Container Gardening Plants
Container gardening plants will grow in most of your larger containers. Most vegetable plants can be grown in a container. There are just a few of the larger ones that are not suitable for this. As their are an endless number of shapes and sizes of vegetable, you have a huge variety to choose from.
You will need at least a 5 gallon container for the below container gardening plants. If you are using a 15 gallon container you can put 2 plants per container. Lack of an adequate outdoor space is really no excuse not to grow your own vegetables.
Choose your plants with care and check out the seed catalogs for some colorful ones to add some sense of elegance to your garden. You can pick out your variety for just the product you get from them or by mixing it up you can add color to the area.
Popular Plants
Some of the most popular plants to grow in containers and sources to buy from are:
- Beans – Beans for the most part are green with not a lot of variety as to color. Pick your favorite and mostly get them in a container. Some will need to be staked so plan for that.
- Beets – Pick these for either their leaves or tubers. Some have a purple leaf and a couple can have an off-yellow color or a regular green leaf.
- Broccoli – The Romanesco has some yellow-green in it and the Purple Cauliflower might be available.
- Brussels Sprouts – Pretty much all green varieties with tight heads.
- Cabbage – There are several mini’s to choose from. Colors from green to light blue to purple.
- Chinese Cabbage – Not a lot of varieties to chose from. There is a nice green one with white undersides that is nice looking.
- Carrot – All carrots have green leaves. Pick the smaller varieties for containers works well. There are purple, white, yellow and orange tubers though. Gormet carrots may be nice to plant in containers for something different and a conversation starter.
- Eggplant – These are truly in a place of their own. A huge variety of colors and sizes.
- Lettuce – Butterhead has loose heads while Crisphead/Iceberg has nice tight heads. Romaine has leaves that grow long with a thick spine in the center. Some varities have a little purple coloring to them.
- Onion – There is not a terrible lot of difference in onions. You either choose them for their leaves or their bulbs.
- Pepper – These come in a huge variety. From giant ones to mini and all the colors of the rainbow.
- Radish – With green leaves you have a rather large variety of tubers. Skinny and long or round. Colors are from red, white to black.
- Spinach – Savoy has dark green, crinkly leaves, the Flat/smooth one has large broad leaves and the Semi-savoy has slightly crinkled leaves.
- Squash – These large vines are very colorful with their yellow flowers and fruit. You should enjoy at least one plant for the season.
- Tomato – Being the most popular vegetable by far, their is a huge variety of cultivars to chose from. Find your favorites and go for it.
As you can see, pick your favorite container gardening plants and by mixing the varieties you can either accent or add contrast to the area you grow them in. There are just a few plants that are hard to grow in containers. Melons, potatoes, okra and corn are a few that come to mind. Of course with the right container and care, you could grow them also but it will take a lot of work.
Dwarf Plants
These are being bred more and more. They produce more product in a smaller place and give a great area/product ratio. Check and see if your favorite vegetable has a dwarf variety.
Container Size
Using six inch containers about eigth inches deep will work with a lot of plants. Carrots will need a deeper container of about 12 inches. The bigger your container the less need to water and the healthier plant you have as their is more room for their roots.
Types of Containers
You can use almost anything that is foodsafe. Any barrel, tub or containers specifically made for plants can be used. Most likely you have something around the house not being used now that will work. Hydroponics is another way you could container vegetable garden, but alas I have no experience at that yet.
Self Watering Container Gardening
These are excellent products nowdays. A lot of them have a gauge or stick that shows you how much water is in the bottom of the container. You have to add water every once in awhile. When starting your container gardening plants, of course you need to water the plants until the roots reach the water in the bottom.
Self Watering Container Gardening
Homemade Containers
You can make your own self-watering container by using some sort of mesh material for the bottom and a tube to reach from the top of it to the bottom. I’m fixing to make one out of some leftover aquarium supplies. I’ll get pictures up soon and let you know how it works out and which container gardening plants work out.
Container Gardening Plants Soil
Use some of the soil-less or indoor potting soil. You don’t want to use dirt that you have gotten from outside due to it not being very good for the small area that you’ll be using. The soil-less potting mix also is usually sterilized so you start with a disease free mixture.
Make your own soil if you want by mixing equal parts of sand, loamy garden soil and peat moss. When making your own, mix it up and then bake it in an oven for about an hour at 210° to kill all bacteria, fungi, weed and seeds in it. This way you can start with a fresh, disease free soil that your container gardening plants will love.
Fertilizer
You will need to fertilize your plants a lot. Check on each plant for the right type of fertilizer. A good 10-10-10 one will work just as well. Using a water-soluble fertilizer and adding it in every other time you water will work. Just don’t add too much at one time.
Vegetable Garden Fertilizer – Read More!
Water
This is one of your biggest concerns when growing container gardening plants. You need to ensure that they get plenty of water and the soil is always moist but not soaking. Using a moisture meter is the best way to check for how wet your container soil is.
Drainage
Make sure that every container you use has some sort of drain hole(s) so that excess water can get out. Setting your container on a solid surface may plug up the holes if they are in the bottom. Get a couple pieces of wood or one of the container pads to sit it on so it can drain. It is almost impossible to gauge how much water is in the bottom of your container unless it is clear and you can see it. Use some sort of drain pad underneath your container so that the excess water doesn’t make a mess on your floor if you are inside. Too much water is bad for your container gardening plants.
Vegetable Container Plant Videos
Other Links of Interest!
