Growing Squash & Zucchini (Cucumber & Melons Too) in Large Containers: Soil Set Up & Planting 

Thanks so much for your support! Cheers & Thanks, Gary! Visit My Seed and Garden Shop The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD Popular Items from My Seed and Garden Shop... The Rusted Garden T-Shirts & Other Merchandise: bit.ly/3TSd2kc Seed Starting, Growing, and Pest Management Oils Neem Oil: bit.ly/43IJl9C Peppermint Oil: bit.ly/43IJl9C Rosemary Oil: bit.ly/43IJl9C 100 Gallon Fabric Pots (approximately 100 Gallons): bit.ly/3PMoZ9S #20 Gallon Fabric Pots (21.32 Gallons): bit.ly/43Hz9OA #10 Gallon Fabric Pots (10.44 Gallons): bit.ly/3J5lEyK #5 Gallon Fabric Pots (4.3 Gallons): bit.ly/3J5lEyK 1 Quart Seed Starting Fabric Pots: bit.ly/43HQE1c Seed Starting Standard Plastic Flats: bit.ly/4cF326m Seed Starting Cells/Containers: bit.ly/3PMaCT1 2 1/2" Square Seed Starting Containers: bit.ly/43GOQWv 3" x 4" Round Seed Starting Containers: bit.ly/3TYckD7 Seed Starting Flats with Drainage Holes: bit.ly/4aJJ6O2 'No Potting Up' Large 6 Cells for Seed Starting: bit.ly/3xiLBIK Seed Collections and Packs The Rusted Garden 'Scan and Grow' Collection Scan the QR Code for Planting Instructions: bit.ly/43HYBDQ Tiny Tim Tomato Indoor Growing Kit - All the Supplies: bit.ly/3J9ExAF 10 Cool Weather Garden Crops for Spring & Fall: bit.ly/3xw3Ji5 10 Leafy 'Greens' Varieties for an Easy Greens Garden: bit.ly/4akuHIl 10 Warm Weather Garden Crops for Summer: bit.ly/4cHqIap All Discounted Seed Collections: bit.ly/3vzDlUd The Rusted Garden Heirloom Tomato Seed Selections: bit.ly/49towQK The Rusted Garden Pepper Seed Selections: bit.ly/3U1G1TM Support The Rusted Garden & Use My Amazon Garden Store Front Just use my... The Rusted Garden Amazon Influencer's Storefront link anytime you shop at www.amazon.com/shop/garypilarchiktherustedgarden I put the products I use and discuss, in videos, there and have gardening products set up by categories. Such as Grow Lights, Fertilizers, Pest Control, and More. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My 2nd RU-vid Channel Geared Towards Brand New Gardeners My First Vegetable Garden: bit.ly/3POOjMq My Podcasts The Rusted Garden Homestead... All About Growing, Cooking and Sharing Food: bit.ly/443SSGL My Blogs The Rusted Garden Journal: bit.ly/3vznpBl Perk Memberships Join this channel to get access to Perk Memberships which focus on providing small live garden mentoring Q & A sessions, classes, and member influenced videos: ru-vid.com/show-UCptL6_qMImyW_yZwiMjQdpgjo My Books: The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing Self-Sufficiency in Any Size Backyard Available Now amzn.to/40rfkIb Growing An Edible Landscape: How to Transform Your Outdoor Space Into a Food Garden Available November 2023 amzn.to/41tfno2 Products I Use and Recommend and I have an affiliation with them: GreenStalk Vertical Gardening Towers Use the Discount Code THERUSTEDGARDEN on GreenStalk 'Vertical Tier Systems'. Use this link and enter my code for the $10 discount greenstalkgarden.com/?rstr=therustedgarden AgroThrive Organic Bio-Fertilizers Use my affiliate link and my code TRG10 to save 10% on your first order: agrothrive.com/?ref=M5o6fjdAruq_S Vegega Metal Raised Beds Check out all the metal bed design & colors (dozens) at Vegega. Here is my affiliate link use my code TRG to save 10%: www.vegega.com/?ref=le64f3gm30 There is often free shipping and my code does NOT stack when current sales are active and equal to or above 10% off. Follow The Rusted Garden on Instagram: bit.ly/4aiMQ9l Follow The Rusted Garden on Meta/Facebook: bit.ly/49tP2cF Follow The Rusted Garden on Threads: bit.ly/49tPesp Follow The Rusted Garden on TikTok: bit.ly/4cFGQZR Join me in my Private Meta/FB Group: The Rusted Garden Homestead: bit.ly/3xlvSbH Contact Me at therustedgardenmerch@gmail.com for questions or if you are interested in collaborations, affiliations or advertising. #gardening #gardeningtips #garden #gardentips #homestead #homesteading #farming #farm #farmer @THERUSTEDGARDEN

