Growing Vegetables In Containers

Growing vegetables in containers is also handy if you live in a rented property and do not want to leave your home grown produce behind at the end of your rental period.

Here are some tips and ideas for growing a potted vegetable garden.

First thing to consider is sun. Vegetables can handle full sun when they are planted in a yard, but when growing vegetables in containers, they will tend to dry out faster. This means that you will need to water more often, possibly everyday in summer.

If you have high walls around your patio, particularly if they are painted white, they will intensify the heat for the plants as they reflect the sun off them. The best way to handle this is buy a can of outdoor forest green paint and paint the courtyard walls green. (Obviously you will need permission if you are living in a rental.)

The next thing to consider is space. While it is better to grow vegetables in containers that do not have deep root systems you can grow certain root crops in large deep containers. So when choosing containers for your potted vegetable garden take into consideration the root system of the plant as well as how much space you can devote to containers.

Don't only think horizontally - think vertical too! Growing vegetables in containers is not only limited to the ground. Tomatoes can successfully be grown hanging from an eve - yes...upside down. You can also grow hanging baskets of strawberries . Climber beans, peas and cucumbers can all grow on a trellis up a wall. All pots need good drainage chips placed at the bottom of them as well as a good quality potting soil mix to begin with. Try to find an organic potting soil mix for healthier veggies.

Then let's talk a little about types of vegetables that you want to grow in pots. Beginner veggie growers tend to plan too big. They have visions of bountiful harvests of all sorts of crops. The most important rule about growing vegetables in a small space is to only grow what you like to eat. If you can't stomach aubergine, then don't grow it! Makes sense, doesn't it?

Lastly, you will need to consider a feeding regime for your potted vegetable garden. A plant will use up the nutrients from the soil much faster and you need to replace those nutrients for the plant. There are a few ways to do this.

The cheapest way in the long run, though not on set up, is to start a womery. There are sites on the web that will tell you how to make a DIY wormery, but we found it simplest and most time efficient to buy Can-O-Worms and get started straight away.

Take a look at the link provided in the right hand margin for more on this wormery for your vegetable garden.

With your wormery you will be implementing two simple green living principles at once - composting and dealing with waste. The Can-O-Worms takes up very little space and has no smell when you are working with it properly.

You will be able to take off liquid feed to use in your potted vegetable garden. This will save you money in the long run as you will not need to buy a liquid feed ever.

Best choice for growing vegetables in containers:

~Herbs (they don't like "wet feet" though so do not over water)
~Climbing beans (will need 3 bamboo stakes to make a teepee)
~Beetroot
~Broccoli
~Cabbage (harvested as small head)
~Cucumber (needs a trellis)
~Egg plant (good grow bag candidate)
~Lettuce (works well in long troughs)
~Peas (needs a trellis)
~Peppers and chillies
~Radish
~Spinach (troughs)
~Cherry tomatoes (will need to be staked)
~Potatoes (baby potatoes can be grown in old tyres or deep pots)

Growing vegetables by seed takes much longer, so if you can buy organic vegetable seedlings, start off like that rather for a faster yield.

Remember, just like in an ordinary vegetable patch, you need to rotate your vegetables and do not grow them over again and again in the same pot and soil. Also remember that peas and beans replace much needed nitrogen in the soil so it is always a good idea to plant them after you have harvested a heavy feeder type plant.

For more information on growing specific types of vegetables, please look at my how to grow vegetables index.