Building a better container

This large pot was acquired last winter when someone down the block threw it out, complete with soil and very dead houseplant. I dragged it to my stoop, thought about all the amazing things I could plant in it, like a currant bush, and eventually settled on some cosmos and poppies. Mostly because that's what I had on hand (it's not like currant bushes grow on trees), but also to put off worrying about what might be in the soil.

The poppies were fine, until the lack of water got to them, but the four cosmos only ended up with one flower between them, while growing huge, leafy stalks. They were lovely and green but nothing was getting established at the base, I think because the large plants were hogging all the water, and it was scraggly and ugly down there.

Since I was going to be ripping them out I decided it was time to install a water reservoir while I was at it, since everything out front gets so dry on sunny days. One of my roommates had left a super-skinny liter bottle in the recycling so I poked some holes in the top with an awl and cut off the bottom.

Then stuck it in the newly cleared out and heavily watered pot. Later it was covered with some netting, held in place by a rubber band, to keep it from being a mosquito breeding ground.

The pot got some compost and a few more inches of potting soil, then I headed out back to grab an eggplant. Below you can see one eggplant on the left, but under the huge cucumber leaf there's another, smaller plant.

The poor thing gets so little light and the cucumbers growing like mad next to it doesn't help matters.

It got replanted out front, along with four bush green beans that say they mature in 50 days and enjoy lots of sun. The eggplant is pretty wilted, even after being watered in and I'm not sure it'll hold up to the move. But I'm pretty sure it was never going to set fruit in the back, so even if it doesn't make it I won't be losing much.

There's still room for some more in the pot, but I still haven't decided what exactly. I'll wait to see if the beans germinate.

In other news I thought this cucumber with it's end being held up by the plant was cute. If only all the heavier melons did this automatically.

Self-supported cucumber.

And I actually took a picture of today's harvest!