For all of you talking about how expensive this is, think about not having these things at the grocery store. You’re buying pots once if you don’t have ground to plant in and you can use natural fertilizers made from your eggshells, banana peels and Epsom salts. Lots of ways to do it in a less expensive way, but I appreciate Gary’s expertise as we have struggled with blossom end rot and powdery mildew in our area. Following the tips has given me much more confidence and success.

You always make everything so simple going step by step and explaining everything so clearly. Ty

Love all your videos. I use kiddie pools for holding bins for shrubs and this year I will plants a perpetual spinach garden so they are contained in one spot. I have a large piece of land but the large containers are so convenient. I can cover them in winter. Thanks

Yhank you for getting right to the point and knowing what your talking about!

Grow bags work great too!!!!

Just wanted to say thank you... tried this setup this year and squash looks amazing !!!

Spot on. I have 5 growing in 2 pots. Wish I found our channel earlier. That reserve idea, aces

I am growing asparagus, started from seeds over 16 years ago. Crops for 12 years now. Yummy. Ground is the best for all produce. And composting.

I used 5 gallon pot 3 mackerel fish at the bottom and peat moss 2 inches then garden soil and i got a lot of succhinis.! Great video ill try your as well!

hello Gary !! fantastic advice and information on container gardening !! I'm using 30lt - 50lt - 70lt buckets for most of my vegetables !! thanks for sharing your knowledge and as always happy gardening !!

I certainly enjoyed that because I’m always looking for ways to help my container garden plants. So I would really like to see the progress of your experiment .

Just watched this video and now I have a guide to follow this coming season. Just a couple of questions please. Where do you live and what month did you do this video? Are these plantings going to be vertically grown or will they just flop and go where they want to go?

My husband added a PVC worm tower in each of my large containers that I fill with food scraps & shredded (uncolored) paper every week because castings are amazing fertilizer. I was very excited when I found my first worm in one of my containers! Lol! The worms came up through the holes in the bottom of my planters that sit on the ground.

You have the best video's Gary... thank you!

Thank you so much. I am growing in containers right now as well. Some people say dont do it... I dissagreee. You are an inspiration to me and my chanel - Hope you are blessed. I follow you all the time. I do a little garden thing too from all your inspiration.

This is a great set up but i agree need the most simple and cost effective way to do this.

Hey Gary, very interesting you used a different soil composition than you did for your peppers and tomatoes (garden soil & peat moss 50/50...plus fertilizer). But, I don't think you explained why you used the shredded wood on the bottom, or more organic matter in this zucchini soil mix. Is it something in how they feed or need water that is different than peppers and tomatoes?

15-20 gallon Wood chips inch above hole Sprinkle organic fertilizer 6-8 tablespoons and mix in so to help wood chips break down over time Too soil an inch atop of wood chips Another 2-4 tablespoons of fertilizer Handful of garden Lyme good handful Worm castings 1 cup in top soil mix it in Container mix from old plants mix into top soil Leaf grow atop of all this and mix it in Another cup of worm castings *One cup per five gallons approximate More container mix, mix it up Cucumbers, zucchinis, melons, squash will thrive in this Shredded hardwood as a cover so it locks together and it wont wash away since it's so fibrous. Keeps moisture in here Now water it and soak it in And you're done! (With the planting at least)

Hello friend thanks for sharing your vedio great tips on gardening newspapers watching from California

