Container vegetable garden plans


22 Stunning Container Vegetable Garden Design Ideas & Tips

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Container Vegetable Garden Design Ideas to maximize harvest and make your edible garden less boring.
Here are the best vegetables for containers 

1. Grow Climbers and Vines

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Support climbing vegetables and vines and direct them upward with the help of a trellis or a cage or by any other way.

Such plants use vertical space and are abundant in production. Bitter melon (a unique tropical gourd known for its health benefits), gourds, cucumber, pole beans and other beans, Malabar spinach, vine tomatoes, squashes, peas, if you want to try– pumpkin and melons.

2. Choose Colorful Containers

You can brighten up your container vegetable garden by choosing colorful containers to grow your favorite vegetable and herbs.

3. Use Hanging Baskets

Image Credit: HGTV

Don’t cast out the idea of growing herbs and vegetables in hanging baskets. Tomatoes, strawberries, many other vegetables, and herbs can be grown in hanging baskets successfully. It also creates space!

4. Start One Pot Vegetable Garden

This one-pot vegetable garden idea is perfect if you don’t have space to set up a container garden. It is also useful for those who have a small balcony or open window that receives full sun. We picked up this idea from Sunset, read more there!

5. Try this Vertical Lettuce Planter Idea

We love this project done by Bonnie Plants, and why not? You can grow fresh herbs and greens easily in a limited space by following this idea. They have a step-by-step DIY article on this for you to look at, check out!

6. Grow Edible Flowers

To add some interest, color, and beauty, it’s a good idea to grow some edible flowers. You can use them in salads to garnish your meal or make sharbat.

Flowers like marigold, calendula, viola, nasturtiums can be tried. The list is long, and you can discover more names here.

7. Give Space to Herbs

Your container vegetable garden may look incomplete if you don’t grow some herbs. Fresh herbs can enhance the taste of your meal always, so it’s a great idea.

You don’t need to grow all the herbs. Consider adding 2-3 plants that you like most and suit your location: Parsley, thyme, mint, sage, oregano, cilantro, and much more to choose from. A window box, a few small containers, hanging baskets can also be used.

8. Tomatoes are Must!

Tomatoes are a wonderful and the most important addition to a container vegetable garden. They look beautiful too. Choose 2-3 varieties and grow a few plants to get a bountiful harvest of homegrown tomatoes. Learn about the best tomato varieties for the container in this post.

9. Add Colorful Varieties

Vegetables and herbs with different textures, attractive foliage, and colors can be an excellent addition to your container vegetable garden; they can add visual interest to it.

Red hot pepper, red-stemmed swiss chard, round midnight basil, fine leaf rosemary with other herbs like lemongrass or thyme can make it look appealing. Here’s an interesting post on colorful vegetables for you to see!

10. Use Unique Planters

Use unique planters to provide virtual interest to your container vegetable garden. You can recycle and DIY your own planters or buy a few in unusual shapes and sizes. There are a lot of DIY ideas available on our website for help.

11. Play with the Height

If you don’t want your vegetable garden to look boring, play with the height. Don’t use planters of similar size and height. Instead, group large and small containers together, this will create a visual appeal.

Tip: Group plants according to their height to create a garden-like surrounding effect. To do this, place tall plants in the back and short and low growing plants like herbs and greens in front.

12. Grow a Lemon Tree

Growing a lemon tree in a pot is not difficult and is probably an intelligent addition to your container vegetable garden. Here’s our step-by-step post on it!

13. Take Help of Vertical Gardening

Lettuces in the window boxes in a balcony

The biggest challenge of limited space gardening is limited space itself. To beat this, take the help of Vertical Gardening. Use shoe racks, bookshelves, and plant holders to keep more pots.

If you’re a balcony gardener, railing planters and hanging planters are a must. Besides, there are many other unique vertical gardening ideas available here.

14. Start with the Productive and Easiest Container Vegetables

Try succession planting for continuous harvest and grow the most productive and easiest container vegetables for a successful harvest. Here’s our article on it.

15. Try this One Pot Herb Garden Idea

Image Credit: Southern Living

Growing herbs is easy to grow along with other vegetables you’re growing. We found this One-pot herb garden idea on Southern Living fascinating for urban gardeners. See the full post here!

