This guide provides a list of the top 10 easy-to-grow vegetables for growing in pots, including basil, spinach, and other leafy greens. The best container varieties for growing vegetables in pots include Genovese Compact, Everleaf, and Tusi. Spinach, also known as Spinacia oleracea, is a 6-8 inch container size. Other vegetables that can be grown in pots include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, beans, beets, Swiss chard, radishes, peas, carrots, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, and other leafy greens.
Container gardening is perfect for those who lack gardening space or have a patio, balcony, or terrace. To grow vegetables in containers, it is essential to choose the right pots and soil type. Some vegetables that thrive well in containers include beetroot, broad beans, carrots, Dwarf French beans, herbs, peas, potatoes, radishes, rocket, runner beans, chillies and peppers, salad leaves, salad onions, salad turnips, and tomatoes.
Rashes are easy to grow and can be planted in a single season, making them ideal for kids and impatient gardeners. Potatoes can be grown in a bag, tomatoes in a grow bag, lettuce and salad leaves in a pot, carrots in a pot, and mushrooms in a sack.
The top vegetables for containers include beets, cabbage, lettuce, mustard, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and other greens. These vegetables have a small root system and grow well in small containers. In summary, container gardening offers a versatile and efficient way to grow vegetables in various sizes and conditions.
📹 Top 7 Container Veggies For Beginners – Garden Quickie Episode 142
Container Gardening Made Easy! A lot of our backyard veggie crops are versatile and can be grown both in beds and in smaller …
How deep should a raised vegetable planter be?
A raised garden bed should accommodate about 20 inches of soil for the roots of flowers and vegetables. Double-digging can help meet this requirement by turning the soil over to a depth of 24 inches. The extra depth provided by the raised bed is not wasted, as it allows for the addition of compost, which improves plant growth. To create a raised bed wall, two 2×6 boards should be stacked horizontally. If not double-digging, the bed must be raised to meet the 20-inch requirement.
What is the most difficult vegetables to grow?
Cauliflower, celery, melon, wasabi, and head lettuce are some of the most challenging crops to grow, but the rewards may be worth the effort. To grow thriving cauliflower, it is crucial to plant seeds before the first fall frost, but not before the weather drops below 75 degrees. Keep an eye out for cabbage worms, small bugs that can eat cauliflowers. Cauliflower is also picky about the soil it grows in, so it should be planted in soil with a pH between 6. 5 and 6. 8. If the soil is within this range and has plenty of sunlight, the crop can bloom on your land. Cauliflower thrives in sunny places with cool temperatures, such as Northern California.
What are the best low maintenance outdoor potted plants?
Low-maintenance outdoor potted plants like Purple Fountain Grass, Rosemary, Rose, Fuchsia, Garden Sage, Winter Jasmine, Common Thyme, and Japanese Maple are ideal for those who struggle with time for advanced gardening. These adaptable plants offer the benefits of gardening without the extensive time commitment. They can be placed in patios, porches, stoops, decks, or fire escapes, providing a cool and easy-to-handle greenery solution. These plants are suitable for both businesses and individuals who want to enjoy the benefits of gardening without the extensive time commitment.
What do you put in the bottom of a raised planter?
To improve drainage and soil enrichment in garden beds, add organic material such as compost or woody materials like logs, dry wood, branches, and leaves at the bottom. The hugelkultur method, originating from the German word “mound or hill culture”, is the easiest and most cost-efficient method. It involves adding organic matter like rotted hay, plant waste, and compost to the soil in layers. Sticks are recommended for best results, as they make it easier for the components to break down.
Hardwoods, such as hardwoods, are recommended for their slower breakdown and longer water holding capacity. Softwoods like birch, alder, maple, cottonwood, willow, and oak are suitable, but avoid allelopathic trees and rot-resistant trees like black cherry and black locust.
How deep do pots need to be for vegetables?
The optimal height for vegetable cultivation is 6-9 inches for shallow-rooted crops such as chives, lettuce, and spinach, 12-18 inches for intermediate-depth vegetables like eggplant, peppers, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, kale, and peas, and 18-24 inches for deep-rooted vegetables.
What vegetables grow best in pots?
