Tips for Vegetable Container Gardening

Vegetable container gardening is one of the most productive ways to use outdoor space.  Vegetable container gardening can be done in any space such as a patio, deck steps, or even just a window sill.  One of the benefits of vegetable container gardening, aside from the chance to enjoy fresh produce, is freedom from weeding chores.  In this post, we provide you with some tips for vegetable container gardening.

What to Plant

The success of your vegetable container gardening efforts largely depends on your choice of crops.  You need to identify which types of vegetables are suitable given your climate and the size of your containers.  There are many types of vegetables that can grow well in containers.  Samples of these include: tomatoes, eggplant, pepper, beans, lettuce, radishes, squash and parsley.  You can also choose to plant large and trailing vegetables like cabbage and cucumber, as long as you remember that they will need more space than other plants.  There are also certain varieties that are bred to grow smaller than average such as red cherry peppers, pixie tomatoes and Bonanza broccoli.  The beauty of planting in containers is the ability to move them at will, so that you can control the amount of sunlight or rain that they are exposed to.

Where to Plant Them

Vegetable containers can be made of a variety of material.  They don’t need to be specially purchased; look around the house for what you already have such as old ice cream gallon containers, or cracked plastic buckets that you no longer use.  Wicker baskets, metal tubs, and even an old children’s wagon can be put to good use as vegetable container planters.  Just make sure that there are holes at the bottom of the container so that excess water can drain.  And do not overcrowd too many plants in one container since their roots need room to grow.

What to Plant Them In

Unless your ground soil is sandy soil or sandy loam, using earth straight from outside your house is not well suited for vegetable container gardening since it is too heavy.  You will need to use a good potting soil that is more lightweight and with good drainage.  You can simply buy some potting soil from your neighborhood gardening supplier or you can create your own by mixing in some peat moss, limestone and fertilizer.  Depending on the texture that you end up with, you can add some sand and compost as needed.  Just remember to break up any clods and aerate before transferring to your vegetable container gardening.