16.

Stake ’em Up!

Staking is also a good way to grow vegetables like tomatoes easily in containers in a tight spot. You can train the plant to grow vertically, saving a lot of space. If you have a sunny balcony, patio, or rooftop, all you need is a large container to grow multiple plants together and enjoy a fresh, homegrown harvest.

17. Make a Salad Table Garden

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A Salad Table is an ingenious way to grow plants like spinach and lettuce. Just find a sunny spot and keep the table there, simple! You can easily get them ready-made from the market or make one for yourself at home.

Check out some impressive Salad Table ideas here

18. Try Raised Beds

Instead of growing veggies on the ground, you can grow them in raised beds instead. They are easy to maintain this way, compared to a traditional garden–If you have a back problem, want to control the quality of the soil, or looking to improve the drainage.

Here’s everything you need to know about making Raised Beds

19.

Go the Hydroponic Way

Want to grow vegetables hydroponically? Check out some of the best DIYs here. You can also use PVC pipes for this purpose. One similar DIY is here to watch on YouTube.

View these hydroponic vertical garden ideas here

20. Grow Exotic Vegetables

Finding fresh, exotic veggies like Black tomatoes, Romanesco Broccoli, Mexican Sour Gherkin, Dragon Carrot, Red Perilla, and Thai Basil can be a tough job at the supermarket–so why not grow them at your home?

Here are the most exotic vegetables and herbs you can grow in containers

21. Make a Movable Garden

If your garden doesn’t get all the sunlight it needs, do not let that stop you from growing veggies. DIY a movable garden, which is basically a raised bed on wheels. This way, you can grow vegetables and move them around accordingly, where they get the right sun exposure to thrive well.

Check out some amazing movable garden ideas here

22.

Save Space by Making a Herb Tower

Yes! You read that right! You can grow herbs in a tower form to save space and plant multiple of them together.

Have a look at some impressive herb tower ideas here

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Container Vegetable Gardening - Designing Your Container Vegetable Garden

If you do not have adequate space for a vegetable garden, consider growing these crops in containers. Let’s take a look at growing vegetables in containers.

Container Gardening Vegetables

Almost any vegetable that can be grown in a garden will work well as a container-grown plant. Vegetables normally suited for growing in containers include:

Most vine crops, such as squash and cucumbers, also do well in containers. Generally, compact varieties are the better choices for growing in containers. Bush beans, for example, thrive well in this type of environment and look quite attractive when arranged with other container crops.

Containers for Vegetable Gardening

Nearly any type of container can be used for growing vegetable plants. Old wash tubs, wooden boxes or crates, gallon-sized (4 L.) coffee cans, and even five-gallon buckets (19 L.) can be implemented for growing crops as long as they provide adequate drainage.

Regardless of the type or size of your container, drainage is vital for successful growth and the overall health of vegetables. If the container you have chosen does not provide any outlets for drainage, you can easily drill a few holes in the bottom or lower sides. Placing gravel or small stones in the bottom of the container will help improve drainage as well. You may also consider raising the container an inch or two (2.5-5 cm.) off the ground with blocks.

Depending on the crops you selected, the size of the container will vary. Most plants require containers that allow at least 6 to 8-inch (15-20.5 cm.) depths for adequate rooting.

The spacing requirements for most vegetables are usually found on the seed packet or you can find them in gardening resource books. Once the seeds have sprouted, you can thin the plants to the desired number suitable to the container.

Fill containers with peat moss and a suitable potting mix. Compost or manure should be worked in to achieve healthier plant growth. Do not add more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer; however, doing so can burn the plants.

Where to Put Your Container Vegetable Garden

Once you have taken care of the basics, you’ll have to decide where to place your container garden. You want to situate the containers in an area that is close to a water source with sufficient sunlight, usually at least five hours. Excessive wind can quickly dry container plants out, so you should consider this factor as well when choosing a site.

Set the larger pots furthest back or in the center, if your design permits, with the medium-sized containers placed in front or around the larger ones. Always place the smallest containers in the very front.