The best vegetables for containers include potatoes, chard, lettuce, cherry and bush tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer squash, Asian greens, pole beans, and herbs. The minimum soil depths for healthy growth are 4-5″ for chives, lettuce, radishes, basil, coriander; 6-7″ for bush beans, garlic, kohlrabi, onions, Asian greens, peas, mint, thyme; 8-9″ for pole beans, carrots, chard, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, leeks, peppers, spinach, parsley, rosemary; and 10-12″ for beets, broccoli, okra, potatoes, sweet corn, summer squash, dill, and lemongrass. Plant combinations and companion planting can be used to create a variety of vegetables and herbs in summer display gardens.
What pots are safe to grow vegetables in?
Organic gardening offers a healthy and fulfilling way to grow your own food, as you have control over what is not sprayed on your vegetables and fruit. By choosing safer containers, you can ensure that your organic vegetables are free from harmful toxins. There are various types of planters, such as wood, fabric, metal, plastic, terracotta, coconut coir, and alternate material planters. By choosing the right container, you can ensure that your vegetables are free from harmful chemicals and that you are consuming a healthy and fulfilling way to grow your own food. Organic produce can also have high pesticide residues depending on the fruit or vegetable you are eating.
What vegetable takes the shortest time to grow?
Fast-growing spring vegetables include radishes, lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, turnips, and peas. These vegetables require fertilization, loose soil, and adequate sun and moisture. They can be grown in any zone and mature quickly. Radishes, for example, take about six weeks to grow from seed to harvest. They can be planted in any zone and are ready to harvest when the root appears to be the appropriate size.
Turnips, on the other hand, take three to four more weeks to harvest. The smaller white Japanese types are sweeter and mature more quickly, while the purple and white larger varieties take at least 60 days. Both leaves and roots are edible.
Do plants grow better in the ground or in a pots?
Planting plants indoors in winter is recommended for containers, while those with more soil space for expansive root systems prefer raised beds or ground. In the Berkshires, ground plants are ideal for better insulate root systems and consistent freezing. Container gardening allows for easier soil control and can be grown on small patios or balconies. For those with mobility issues, tall raised garden beds or platforms can be used for standing gardening or container gardening. Overall, container gardening offers flexibility and can be adapted to suit individual needs and preferences.
What vegetables are good for a raised planter?
Root vegetables like carrots, onions, and garlic thrive in loose, partially sandy soil, making them ideal candidates for raised beds. These beds are less compacted and less prone to foot traffic, making them ideal for vegetable gardens. However, creating raised beds for large strawberry patches can be a significant undertaking and expense. Many gardeners create raised beds for various reasons, including easy access, ergonomics, and limited mobility.
However, poor soil, insufficient drainage, or salt runoff from nearby roads or walkways can make raised beds necessary for vegetable growth. In urban settings, raised beds are often the only option for vegetable gardens. Additionally, the visual appeal of raised beds can be a compelling reason to grow vegetables in them. Seeing a vegetable garden with neat, tidy raised beds can make one feel envy and admiration. Join us for step-by-step guides, tools, backyard tours, and delicious recipes to help you grow your own vegetable garden.
📹 How to Grow Vegetables in Containers // Container Gardening // Self Sufficient Sunday!
This complete container gardening video can help you become more self sufficient even with a small property or bad soil… even …
I love your website. You are kind and gentle. I am older. I could not afford to build or buy raised bed, materials and soil.. My soil is pure clay so my few attempts to grow anything just failed. So I gave up until one day the best thing that could happen to me was that my refrigerator died. As it sat in the front yard waiting for the city to pick it up, I realized that it would make a great planter.. I now have 14 refrigerators. I filled them up with branches in the bottom, then free wood chips from the city, then 4 inches of soil from decomposing leaves, and top it off with leaves for mulch. I covered the side of the fridge with wood from pallets and picket fence. You can’t tell it a fridge and the insulation keep the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I grow in the winter by covering the top with 2 windows . At night I plug in a slow cooker which keep it warm and moist . I fill the insert with water.. I hope this inspires others with limited means to not give up on your dreams of gardening. Ask for non working fridges, it works. I grow Malabar spinach, kale, sweet potatoes,, tomatoes, (the way you taught with 2 cages) herbs, . One crop in each fridge. Blessings to you and all your followers
Hello! As an older disabled woman living in Bakersfield, my strategy this year is growing in containers–but with the pots up on a conference table in my backyard so I can tend the plants from my wheelchair. Its tricky getting soil and plants, but so far so good. Got herbs in a longer windowsill box (but sitting on the table not screwed to a window) and several other large-to-huge buckets, barrels and containers. Its unorthodox but its what works for me. Thanks for your guidance!