My New Book: The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing Self-Sufficiency in Any Size Backyard. You can find it at these different locations... Thanks 4 the Support! Amazon: https:amzn.to/3Hfejue Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-modern-homestead-garden-gary-pilarchik/1137153105?ean=9780760368176 Books A Million: www.booksamillion.com/p/Modern-Homestead-Garden/Gary-Pilarchik/9780760368176?id=7961563419439# An Autographed Copy of my book is at my seed and garden shop: www.therustedgarden.com/search?type=product&q=book My seed and garden shop can be found www.therustedgarden.com You can find my new Gardening Podcast here. I am doing 45 minute podcasts now with CaliKim called 'Gardening Coast2Coast Podcasts' gardeningcoast2coast.net/ You can also find our podcasts here on Buzzsprout www.buzzsprout.com/1846799 There are several options to chose from. Seed Starting Supplies: amzn.to/2GrGaZ7 As an Amazon Associated I earn from Garden Fertilizers: amzn.to/2DIQDRY qualifying purchases. It is free to use Garden Disease & Pest Control: amzn.to/2Fqvl8e Here are some links to my Amazon Storefront. Grow Lights:amzn.to/2GudeiO I turn most of that back into the garden and videos. Amazon General Search Page: amzn.to/2DZBzyZ THANKS! Greatly Appreciated - Gary (TRG) I have Neem Oil, Peppermint Oil, Sprayers, Seeds and so much more at my shop...Please check out my Seed & Garden Shop for your gardening needs at www.therustedgarden.com

I really like your video and it will help me in my new garden projects thank you.

I raise my own prime castings, no vermicompost, and it makes all the difference in your plants. Even if they get stressed by the elements, they kick right back. I do potatoes in buckets but this is a good idea to save space in my beds for other things.

You grow everything

You can just use potting soil without all those additives. Just use some seaweed fertilizer once a week. You will get amazing results and it will save you money. The hardwood is a nice touch. Again your making amazing soil, all I’m saying it’s not necessary. Happy Gardening

This year our Costco's offered worm castings. 8-)

Great video, very informative, Thanks for sharing 👌💕

Excellent information. I love the idea Gary. Thanks so much.

Hey Gary,. My wife thinks I'm crazy for believing everything I see on RU-vid, but certain things do work. Last year I had good soil for my toms and squash, but a bit depleted having been used for some heavy feeder plants. It was given to me instead of being dumped in a landfill. Lucky me, huh? This year I will replenish it with additives and amendments for my hard won seedlings to grow in. She gets all her gardening information from people's opinions from Facebook, not actual doing any practical stuff, just the way they think grandma might have done it decades ago. The proof is in the plants, not conjecture or "opinion". Thanks my friend, for all the valuable info. Good stuff. Now if I can find some 5-5-5 fert. I've mostly used "all purpose" MG (24 nitrogen) but maybe not this year. I'll use garden gypsum around my toms to prevent BER like I did last year that seemed to work well. Cheers, Bob

I did a test last year with Worm casings fertilizer VS aged organic chicken manure,,,, The chicken manure beat it hands down,,, best production I have ever had with the garden especially the Tomatoes and the Squash,,,, also used a little Molasses and Ebsons salt,,,,, very cheap and great alternatives,,,

Great info Gary. I’m trying bag containers this year. Hope it goes well! Thank you!

Thanks so much for doing this experiment! I am a second year gardener and used chemical fertilizer my first year and am using fish emulsion and the worm castings/worm tea this year. It will be nice to see if there is a difference in quality of growth with each product. Yet another awesome video Gary!

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. YOU ROCK!!!!!!

I try to make a hole with a nail and a hammer on a ceramic planter like yours and half of the bottom came off....oooops!!! Bad idea. But i sill used and planted my tomatoes 🍅 plant. I used the same mix added chicken maneuver add two bananas in the bottom. I hope I did a good job. Great video thanks 🙏

Thanks for sharing your tips! I like that you put a layer of wood chips on the bottom. I'll have to remember to do that next season.

Its reassuring to see you doing this. Due to 2 situations I'm growing over 50% in containers this year. My Amish sawmill cut wood never got cut on time, they have great prices and wood and the secret got out lol. So I had to start growing in containers and I have so many woodchips I've been doing this because containers can eat up a huge batch of soil mixture in no time. I'm also experimenting with my usual straw mulch and woodchips, so far no difference even carrots came through the woodchips. I get more weeds from the straw its still not much.

I love your informative videos.

I think I could build a spaceship after this lesson! Thnx!

thank you. i like the side hole idea

Awesome video !