With containers, there is also the option of growing vegetables in windowsills or hanging baskets that can be placed right on the porch or balcony. Ornamental peppers and cherry tomatoes look good in hanging baskets, as do trailing plants such as the sweet potato vine. Keep them watered daily; however, since hanging baskets are more prone to drying out, especially during hot spells.

Watering Container Gardening Vegetables

Generally, you should water container plants every few days unless it is quite hot; more frequent watering will then be required. Check containers at least once a day and feel the soil to determine whether or not it is damp. You also might consider sitting containers on trays or lids. Doing so will help retain moisture by holding excess water and allowing the roots to slowly pull it up as needed.

Check these plants often to make sure that they are not continually sitting in water. If sitting water becomes a problem, fill the trays with some type of mulching material, such as chips, to help soak it up.

Apply water with a watering can or sprayer attachment on a garden hose. Also, check that the water is reasonably cool beforehand, as hot water may cause damage to root development. During the hottest part of the day or when severe weather is expected, you can move the containers for additional protection.

How to make a mobile garden

A mobile garden or flower garden is a great idea if you don't have a separate piece of land. With a compact format for growing plants, the fight against diseases and pests is simplified. At the same time, compositions from containers and pots will decorate the patio, veranda or balcony.

Mobile garden or flower garden

A mobile container garden can be set up outdoors, on a terrace or even on a balcony. For plants, choose plastic or galvanized containers. In this case, the harvest on a huge scale cannot be harvested, but fresh vegetables or herbs will always be on the dining table. Flowers grown in mobile containers will decorate any landscape.

The device will need containers with trays that are needed to collect water. The substrate can be prepared independently or you can buy a ready-made mixture in the store. For growing crops in a limited space, vegetable varieties with a compact root system are chosen. It is also worth considering the location of the containers, as different types of plants in the open field and on the terrace require a different approach.

Portable garden or garden

For a portable mobile garden or vegetable garden, any containers and tanks will be useful. These can be old clay or plastic pots, barrels, tubs, jugs, vases, or even chest of drawers. The larger and taller the plant, the more space there should be in the container. Another prerequisite is the device for water disposal and drainage. It is necessary to establish a water drainage system, and subsequently make sure that it is not clogged with soil or debris.

The most unpretentious and easy to grow are vegetables and flowers. The small size allows them to feel comfortable in a limited space, which cannot be said about fruit plants. For container growing, slow-growing columnar varieties, dwarf trees and small berry bushes are chosen.

For each variety, select a specific soil mixture or use a universal one. Each plant has its own requirements for light and humidity. It is better to collect plants that have similar needs in one area. This will turn out a more integral composition and you will not have to arrange separate conditions for each vegetable or fruit.

A general requirement for all plant species is the renewal of the topsoil. In the spring, a layer of soil is removed and a new mixture is added. Shrubs and mini-trees are transplanted into larger containers every 3-4 years. For the winter, garden containers are insulated - then the plants will be able to stand outdoors until spring.

Mobile box garden

Bed boxes can be made of wood, metal, concrete, plastic, wicker or a combination of materials. Before you make or buy boxes, you need to decide on the plants for growing. Different varieties and types of plants perceive light, humidity and limited space in different ways.

Plastic or vinyl planter beds can affect the composition of the soil, over time it leaches and reduces fertility. The most environmentally friendly are boxes made of wood or vines. They can be made independently from improvised materials, old furniture or pallets. The tree must be treated before use, otherwise the wood will get wet and the beds will collapse. For processing, use copper sulfate, instead of chemical impregnations.

Portable plastic bag garden

The most budgetary and mobile way of growing garden crops is beds made of plastic bags. Plants are not threatened by any pests with this method of cultivation, neither weeds nor heat. For inexperienced gardeners and gardeners, ready-made soil mixtures in bags can be purchased at the store.

A pre-planned planting plan will simplify the choice of substrate. The standard dimensions of a polyethylene container are 35x95 cm. This space is enough for 2-3 medium-sized plants. Shallow rooted plants are best off cutting off the top of the bag to create a tub. It can be cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers or zucchini.

For root crops, the bag is best used in a horizontal position. When growing different types of plants, make holes in height at different levels. This will be especially true for climbing vines. When self-filling the bags with the substrate, it is necessary to remember about the water drainage device and the expanded clay drainage layer.