I’ve been growing butternut squash here in San Diego for years. I harvest the seeds from the largest butternut squash and dry them out and plant them in the next year around April or May. My latest crop was 50 butternut squash. I grow them all in just three 4 by 10 ft.² raised beds that are about 12 inches tall. I recently gave some to the neighbors and one of them grew 40 butternut squash. So exciting to spread the wealth.
My husband & I live in an apartment complex that refuses allowing resident gardening. So, we are growing our vegetables: squash, zucchini, okra, tomatoes, garlic, onions, bell peppers, lettuce, beets, ginger, in containers. We looked up your “container usage” link…thank you. The plants are all on a long cart we move outside, then inside each day. And they are doing so good! Growing fast. I feel like we are having “babies”, I get so excited! Thank you for such great info, that is clear, concise, and professionally conveyed. God bless you!
Inspirational demo thank you!!! South Australian here, who grows lots of things in big black tubs because I basically have builder’s rubble as my garden soil (bloke who built the house dumped all his rubbish on the garden…and then some!).I also have 5 huge apple crates as garden boxes. They are very deep and I’m going to rethink how I fill them after seeing this article. I also like the idea that it’s possible to grow directly into the bag of soil bought from the hardware store if you really have no other option!!! Put it flat on the ground, cut slits for drainage and slits for planting. Plant in it eg herbs, specially chives and spring onions which I love, and voila!!!! Everyone can grow something fresh!!!
I just planted cucumbers in a large speaker my son discarded. I cut out the front, removed the insides (saved the strong magnet) The inside was MDF so safe for food. There was a drain hole where the wires came out. You can’t tell it was a speaker. Looks like a wooden planter and it was free plus my magnet 🙂
When my husband and I lived in Newberry, FL and had 2 ft raised beds, we used 2 liter soda bottles with the spouts cut off standing in the bottom of the raised bed. We filled these with the limerock sand that came with our property and then put a mix of potting soil, topsoil and mulch for the rest. The soda bottles caught rain and plants could reach down if they wanted more regular water or go around the bottles if the soil was ok dampwise. We grew all kinds of food for our grocery source, the turtles and rabbits didn’t get into them. Our inspiration was Square Foot Gardening and our raised beds were either 4×8 or 4×4 and of course 2 ft tall. Weeding was less onerous, not as many and easier to get down to pull. Working on getting this going again on my land in Quincy, FL. We do get a goodly amount of rain so good drainage is a must but it alternates with some short-term droughts so having a source of water is always handy.
Hi Sir Bryan, I’m.maria from the Philippines but I live here in Finland. When I saw your garden I recognise my husband to you . He was a container gardener same what you’re doing. But now hi is with and we cannot planting anymore here because this is cold country. Hoping I can convince him to go back what he was doing. Thank you sir to share with us.now I really miss this container gardening with my husband. Thank you so much and God bless
Very affordable grow lights stick at Walmart on the light bulb aisles think they’re about 13 or $14 I grew great salad Swiss chard kale and herbs in my kitchen all year never took them out of the container that they came in. Those little seedlings in the trays I put the tray inside of aluminum pan put water in the pan turn the lights on for 12 hours a day. Continuously pick and come again kale grew to flower. Very easy very good success
Thank you for all your outstanding articles! I accumulated enough knowledge and experience by age 23 that I taught most of the classes at our local home depot and more than a decade later you’re teaching me things I never knew or had been taught wrong. It’s’ been a chilly spring here in Oregon so I haven’t been able to keep my plants outside yet, but I’ve got tomato seeds sprouting, a baby cherry tomato plant, some onion sprouts, and will have herbs and cucumber seeds started by the end of the week! I’m going to be growing a compact cucumber plant on my patio in a hanging basket for the first time too! Edited to add: 4:40 OMG TURTLE!
