If you don't have room for a garden, or
only want to grow a few vegetables, planting in containers is a great
option. You can grow many types of vegetables in containers, and because
they are usually close at hand, they tend to get more attention than
plants out in the garden.
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The Larger the Pot, the Better
When selecting a container, remember that bigger is better as far as
ease of maintenance and size of harvest. Half whiskey or wine barrels or
large faux terra-cotta containers are big enough to accommodate
vegetables such as indeterminate tomatoes, eggplant, and squash, with
room to spare for companion plantings of smaller veggies such as carrots
and lettuce. Five-gallon containers can hold cherry tomatoes, peppers,
beans, and many small leafy greens. A window box is even large enough to
grow radishes and arugula.
Tending Container Plants
For proper drainage, containers need to have holes in the bottom.
Also, use only sterilized potting mix because garden soil may contain
diseases and may not be well draining. Be sure to monitor the soil
moisture frequently, and water whenever it's dry 2 to 4 inches deep. Or
use self-watering containers that have a water reservoir in the bottom.
These allow you to go for a week or more without watering.
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Fertilize every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer for
vegetables, or add controlled-release fertilizer at planting time and
supplement with a water-soluble fertilizer when needed. Check the
fertilizer requirements of the particular vegetables you're growing. In
large containers, mulch the surface with wood chips or cocoa hull mulch
to conserve moisture.
Plant Combinations
Containers allow you to group plants together that are both edible
and attractive. For example, try creating a salad container with
different colors of leaf lettuce, a bush cucumber, a dwarf patio-type
tomato, and even herbs such as parsley. Or how about a tomato sauce
barrel with a tomato plant in the center, herbs such as oregano and
basil on the sides, and onions intermingled? Or try a root crop
container with beets, carrots, radishes, onions, and parsnips in a
foot-deep container. And whenever possible, add some edible flowers such
as pansies or nasturtiums or violets to liven things up.
You can grow bush types of plants such as squash and beans, or plant
the vining types and grow vertically by using a trellis. This leaves
space in the front to plant other vegetables. Don't hesitate to refresh
the planting once certain vegetables are done producing to get the most
out of the growing area.