Creating vertical beds

The vertical way of growing vegetables and flowers saves space and beautifies the garden. Such a bed can be hung on any surface, whether it is a wall of a country house, a fence or a veranda railing. A less time-consuming method of device is the purchase of ready-made systems. However, these designs are not cheap.

To save the family budget, the beds can be arranged independently. On a vertical surface, mount metal fasteners on which to place containers with plants. These can be ordinary clay pots, bottles, PVC pipes or boxes. Wooden pallets, placed up along the wall, can become the basis for creating beds.

Tanks for growing vegetables and herbs must have gutters to drain excess water and a drainage bottom layer. Ready soil mixture will help competent arrangement of beds. In this design, a variety of greens grows well. The main advantage of the vertical device is its mobility. The beds can be arranged even on an ordinary city balcony.

When the containers are in place, the drainage system and drainage system are installed, care must be taken to ensure the correct proximity of plants and flowers. Some crops cannot exist in the same bed or even in adjacent boxes. With the long existence of the garden, it is better to remember the rules of crop rotation in order to get the maximum yield of vegetables and herbs every year.

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from annuals to exotic trees — Botanichka

A container garden is a great way to diversify a flower bed, “revive” a balcony and terrace with greenery and bright colors, or simply create a stylish cozy corner on your site that you can it will be easy to update according to the mood, because the key advantage of such a garden is flexible design. And besides, a container garden is not at all difficult to create with your own hands. In today's article, we'll show you how to do it.

A container garden is not difficult to create with your own hands

An infinite number of solutions

There is an opinion that perhaps the only option for a container garden is flowerpots with petunias or other annual plants placed around the site. This is not entirely true: in fact, design solutions for such a garden are almost endless.

For example, containerized plants can be used to create a "green space" on a terrace, porch or balcony. You can arrange containers with small trees on the floor - for example, fragrant juniper or dwarf apple trees, decorate racks with bright dahlias and begonias, or even make an entire wall of flowers using special stands for vertical gardening. Your relaxation area will become brighter and more comfortable, and you can enjoy morning coffee or evening gatherings with friends in a real “home garden”.

Nothing prevents you from decorating with plants in containers and a recreation area on the site - graceful Japanese maples or charming dwarf pines, flowerpots with compositions of succulents or herbs will turn your countryside vacation into a true aesthetic pleasure.

It is also a good idea to create a "modular" flower garden on a lawn or gravel path. Well-chosen containers in combination with luxurious rose bushes or playful pansies will make your site truly unusual!

Containers with plants can also come to the rescue if there are "gaps" in the flower garden on your site - for example, sunny tulips or fragile daffodils that pleased you in the spring, faded by the beginning of summer and left behind a free area in the flower bed or in the mixborder. In this case, a flowerpot with romantic lavender or a container with a small tangerine tree will not only hide the empty space, but also enliven the composition.

Speaking of spring plants, delicate hyacinths or crocuses can be planted in planters or flowerpots before the start of the summer season, and then decorate a porch, porch or gazebo with them. Since the soil in containers warms up a little faster, your spring garden will bloom with the earliest primroses even before the ground on the site is suitable for planting. True, it is worth remembering about spring frosts - at night such containers need to be hidden from the cold in a warm room.

Container gardens, well-chosen in style, will make your site truly unusual

Pros and cons of container gardens

Like many solutions for a flower garden, container gardens have both undeniable advantages and small pitfalls that you need to be prepared for .

The advantages of such a garden are many:

Container gardens have both undeniable advantages and small "pitfalls"

As for the possible difficulties that a container garden owner may face, there are only two of them:

How to create a container garden: step-by-step instructions

What your garden will look like depends primarily on your desire and imagination. But the path to your unique flower corner will be easier and more convenient if you follow simple general guidelines.

Step 1. Arrange and select plants

Creating a container garden is best started with a plan. If you have no landscape design experience, there are three key elements that can help you create a win-win composition:

You can and should play with colors and contrasts, combine plants of different heights and containers of different shapes and sizes. Just do not overdo it: the composition should obey the style you have chosen.

Also, many landscape designers recommend that you first draw a plan for the future garden on paper - this way it will be easier for you to evaluate the idea and think over the necessary elements.