This is the first year that I’m growing things . Our dirt is poor and rocky in Kentucky. So I have lots of containers in the ‘flower beds around my house. I’m using the bags that my dirt came in for my corn crops. In the front of the house, we cut an old leaking well bladder in half and I’ve got 3 cucumber plants doing well. In the other I’m trying a green pepper. Everything has a companion plant, lots of marigolds, Basil, mint, parsley. It fun to watch everything grow from the seedling stages or small plants into bigger more maturing plants. I check nearly everyday, to water, or check for bugs or mildew problems. I learn so many great ideas from perusal your articles. You have a wonderful program and a delightful garden area. Thank you!
THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN! I just found you as I said before. Being new is hit or miss. I didn’t plant for 2 years My phone froze and got a different phone. Should have started to look up planting vegetables first. My front yard where I grow plants were all weeds more or less last year. Some roots were 1 1/2 foot long. People see my front yard All the time. I was just glad to have planted stuff. I have pain all the time.,so I got vegetables in the ground too. At least I have pots I can grow other stuff in. I should have left this on the other article., but it is what it is. Have a great day people. Keep planting. This guy will make sure we get a green thumb. Lol
Another great article, Brian! Not laying seeds flat so the moisture doesn’t sit on it and rot the seed makes so much sense, but never heard that. I feel like I ALWAYS learn something new with every one of of your videas. Thanks so much. Also, sending love and prayers for your test on the 22nd. I’m hoping you get wonderful news. Please update us. I know many of your subscribers have you in their thoughts and prayers.
We have a pineapple 🍍 growing in a kratky bottle… I took a cpt morgan bottle inverted the top like you would a 2 liter soda bottle and used it as a “netcup” using the built in pourer ! The pineapple top came from an organic pineapple via our misfit produce box during the stay at-home order we couldn’t get food at our stores readily! Its over a foot tall now ! Kids LOVE IT 💘
Hello Kevin. It’s Bonnie from Vancouver Island again. I have maybe a couple ideas/ suggestions you might be interested in. 1.. I have used rain gutter the same length as my raised beds. I plant seedlings in them and when I think it safe enough for them to go out in the garden I hoe a trench, And with tipping and drawing that gutter along to the end All the seedlings just roll out of the end and Voilà it’s all in the hoed trench. 2.. If perhaps a gardener cannot find a proper food safe bucket they are always the grocery bags that you can line in there. I have done potatoes this way. What is so cool is that you can lift the grocery bags out roll them down around the soil ball and have a look at the growth of the potatoes in that bag. You can also take a few off the side, pull the bag up over the root ball and set it back down inside the pail. 3… Are used to do as you do crush all the bottles and or cans into the bottom of buckets. I now stand them up and have one with holes punched through the sides with the bottle opening at the surface of the soil. this way if you need to water you just put the hose down into the bottleneck and the water will gradually gently water the roots. 4… was excited to see that you use Baker Creek seeds. This is my first year receiving seeds from Missouri and I have to tell you I had just about 100% germination which is almost unheard of. I am of course a seed saver but they just had so many wonderful vegetables and flowers that I hadn’t had before on my property.
I’m using 15 gal.felt buckets for my tomatoes. Much much better than plastic because it allows the roots to breathe. Ok something you didn’t mention is the design of the pots. Some pots are wide at the top but are not so deep. Some pots are deep but not so wide at the top. This is because there are basically two types of root systems. One has a root that goes deep and one that has roots that are shallow but spread wide. So the ones that spread wide across the top need a wide top pot and doesn’t need to be deep. Plants that has a (taproot) which goes deep, need a pot that is deep and doesn’t need to have a wide top. So now when you look at a planter pot you’ll know why they are designed differently.
Hello from North Carolina. I’ve really been enjoying your articles. They’re full of useful information without a lot of extraneous chatter or a “theme song” intro. It feels like I just stepped into your backyard for a visit. My raised bed is 33″ high but I didn’t have to worry about filling in the bottom because it is on legs! (I DO worry about soil temperature because the bottom of the bed is exposed to air but we’ll see how it goes.)
