[Tulip19]

Hi everyone,
I'm very new to all this but I just miss having a garden so I have started to grow flowers, herbs and a small fruit tree in containers. I had two beginners questions and would appreciate any advice you might have.

As for my fruit tree, a red currant (Jonkheer van Tets); it is planted in a container in regular tree&shrub soil, but I was wonderin what sort of soil & fertilizer I should be adding to get my tree to grow properly and develop fruit?

I also have a container with red kale + daffodils and one with vaccinium with tulips; in both cases I was wondering what to do with the bulbs when the flowers whither? I read that daffodils should be left for a few weeks and can be left in the soil for next year, but can I plant summer flowering bulbs beside them (or would that overload the pot)?
And what about the tulips? Should I dig them up (and store them) and just plant summer flowering in their place to keep my containers flowering?

Sorry for the overload, but I hope someone can help me out:) Thanks in advance!

[breezyacre]

Hi Tulip 19. Congrats on the innovative gardening. With regard to the bulbs do not remove the leaves. Allow them to grow and while they are green they are feeding and stocking up food for the winter and for flowering next year. When leaves are withered you can either leave them there or remove them and store them in a cool place in a box of dry sand. Replant in October. With regard to the redcurrant and all the containers indeed watering is critical as containers dry out. You probably need to water daily and in hot weather both morning and night. The redcurrant will probably need some feeding to make it produce fruit but not this year perhaps if the soil is good enough. A feed with potash in it is probably best however someone with more knowledge than me will give you the info on that. Best of luck with it.

[walltoall]

Breezyacre. That was an excellent answer and one with which I concur in all respects. I especially like your underlining the fact that containers suffer from drought. Red currants grow better in shade and do not appreciate richness of soil. They do like a bit of watering now and then but if grown in shade are not too fussy how much so long as they are not starved of moisture.

ALL fruits (and flowers) respond to potassium. Wood ash containbs plenty and the ash from a barby is such! I'm against feeding potash myself to fruit shrubs unless you are growing stuff on an industrial scale. Plants need moisture and sometimes a specific Ph to survive. Daffy and tulip bulbs do not HAVE to be lifted but the remains of the flowers should be snipped off with a scissors. And if you MUST lift them do so after the leaves have died back.

[breezyacre]

míle buíochas Walltoall. an bhfaigheann tu deis do chuid Ghaeilge a chleachtadh na laethe seo.

[Tulip19]

breezyacre/walltoall - thank you so much for the advice!
Since I'm limited with space I'll probably dig up the bulbs and store them til october once they've died back, so that I can plant some summer flowers.

Happy to hear that the redcurrant should do ok in the soil its in. I wasn't sure whether I'd need specific fruit&veg compost and fertilizer or not, but I'll reserve that for the strawberries so

Thanks for reminding me of the watering as well, I think I'll get some water crystals just in case I forget one of these days. Don't want my plants to die of thirst!

As for differences in compost, would you advice switching to specific 'container compost' for potted flowers and houseplants?

Also, could I grow a small tomato plant on a window sill or would you recommend growing it in a larger container outside?

[breezyacre]

I gave some of my spare " Gardener's Delight" tomato plants to a friend and he grew them quite successfully outside in a container in a sheltered spot in the garden. He used shop bought compost which particularly suited the growth of tomatoes and he watered regularly and made sure to feed twice weekly after the first fruits were set. On that point I noticed that Lidl have " Gardener's Delight" plants about 30cm tall, which is about 25 cm taller than mine at the moment, for about €1.20 today.
Summer bedding does require regular feeding to keep it flowering all summer but tomato food is quite effective for this task.

[galwaybeginner]

Best of luck with it all Tulip. Sounds like a fun setup.

I also have Jonkheer van Tets growing in my polytunnel. Seem to be thriving so far. Lots of water is key