And don't be afraid to make a mistake, because one of the main features of a container garden is its modular design. Sometimes it is enough to slightly move or swap a couple of flowerpots so that the composition sparkles with new colors.

Which plants are best for a container garden? Almost any! The main thing is that you are ready to provide them with the necessary care. Otherwise, your choice is practically unlimited. You can make a composition of quivering flowering annuals in pastel shades, or you can give preference to luxurious roses of noble shades. You can arrange an original composition of cacti and succulents, or you can arrange real tropics with banana trees and exotic flowers in your garden.

What plants are best for a container garden? Almost any!

Step 2. Find the right containers

Of course, the design of the container must fit in with the general idea of ​​your garden and be combined with the style of the site. For example, cozy clay pots with flowers and climbing plants will look great on the veranda of a country-style house, elegant marble flowerpots are ideal for an English-style mini-park, and if you decide to arrange an exotic garden on your site, where they will “settle” luxurious palm trees and bright orchids, then the containers can be decorated in the original "tropical" style.

It is also worth remembering that the volume of the container should correspond to the plants you are going to plant: trees, like other plants with a large root system, will be uncomfortable in cramped, unsuitable flowerpots or boxes. As a general rule, containers with a diameter of at least 30 cm are recommended for annuals and at least 40 cm for perennials. If you got a container without holes, you need to make them yourself.

Containers differ not only in volume and appearance, but also in the materials from which they are made. As a rule, gardeners choose ceramic, wooden, metal or plastic containers. The amount of drainage material you need when planting depends on the material of the container.

Containers differ not only in volume and appearance, but also in materials

Step 3. Planting plants

It is recommended to plant plants in containers in early spring. To begin with, at the bottom of the container you have chosen, you need to lay a drainage layer - expanded clay or crushed stone, which will provide your garden with a comfortable moisture regime. As already mentioned, the amount of drainage depends on the material of the container.

If you have chosen ceramic containers, a small layer of drainage will suffice, on top of which soil can be laid. In wooden boxes, it is necessary to lay a layer of washed river sand about 2 cm thick on top of the drainage, and only after that fertile soil can be added. For metal and plastic containers, a significant drainage layer will be required (in metal flowerpots or planters, it should occupy up to 1/3 of the volume of the container), on top of which a layer of river sand is laid. In addition, it is recommended to use light soils in such containers, and metal containers must be removed to a warm room during cold snaps - they will not be able to protect the root system of plants from temperature changes.

Soil must be laid over the drainage layer. It should be suitable for the plants that you plan to plant, as different varieties require different levels of density, acidity and some other soil characteristics. In addition, the balance of essential nutrients may vary slightly.

Nutrient soil "Flower Paradise" universal

To avoid difficulties with the selection and preparation of soil, you can use ready-made mixtures - for example, completely ready-to-use soil "Flower Paradise universal". With a perfectly balanced micronutrient complex, it will ensure a successful settling and excellent flowering for any flowers you decide to plant in your container garden.

And if you decide in advance to give preference to a certain type of plant, then the best solution would be to use specialized ready-made soils from the Flower Paradise series. Depending on your plans, you can purchase soil for roses, begonias and chrysanthemums, nutrient soil for azaleas, heather and rhododendrons, or soil for violets and primroses, which is also suitable for planting irises, cyclamen and saffron. And if you are a lover of the exotic, then you will have at your disposal a nutrient soil for palms, ficuses, yuccas and dracaena, a substrate for orchids, and for the most daring and original ones, a soil for cacti and succulents. The main thing to remember is that the right soil is the best way to take care of the plants and ensure their full development, and your container garden - a truly blooming look.

If you decide to prepare the soil yourself, then peat can be an excellent soil improver - it enriches the soil with nutrients, improves its structure, increases moisture and air permeability, and also promotes plant growth. Depending on the characteristics of the soil and the needs of the plant varieties you have chosen, you may need high or low peat. Purchasing ready-made peat from trusted manufacturers will not only save you time by eliminating the need to independently evaluate the characteristics of the substrate, but also provide reliable components for soil preparation.