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I want to start growing food ( corn, broccoli, strawberries, collard greens) on my small balcony this year. I live in an apartment and have a lot of plants growing well inside but I didn’t think that I could grow food inside. I believe that I will be successful using my small balcony though. Again, thanks a lot for sharing.
My garden is made from my son’s old Thomas the Train toddler bed. I filled the bottom with stones and leaves then topped it off with topsoil. My zucchini love it and are growing beautifully. Also have my sweet potato in cleaned out cat litter buckets with drainage holes drilled into the bottom. I set the litter bucket on to 2×4’s to keep the bucket off the ground so the bucket will drain well.
Our hardware stores in Ireland are shut so I couldn’t get wood to fix my raised beds so I got tyres from my mechanic and I’ve them lined with cardboard, the organic compost bags the compost came in and weed control fabric. Yep the compost was very expensive! I also have 2 bathtubs that are now being used lol needs must!
I work at a wire and cable company. We have wire on this plastic things. They are almost the size and depth of a 5 gallon bucket. Usually they get tossed, so I took 12 home. Small hole on the bottom, so put landscape fabric then 3-4 inches of cedar mulch. The rest to soil. Compost or lawn clippers on the top. 2 years now. Tomato, eggplant, pepper, potato and strawberries so far.
I really like your style! So clean and crisp. Thank you. I am excited about the indoor tomatoes! I have been considering growing some this coming winter provided I do not have an epic failure of gardening the first year. I love that you are doing this because I can learn from you while I am still planning out this coming winter. Thank you so much in advance!
I have 310 sq feet of space for growing, in a long narrow part of my small property. South facing (yay). I have four Rubbermaid cattle water troughs, 22 8 or 10 gallon garden pots and 20 large cloth garden bags. I’m learning the hard way how to plant them all to the advantage of the plants itself. The tomatoes have been a bust, sadly. We had a huge 2-day heat burst that didn’t help them, plus learning the drip system. But we’ll do better next year. I appreciate everything you share here.
I believe in the Law of Economy: minimum effort for maximum effect! While I don’t have the tall raised beds, I have seen a guy online use old tree stumps and limbs to fill the bottom, which breaks down over time. If the height is just for comfort, you could always put in a false bottom and fill to the depth you need… just a thought. For my pots and grow bags, I plan to use gallon water or tea jugs, or half gallon food grade containers, and make the pots self wicking (plenty of YT articles show how). You can even line the bottom of grow bags with a safe plastic liner, then put the properly perforated bottles or jugs in. It just gets too dry here in the summer.
I made self watering 5 gallon buckets for my tomato plants. I took a disposable plastic salad bowl & put holes in the top & sides, then cut a notch in one side. I then put 2 jumbo straws together to make a long tube, cutting the bottom one at a slant & inserting into the notch of the bowl, then placing into the bottom of the bucket. I added 1/3 bucket of moist potting mix on top of the bowl before adding water through a funnel down the jumbo straw (keeps the bowl from floating), then planting.
Your purple pole beans reminded me that I gave up on green beans years ago. Trying to find green beans camouflaged among the green leaves was more of a chore than fun. Now I enjoy the fun of harvesting yellow Wax Beans and Purple Beans, both bush and pole varieties. The wax beans tend to be more tender and both colors are delicious. When cooked, the purple beans turn green.
8:00 Hi Brian, – the reason for earthing up the potatoes is not for roots – it’s because the potatoes are actually stem tubers. They grow from stems that grow sideways off the main stem. By burying the bottom parts of the main stem, you trap more side shoots below ground, where they are more liable to grow potatoes.
Very good article and thank you for the tips given about container gardening. I tend to water my garden daily or every other day with the self watering containers. When it rains as it has been with the storms we have had this summer and fall so far. I water the plants two or three days later. I purchased a small greenhouse to place my plants because of the pests that have eaten up some of my plants. Majority of my plants are starter plants purchased in June and only my tomato plant is the only one that has produced anything. My herbs have bloomed out greatly and have harvested them once. They are in the process of drying. Once my greenhouse is set up, I can tend to my plants better. Thanks for the tips on the types of containers to use.