I'm always experimenting too

Thank. Just started first time tomato seedings r six inches . Very helpful

Great video. If you use containers with holes on the bottom do you also need the hole on the side? For that matter are containers with holes on the bottom ok to use?

great video Gary I am growing watermelon cantaloupe and cucumbers in containers there doing really well I have lots of blooms anyway thanks for the tips

I just cut down to 55 gallon food grade barrels and have to make planters and putting tomatoes in them and wondering if I could do the same thing for the Cucumbers I'm using Straight Miracle-Gro potting soil with no substrate on the bottom for drainage would this work and what do I got to do to support them as they start to climb I don't want to have to go through five different products in the container

For my tomatoes I mix 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 cup Epsom salts and mix well. I put a Tablespoon of the mix in the hole that I dug for my tomato mix it with a little bit of soil then I put my tomato in and then I cover it up and I don't end up with Bloom rot.

Another great video thank you

Wish this came out before I built my raised trellis bed thingy! That’s awesome!

This is excellent! I will follow this as close as I can. I want to try this with watermelon and cantaloupe. Again thank you.

🇻🇨Gary my 5 gallon pail has water holes 5 in bottom should I also pup hole On side 2 inches up . I want to put cucumbers do I only do 1 or can I plant 2 together . P S I’m a newbie. Tx you’re video was great

I'm using the stuff from the bottom of my parrot cage...nut shells, bird poop, feathers...etc at the bottom of my pots, then potting soil, fertiliser and shredded hemp mulch! I'll see how it works since this is my first year doing this.

My pumpkins grew in my rocks I have to cut down on weeds, And sand everywhere. Also had a Mexican firecracker tree growing there, among other great trees/plants. I need to transfer that soil, promote it in my back garden. I’m trying so hard to grow carrots. Difficulty - 10/10

Great video have a question?gonna use 15 gal fabric pots how many bags of potting mix do i need ?also best recommend fertilizer for bush squash and bush cucumber plants?

Awesome tips and information. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you 😊

I like this, Gary! Love that zucchini variety. It has a great nutty flavor. I am a huge believer in mulching containers, but I never put mulch on the bottom too. I like that idea.

Gary, have you ever tried the GroBucket insert for self watering 5 gallon bucket? Just drill hole in bucket and insert it and then your done. I am wondering if a zucchini can grow in this if I topped it off each day, since it is self watering. Will the plant not grow to that large of a size because the container would be too small? I'm sure with this self watering container I could keep it hydrated at least.

I followed your soil mixture to the tee, planted my squash in the middle of the pot. My question to you is......will I need to fertilize again at some point? Thanks......and if so, what, I had to use 5-4-4, I couldn't find 5-5-5. I used the worm castings and a good organic compost along with garden soil.

Good suggestions

Hi Gary, I'm doing a few watermelon in large totes and a 20 gallon pot this year. I'm wondering about vine management once they really get going and what to do with the fruit. It would be much easier to let the vines go along the ground etc...but would you recommend taking them vertically would you use a tomato cage? Is this necessary?

Where do you show which fertilizer worked the best? Also, to have a true comparison of the fertilizer results, the three plants should be the same variety and as close to the same size as you can get.

Quick question on the containers: most planters don't say they are x-number of gallons. Can we go by how tall and wide yours are?

This video helped me a lot loving the videos !! Would love more content

I get these worms or grubs inside the base of my squash plants which literally cause the entire plant to die as they cut the plant off from the roots. Any solution for this?

You seriously need a visual to show with all the layers of mediums, castings, fertilizers, top dressing, leaf grow, etc etc......Not sure I could justify the expense for a cucumber plant! A chart would be helpful lol!

$100 of pot, fertilizer and soil for $10 of zucchini. My take: Dig a hole in the raised bed, add 5c of fertilizer and 10c of compost and add plant. After all that go to church and really pray for a buttload of zucchini

Are you using wood chips on the bottom to maintain moisture?

Can I use straw instead of wood chips for the bottom layer? Thanks.

Thanks again for another awesome video!!

AWESOME VIDEO! Thank you Stay safe and healthy

Not sure layering the wood at the bottom helps drainage..,have seen some info that different layers of non-homogenous materials (even gravel, etc) actually holds water more than homogenous material throughout the entire depth...

Great video I love your concept of doing wood chips topsoil fertilizer and the pattern

This is outstanding, thank you Gary!

I am planting winter squash (butternut, etc) from seed into containers this size. Do you think I should I thin to just one plant or keep the 2 -3 plants that would be normal in a hill? Thanks.