It is also useful to add starter fertilizers when preparing the soil, which will support the inhabitants of your container garden at first. The most essential trace minerals for most plants will be sodium, potassium and phosphorus, but other nutrients should not be forgotten.

To avoid difficulties with the selection of proportions of trace elements, it is recommended to use ready-made complex fertilizers. For example, granulated organomineral fertilizers "For landscape" and "For flowers" based on lowland peat - a natural source of humic substances - are enriched with mineral elements fixed in organic granules, which prevents them from washing out and turns such fertilizer into a real "pantry" of nutrients. In addition, these fertilizers contain beneficial bacteria that protect the root system of plants, as well as process soil minerals and make soil phosphorus and potassium available through the release of enzymes.

When the soil is ready, you can start planting. During planting, it is recommended to prune the tap roots - usually they are shortened by 1/3 or 1/4 to stimulate the growth of lateral suction roots. In addition, it is important when planting to monitor the position of the root neck when planting plants - in order not to make a mistake, check the rules for planting your chosen variety.

OMU - organic fertilizer series

Step 4. Surround the garden with care

As already mentioned, plants in a container garden require special attention, as the soil dries out quickly and the supply of nutrients is depleted. Therefore, watering plants in containers should be plentiful and daily. And if you have chosen moisture-loving varieties, then you will need to water them up to 2 - 3 times a day.

However, when loosening plants in containers, be very careful, as there is a risk of damaging the numerous lateral roots. Therefore, it is recommended to limit yourself to light surface loosening.

So that your garden does not suffer from a lack of nutrients, it is important to take care of timely feeding: each plant must be provided with the organic fertilizers and microelements it needs.

For this it is very convenient to use complex liquid or water-soluble fertilizers: they contain a specially selected and balanced complex of essential nutrients, and they can be applied together with irrigation or by spraying.

Complex fertilizers Aquarin "Landscape" and OMU "For landscape" Elite

For example, complex water-soluble fertilizer Aquarin "Landscape" is a universal product that is perfect for foliar feeding of ornamental trees, shrubs, as well as many other annual and perennial plants. In addition to iron, magnesium, zinc and other components necessary for plants, its composition also includes chelated microelements that are easily absorbed by plants, and also protect against chlorosis and microelement deficiency. Succinic acid in the composition of the Aquarin "Landscape" fertilizer normalizes the soil microflora, stimulates root formation (which is especially valuable when transplanting into a new container!), Accelerates plant growth and increases resistance to drought, waterlogging, frost and pesticide treatments.

Another useful product is the Aquamix liquid microelement complex. Boron, iron, copper, magnesium, molybdenum and organic salts - chelates - in its composition are selected in physiologically adjusted proportions, which greatly simplifies feeding: you do not have to select nutrients separately, and your plants will be protected from their excessive application. Such a balanced composition promotes the absorption of nutrients, stimulates plant growth, protects against diseases, drought and cold weather.

Mineral fertilizers for ornamental plants and landscaping

And if there are not many containers, then a liquid complex fertilizer "Magic Watering Can" will be an excellent simple solution for top dressing. This top dressing will relieve you of the need to select individually the trace elements that your flowers and trees need. "Magic watering can" contains iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, organic salts and a number of other nutrients that help stimulate the development of plants in all phases of growth, as well as increase resistance to adverse environmental conditions. In addition, this complex liquid fertilizer has a fast visible effect: the garden of your dreams will not be long in coming!

However, in addition to regular fertilizing, experts also recommend replacing the earthen ball annually to keep the soil in containers fertile.

But nutrients are not everything. We must not forget about regular treatment for diseases and parasites - spraying should be carried out at the first sign of disease or "intruders".

Container gardens are an endless source of inspiration

In addition, regular sanitary pruning of trees and shrubs planted in containers is important. Timely disposal of unnecessary branches will not only support the well-being of plants, but also preserve their decorative appearance.

Also, do not forget that heat-loving and perennial plants must be removed during the cold season in a warm room, so that next spring they can again become a decoration of your site.

Container gardens are a never-ending source of inspiration and an easy and affordable way to spice up your yard, balcony or seating area. One has only to make a little effort - and noble irises in elegant flowerpots, bold saffrons in hanging pots or exotic trees in containers decorated with bamboo stems will make your garden truly unique.


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