Container vegetable gardening
Nothing tastes better than homegrown vegetables picked fresh from your garden. Every time our family eats something we've grown in our container vegetable garden one of my kids says, "This is the best (onion, tomato, green bean, cucumber, etc) I've ever tasted." It's become a family ritual to say it and everyone laughs, but there is a certain satisfaction you gain from growing, harvesting, and eating food you've worked to produce.
Get your feet wet
Container vegetable gardening is especially fun for families to work on together. Planting a few vegetables in a container is not nearly as daunting as a huge patch of soil to work with! Container vegetable gardening is a great way to get your feet wet--to try growing something you love to eat. Plus, many families want to raise fresh vegetables but are limited by insufficient space or unsuitable areas. A window sill, a patio, a balcony or front porch will provide enough space for a productive mini-garden.
What works best
Almost any vegetable that grows in a typical backyard garden will also grow in a container. Variety selection is extremely important to container vegetable gardening. As you might guess, the mini or pixie varieties work best in container gardens. For example a small fruited tomato can even be grown in a hanging basket.
Here is a list of vegetables that are ideally suited to containers:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Eggplant
- Green onions
- Bush beans
- Lettuce
- Squash
- Radishes
- Cucumbers
Pick a container
Believe it or not, almost any type of container can be used for growing vegetables. Try using bushel baskets, terra cotta pots, drums, gallon cans, tubs or wooden boxes. The size of the container depends on the space available and the type of vegetables you want to produce. A good rule of thumb is:
- Use pots from 6 to 10 inches in size to plant green onion, parsley, and herbs.
- Use 5-gallon containers for most vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.
Adequate drainage
Regardless of the type or size of container, adequate drainage and the type of soil used are the important things. It's important to add about 1 inch of coarse gravel in the bottom of the container to improve drainage. Drain holes are best located on the side of a container, about 1/2-inch from the bottom.
Soil mixes
Synthetic soils are best suited for vegetable container gardening. These mixes can be composed of wood chips, grass clippings, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, or almost any other type of media. Just make sure the mixture used in your container garden is free of disease and weed seeds and holds moisture and nutrients but drains well and is lightweight. There are many synthetic soil varieties available at your local garden center, or you may choose to mix one yourself.
Don't forget the fertilizer
A good fertilizer is also important. The easiest way to add fertilizer to vegetables growing in containers is by preparing a nutrient solution and pouring it over the soil. There are many good commercial fertilizers available that can be used by simply mixing them with water in a watering can.
Water, water, water
Watering is essential for a successful container garden. Generally watering plants once a day is adequate. However, if you have poor drainage over-watering will slowly kill plants. The soil mix will become water-logged and plants will die. If at all possible, avoid getting the foliage wet. Wet leaves will encourage plant diseases.
Where's the sun?
Nearly all vegetable plants grow better in full sunlight. One advantage to container vegetable gardening is mobility. Using containers make it possible to position the vegetables in areas where they can receive the best possible growing conditions. However, there are some vegetables that can stand more shade than others:
- Leafy crops like lettuce, cabbage, greens, spinach and parsley can tolerate more shade than root crops.
- Root crops like radishes, beets, turnips, and onions can stand more shade than fruit bearers.
- Fruit bearers like cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant need the most sun.
Enjoy the harvest
Harvesting and serving the vegetables you grow makes all the work worthwhile. To enjoy vegetables at their peak of maturity, look at the seed packet or other growing information to find the number of days from seeding to harvest. Then maybe you'll hear, "That's the best we've ever tasted," at your dinner table too!