I PLANTET MY Zuccini AND SQUASH IN TO THE GROUND TODAY.I GOT PUMPKINS IN BIG PLASTIC CONTAINER FROM MY WORK PLACE,THEY WHERE GOING TO BE TROW AWAY BUT I THINK I COULD USE THEM UNTILL THEY FALL APART.this big planters might be axpencive but will last ages.

Good video. Wish some of you all had books on this stuff. I was trying to write everything down and that was a struggle. I need an instruction guide. I'm a new gardener living in central AZ, and I'm a complete beginner. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the video ..are these plastic pots ?..they look like they are .. i will definitely give Watermelon a try I ..was wondering why my cucumbers did not get bigger than they did my pot was a 3 gallon pot..One plant per pack I also use 3 gallon pots for bell peppers and they grew to a really nice size.. I probably will move up to a 5 gallon pot for bigger ones I only use one plant per pot thanks so much..

Would it be okay to add sphagnum peat moss in the bottom, (I have a 10,000 lb. bag of it), instead of wood chips or maybe mix it in with all the other stuff you added? I just love watching you, you seem to be enjoying yourself so much. it makes me feel good too, to get my hands in the dirt.

I planted 4 seeds of cucumber stake house in a 12" pot at opposite ends and now they are 5-6 inches tall and wanted to move them to my 20 gallon pot very similar to what you have. Can I fit more than 1 per pot and also what's the best way to separate the seedlings to move to multiple pots? Also I will be trellising them. Thanks. Also can I get away with not using worm castings and leaf grow? I couldn't find any. Thanks again Gary

I did what you said with the containers but I did not add lime or the granular fertilizer. I was planning on using the water salable fertilizer. Should I just go ahead and mix those two things in? Should you use lime in all of the containers or just for certain veggies? I added lime to the container I knew I'd be putting tomatoes in.

I have a problem with squirrels getting into my containers and digging holes and occasionally plants up. Would moth balls help?

I'm a big fan of Leaf Gro also.

Hi Gary Would It be ok to use pine horse bedding for the bottom of the pot? I have plenty of that around here. I love all your videos they're so interesting, you put your heart and soul in everyone and I appreciate you. God bless y'all Jude, from Kentucky ✝️🥀🐴🇺🇲💚

I have my fresh castings, feed them only garden and food scraps, cardboard for carbon, azomite, alfala, humic acid, wheat bran and em1 and it’s the best castings I’ve use

Good looking setup I use a weed tea 1 part weed tea 20 parts rain water.

Great video! thanks a lot! i wanted to ask what is the minimum container size i could use for melons, zucchinis, cucumbers? i only have a balcony and wouldnt be possible to use 15 to 20 gallon containers. thats around 40cm diameter containers which are very big.🙈

Hi Gary, I use shredded hemp as mulch in my containers. Do you think I could use that instead of wood chips? I also use the stuff from my parrot's cage (droppings, chewed veggies and fruit) at the bottom as eventual compost at the bottom of containers. (And worm castings, azomite, organic dry fertilizers). The hemp is fibrous too and holds water. Again thanks for everything.

Hello Gary. Thanks for the video. Are you using self watering containers and drilled a hole on the side? I have a very large self watering container which I plan to use for my sugar baby watermelon. Thank you!

Very informative video. My appreciation for that sir. Also, for keeping moisture in the soil, do you use vermiculite? Or would you recommend just a well draining soil? (maybe with some wood chips)

You said did you put lime in with your squash zucchini and the straightneck yellow squash how much lime do you put per plant? I also have calcium nitrate powder that I could use. Is it better to use the lime or the calcium nitrate?

Thanks for the excellent information!

Straw bales = perfect container 😁

All I wanted was to plant some zucchini....now I'll have soil composition nightmares!!

Gary, I really like your video. Please tell me where I can purchase a watering can like yours? I’m going to try this. My cukes are in the main garden in a row. (Husband row cropped all his life). I have a kitchen container garden. Never thought about trying clues in pots!

Gary 2 questions please. On top right under the( #1 mulch/wood chips are they the same?)# 2 I didn't see what you used on top under the mulch? Thank you for all you're help😎

Every year I plant melons. I've yet to get one ripe. Rodents eat ALL of them!! Do you have any suggestion?

Which one was the best yielding on this experiment The worm castings, the fish emulsion or the chemical feritlizer???

If you are experimenting with various fertilizers, shouldn't you plant the same plants to compare?

So, would you completely duplicate this process next year or would you just recondition a portion of this container?

Great job thank you 😊