Vegetable container gardening

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

You can be a gardener even if you do not have a garden as I have talked about container gardening in the past. Almost any plant can be grown in a container, but most people do not realize that vegetables can be grown in containers instead of a garden in the ground. Almost every vegetable can be grown in a container with about the only exception being corn. There are a variety of containers available on the market today so you can choose one suited specifically to the vegetables you want to grow.
There are many advantages to container gardening that you may not have realized. Containers, once planted are quite easy to care for. They do need more watering and fertilizing than a conventional garden but the time spent caring for vegetables in a container is much less than if you had an in-ground garden. Vegetable container gardening takes up less room than a conventional vegetable garden. You can also place the containers anywhere. If you only have a porch or balcony you can place them there, or in the very best light conditions or you can grow vegetables in container, place the containers in your perennial flowerbed. This will add landscape interest and texture to your perennial bed, you will still enjoy vegetables but you haven’t disturbed your perennials. Container gardens are portable, albeit some may be heavy and difficult to move but for the most part they are portable. This can be handy, if you want to chase the sun around your property during the day, move the pots to a sheltered area as severe weather approaches or you can start your ‘garden’ in town in the spring and then when you move ‘up the lake’ for the summer you can take your garden with you. Many people who live on the lake have tough growing conditions in their yards, either too much rock, little to no soil or too many trees. Container gardening can provide them with fresh vegetables without having to contend with the tough conditions. You can plant container gardens much earlier in the spring than an in-ground garden so you can harvest vegetables much sooner than the conventional gardener. You can even enjoy growing vegetables indoors during the winter months if you have the room or a greenhouse, sunroom or other favourable conditions in your house. The other great thing about vegetable container gardening is that it can be adapted for anyone because the workload for caring for these is much less. Containers can be placed so they are wheelchair accessible, or so the person doesn’t have to bend over or can sit down on a stool or chair to care for them. The containers usually do not need weeding and if they need any grooming it will only take a few minutes as opposed to hours in a large garden. As you can see there is almost no reason not to try growing vegetables in containers. Another thing that may surprise you is that vegetables look great when they are growing in containers. All the neighbours will be coming over to find out where you got those exotic plants growing in your planters.
Regardless of the container you choose for the vegetable listed below, the care for the containers is the same. Soil is a very important part of setting up your container garden, as it is important to choose the right soil in order to guarantee your success through the whole growing season. Do not use the soil from your already established garden as this soil tends to compact over time in a container garden limiting the growing room for the roots of the plants, as well as, it can contain weeds and disease organisms that you cannot see. You must purchase a potting mix in a bag suited to container gardening. You can choose a formula called patio mix, container mix or soil-less mix. These formulas are relatively the same and are designed to not compact when used in a container. These soils should say they are sterilized on the bag to prevent disease and my come with or without fertilizer added. You will have to fertilize container gardens regularly throughout the season regardless of whether you buy a soil mixture with or without fertilizer so either formula will work. Before adding the soil to your container, place a piece of window screen, a coffee filter, nylon pantyhose or a few rocks over the drainage holes to prevent the soil from washing out. If your container is too large for the vegetable that you want to plant you can add foam packing peanuts or bark mulch in the bottom of the container before adding soil so you do not have to fill the whole container with soil. This also makes the planter much lighter if you have to move it around.
Fertilize regularly. Because the amount of soil a plant can use is limited by the size of the container, the soil in a container garden loses nutrients very quickly. By a good a quality fertilizer with a high middle number, phosphorus, for container gardens (10-20-10) which is often called ‘flowering plant fertilizer’ if you have trouble finding a good fertilizer that you can mix with water with a high middle number you can settle for an all purpose fertilizer (20-20-20). It is very important to follow the directions carefully on the package. There will be directions on the label specifically for container gardens so mix your fertilizer with water following these instructions. Less is more with fertilizer so be careful not to over fertilize. Follow the suggestions on the package for a watering/fertilizing schedule for container gardens. Some labels may have two schedules one for flowers and one for vegetables. You may have to keep track of your fertilizer schedule on a calendar so you don’t go overboard or forget to fertilize.
Many gardeners have had great success growing vegetables in containers. Some of the best things to try are peas, squash, beans and cucumbers and inserting a trellis or obelisk in the middle of the post for them to climb on. Lettuce and all other greens, radishes, carrots, herbs, tomatoes, etc. can be planted in any container as long as it is deep enough to allow for the roots to fully develop. Even potatoes can be grown in a deep container.
Now that you know you can grow vegetables in container too, you have no excuse this summer not to enjoy fresh produce that you grew yourself.