Container Gardening for Vegetables

Plants in pots are like animals in a zoo--they're totally dependent on their keepers.
quote by John Van de Water

Container vegetable gardening (sometimes also known as urban gardening or patio gardening) basically involves growing your vegetables in pots. It is a perfect endeavor for garden lovers who live in an apartment, condominium, townhome, or otherwise have no significant gardening space. Also, it's a good fix for those who enjoy gardening, but just don't have much time for the hobby.

The only real requirement for container gardening is that you have an area with plenty of sunlight.  Position your planters or pots in a very sunny (or partially sunny) location.

You can use any variety of items for containers, depending upon how functional they are and how attractive you want them to be.  Window boxes, hanging planters, and decorative pots make aesthetically pleasing planters.  More budget friendly gardening containers might include: nursery containers, terra cotta pots, ceramic tubs or pots, even plastic buckets (just make sure they have adequate holes in the bottom for drainage).

Regardless of the type of container you use, make sure that it's not one that contains harmful chemicals that can leach into your plant's soil. You certainly don't want those chemicals to end up in your family's vegetables!

Note:  Plastic pots do not dry out as quickly as clay ones.

If you live in a hot summer location, try to use light colored pots for your container garden. This will help prevent your plants from baking in the sun! 

On the other hand, if you live in a colder gardening climate, try to use dark colored pots for your container garden. These will absorb heat and may help extend your growing season. 

Choose a light planting soil, and consider mixing vermiculite, perlite or peat moss. This will help with drainage, and also keep the garden soil from clumping. 

Gardening Advice Tip: Test the pH level of your potting soil to make sure it's in line with your plant's needs. 

Slow release fertilizers are generally recommended for container gardening to keep your vegetable plants fed throughout the season. Or, if you plan to use more natural or organic forms of fertilizers, you will need to fertilize your plants (generally) once a month during the growing season.

Pitfall:  Soil in pots tends to dry out very quickly.  You will need to offer your plants a light watering daily.  Be sure to apply a layer of mulch* on top of the soil in your pots (containers), as this will help keep the plant's roots cooler and the water from evaporating quite so quickly.

*Don’t use mulch on your lettuce or leafy crops… it tends to cause them to rot.

Note: When selecting plants or seeds for your container garden, try to pick ones that have a shorter growing period.

Plants, fruits and vegetables that tend to be successful in a container gardening environment:

 

Tips from our readers..
Have a helpful hint to share?  Send it to: gardeningtips@howtogardenadvice.com

Kyle from NY City & his grandma Diane had great fun growing this pumpkin plant indoors as a container plant!

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Nancy from Cincinnati, OH  says….
My patio space doesn’t get as much sunlight as I’d like for gardening.  So, I put some decorative mirrors up in a few strategic places around the patio to increase the level of sunlight.  Then, to make the mirrors look more like patio decorations, I used climbing and hanging plants near them to help them blend in.  It makes a lovely environment for summer entertaining and I’ve actually had a lot of compliments them!

 

Other articles on Container Vegetable Gardening:

Helpful link with container size chart for different vegetables:  http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/ContainerVeggie.htm

http://gardening.about.com/od/gardendesign/tp/ContainerGarden.htm

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