I enjoyed the article all the planting in containers I have learned a lot you are very kind in sharing your knowledge I am going to prepare my garden the way you prepare your own thanks 🙏 for sharing I am living in Amelia’s Ward linden town Guyana south America our country is warm rain and Sun some time we do get flood depends on where you live happy farming 🧺
The importance of determinant and indeterminate potatoes. I planted loofahs late in the season last year. I only got one to be dryable. I’m trying again this year. You’re right though it’s very pretty plant really pretty flowers and just fun! I planted my pole beans in toilet paper rolls keep the cut worms from chomping my beans down this year. So far so good.
Next season I will be primarily gardening in containers (including repurposing cardboard boxes) & raised beds due to lack of reliable tiller access, I’m getting older & to be more efficient. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge & experience. Especially appreciate you mentioning tips for those in other zones, we’re in zone 5. Wishing you continued success, good health, & happy gardening!
We have gone silly crazy with a goofy extension of our normal gardening. We had about 35 or 40 volunteer seedlings emerge in our garden area this Spring. We also have about 5 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet in one compost pile plus 2, 55-gallon trash cans full of finished compost and another 2, 55-gallon trash cans in process of composting through the Drunken Compost method. We also had numerous 2-gallon food grade buckets sitting in our garage. So, we took those volunteers, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and yet to be determined melons, summer squash, or winter squash, and we planted them in these pots with a mix of our compost and our rotted wood chips brought into the yard from our woods. So far, these seedlings are outpacing the planned garden seedlings. We even have a bloom on what is probably a Mortgage Lifter Tomato. BTW, I really like the way you organize your article. I perceive you are quite analytical, like me.
My raised bed my husband built is two feet deep two feet wide and twelve feet long . It has watering pipes that run along the bottom, with small holes through it and covered with pantyhose material so nothing blocks or gets in the pipes . . It has a drainage pipe that was four inches from bottom but we lowered it to two inches as it was retaining too much water . The whole inside was lined with pond liner too . I’m hoping it works well for the garlic we planted in the fall and the onion we will plant in spring 🤞
I grew strawberries in an old (shallow, too) utility sink. The drain holes made a wonderful opening to set it up to bottom water and add wicks. I did drill extra small holes in the bottom to allow for drainage in the event of too much rain. I had amazing results that spring/summer. Sadly, being in Colorado (even though it’s not the coldest region of our state), I failed to have dormant or live strawberry plants the following spring. Even though I covered them with mulch, I think they got too much cold exposure through the “container”. Perhaps next time I try strawberries in containers, I should mound up straw or hay around the outside of the container? I’m not sure what will successfully protect them (especially a free or very affordable method), and the utility sink full of soil (and plants) was too heavy for me to move into my garage. 😥 I was inspired to try growing loofa, and I had wonderful plant growth, however, the growing season here just isn’t quite long enough. The plants were covered in flowers and baby loofas when the first frost hit. But I now have a smallish greenhouse and am considering trying it again and starting & growing them in there. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?
I’ve planted things in drawers before. I had a few old file cabinets so I took the drawers out and put soil in them. Then the cabinet body itself can be laid down and filled with soil as well. Makes easy raised beds. I just add aged manure every year and I’ve grown peppers tomatoes and egg plant this way.
I put a lot of different varieties in 5 gallon buckets, air pruning (small holes all over the bucket, used a solder iron). Put a little pebbles in the bottom for drainage. Put about 2 inches of soil, then 1 unbroken egg, 1 whole banana, 1 tbs Epsom salt, 1/2 cup rabbit food, 3 pennies (1983 and older). Add more soil, plant your tomato plant pretty deep for a good root system. Put baking soda and used coffee grounds around the base of the plants. They are growing amazingly
Ney Brian, if I get behind in my raised beds (adding the root-barrier floors in the old ones and building new ones), I think I’m going to try growing corn in the plastic kiddie pools you can get at Walmart for $8. I didn’t realize I could get away with using a container that’s that shallow, thanks! They may work for pumpkins and watermelons too!
I’m actually purposefully filling the bottom of my small raised bed with a little bit of organic material which I intend to break down and extract nitrogen from the soil because I’m starting my pepper plants in a nitrogen, heavy soil mix to increase foliage growth at the start of the grow. So that later on when the stuff starts to break down, it will remove some of the excess nitrogen from the soil.
