.
Eventually you’ll eat all the lettuce and the pansies will pass their prime. Feel free to remove what remains. No need to be sad, this sets the stage for the crocuses to surface in early spring. You’ll enjoy these colorful pals for some time, and once they begin to fade it’s time for the bottom layer of daffodils or tulips to have their moment in the sun. By this point it’ll be May, and you’ll have had about eight months of enjoyment from one simple planting.
If you want to create this simple-but-lasting project, now is the time to start. Document your efforts and share photos with us on the PHS Facebook page. Have fun throughout all four seasons!
Penny Colgan-Davis
October 25, 2012
I’m going to try it at school, but want to use a “prettier” container. We’re making Salad Trays in our Junior Plant Scientist class next week, so I’ll add this in, maybe using an old wooden box.
Penny
Patty Gibian
March 28, 2013
Dear PHS,
Great Fun
I live at Foulkeways at Gwynedd, a Quaker retirement community a bit north of
Chestnut Hill.
I didn’t plant the letttuces, too late by the time I got into the project. I did plant the
pansie’s but they didn’t fare too well. I started two containers of “how to build a four
seasons container” last fall.I kept them in my unheated garage all winter, occasionally
watering them and when bits of green began to appear I put them out in the sun. The crocus’s appeared
first, and now the tips of daffodills and tulips are coming up.Very exciting when we have had
such a dark, wet, dismal spring
We have a great greenhouse here at Foulkeways and plan to make this project for next fall.
Thanks so much for the very interesting Blog. I love reading them when they arrive
on my computer.
All the best,
Patty Gibian
{Mrs Paul Gibian}