Greetings from Nixa, Mo. Just found your website and I don’t know if by following your advice will help me grow vegetables here in Mo but I’m going to apply it. I just built my first elevated 3.5’x2’x12″ cedar planter and my boys and I are going to grow vegetables for the first time. Thank you for making articles and sharing your knowledge and advise.
I finally finished a raised cedar planter for peas today, using some of your ideas for a trellis that I really liked. I also saw your tips regarding lining the planters so not all water just flows straight through and the one about food grade plastics. I do have landscape garden fabric, which is what I used in an earlier planter. And all water flows straight through. I thought about using plastic vegetable containers like they sell at Costco to staple to the bottom to prevent all water running through or cutting up milk jugs – just to partially cover the bottom only and then cover it with the landscaping fabric – have you ever considered that before?
I leave vin New,York,Upstate, near Canada’s border I have a very short planting season I usually lose most of the spring and some time we have snow up to the beginning of May in May. Not all the time like right now he have days that will go,up to the fifties, but the nex day It’s could go to the thirties last year, all my pepper’s didn’t grow or flower, because I took them out side to early, I covered them whit plastic and they suvied, but stopped growing an no pepper’s. at all, my tomatoes did ok but not like vive year before,also my space is small .this year I am planting my tomatoes in containers I have 6, … 5 gallon food buckets, that my neighbor gave me,there were used for high volumen apple juice,so there OK, for planting. and have lot’s of 3 gallon containers so your Chanel came like a blessings. i was only joking about the gelatine but I do have them jiiii will ask my cf friend Google. Thanks for this wonderful article
I’m learning so much from your articles, even being in Minneapolis, MN. We moved to our house in February, so nearly everything is container this year. But I’m using your articles to help plan the permanent raised beds we’ll be putting in this fall for next year’s planting. The way to fill the beds with recycling and organics is wonderful news, I was dreading the price of soil. Thank you for all the info and guidance !
Thank you for being succinct and concise. As the situation here in the US looks like it will take 2 years or more to fight off the Covid I am looking into growing my food more. Before covid it was annoying to look for info and be forced to wade through hours of youtube time filling chatter to get information. Now I just move on to a good website like yours. Thanks again. It is snowing here today. Count your blessings.
What a perfect article, I loved it, lots of hands on demonstrations, I especially appreciate the one on how to plant loofahs so that I know what size of container they need, I have a few of same containers just like that from Costco. 😀 also loved the way you showed how to fill your potato bucket! Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you Brian!
So I already planted my tomatoes in pots and didn’t add all the stuff you did when I planted them. I bought from nursery and they were already 12″ tall so I planted them as deep as I could and filled dirt to top of pot to cover stem as much as possible. Can I add the magnesium, calcium & phosphate to the soil now when I water? I used a combo of soil mixtures when I planted them- organic Recipe 420 with peat moss,earthworm castings, fish bone meal, crab meal, oyster shell, kelp & another Recipe 420 with bat guano? & other stuff and then Greenwell potting soil with earth worm castings, feather meal?, bat guano. Fairly expensive so hopefully it is good stuff. And how moist are you saying when you do the finger in the soil test? Damp or really wet?
Milk crate: ripped an old towel in 1 ft strips, put one strip down side, across bottom, up the other side. Turned 90 deg, repeated. Bottom has two layers, side one. Old baskets from thrift store lined with coconut coir, old towels, cardboard, whatever is porous and organic. I bought 4 for $5 to $8 each. They get heavy full of wet soil and the original handles usually do not support moving them. So put them on something if you have to move them.
Hi great article. I’m starting a vegetable garden for the first time this year. I’m getting tomatoes peppers all the easy ones you can do. Hopefully it will work out .I live in a condo. I’m from Massachusetts. So cross my fingers and hope for the best. I watch a lot of YouTube articles on gardening. I also know how to sew. Keep up more great articles buddy. Be safe in California. And everybody else around the world.🦠👍🏼♐️🙋🏻♀️🐕🧤😷🖐🏼🍅🥒🍆
Can you do a article on how to grow radishes (especially in a container) for a complete beginner? By complete beginner I mean someone who has literally never planted or grown anything in their life. I love radishes but have little knowledge and absolutely no experience. I can’t have a full on in-ground garden right now and I don’t want one yet anyway since I don’t know what to do, so I’m starting with planting in containers. I’ve read that radishes are supposed to be grown in cooler weather, and it’s already midway through summer, so I figure that’s something I might be able to actually grow as summer ends.
Regarding soil borne diseases and how to kill them. An age old technique was to water the “spent” soil with a 10% solution of ammonia and water, left to soak overnight, rinse with clean water and then refertilize with nutrients, typically bone meal (here in NZ blood & bone) plus phosphate in the form of superphosphate (phosphate rock). This cleanse can be applied using a large watering can. Your thoughts, yes/no?
I’m planting for the first time, Woot, woot! I’m planting in pots, on my balcony. I have 1 tomato, 1 cucumber, and 1 cabbage plant. Many articles have been discouraging because they say that I have to put like 5 different things in the pot with the soil, especially for the cabbage. I really don’t want to do that. Sooooo, wish me luck!
So i had plants for a while now. I noticed how slow they were progressing. So from other articles i heard soil lacking calcium could precent plants from taking in nutrients. So i tried a calcium fix. Much to my surprise, It worked so well my strawberry plants got overwhelmed and started drinking the built up fertilizer and had burnt leaves. Overall though they are speeding up their growth to normal. From this lesson has taught me. With containers, You will need more than npk to be successful. I guess it is all trial and error
I live in Alaska, the growing season is pretty short. I did used to have semi-successful gardens with little effort, somehow. Lately it’s been trickier in a new location. After being discouraged for a while, im just starting some seeds again this year. I’ll have some space at my mom’s house but I’d like to figure out how to get as many plants as I can at my home. I live in a moderately windy and rainy town. I am renting a house but I have yet to even see the ground because of the snow. I’m not expecting to be able to dig in the ground because my yard is basically all lawn. I’m nervous about starting again! Currently on a journey to sow seeds indoors in March (last frost is early May) and hoping I can do so without grow lights. There is so much to gardening that I never knew. 😭
I use fabric grow bags, maybe not ideal with the plastic leeching, I’m not sure, but in term of growth it is much superior compared to plastic containers. The benefits are more apparent with tropical climate like South Florida where it’s very difficult to grow. Lots of plants must be grown in containers in Florida because of root knot nematodes. For indoor growing, most important is to remember to use 100% potting mix to avoid pests and fungus gnats. The potting mix you bought should be stored dry and under a roof (Menards), if it’s outside and wet (Lowe’s/Home Depot) then there is a much bigger chance of fungus gnats. One way to prevent fungus gnats is putting a “mosquito dunk” in the water, then water the pots with that water. Yellow sticky traps are also helpful. The potting mix brand I use is ProMix, it is popular with professional growers. Avoid “potting soil” which is an oxymoron, it is soil, not ideal for pots and not for indoor growing. I would only use potting soil for raised bed and in the ground growing, but better not buying them at all. However, for outdoor, I do use compost in my grow bags to help water retention. Grow bags have good aeration and drainage so it works with compost. With plastic containers, compost is usually not recommended as the medium can become too wet and anaerobic. I actually do up to 50/50 potting mix/compost in grow bags. Fine-sized pine bark is one of the best renewal material to add to potting mix to improve porosity, although perlite works.
I live on the North Coast of Washington state a mile from the ocean. We are overrun with deer and raccoons. So far the only thing I can grow is Rosemary and lavender. I’m thinking of containers on my back deck which faces West and South and only gets the afternoon sun. Sounds impossible, and I would also have to fence the deck off because the deer will come right up on your deck or porch.
I know so little about growing my own food! Thank you for your helpful article presentations! Despite not getting very much sun in my garden I have had a good many plastic containers dry rotting in the sun. This has definitely included the basic 5 Gallon plastic tote containers. I am wondering which type of plastic will last longer in the sun. Another important concern is how to make my own potting soil?
I think if I’m better with watering and fertilizing my tomatoes might do better. My beets did terrible. I had awesome greens but no beet really grew up. Going to try again. 🤞🏼 carrots I didn’t know that. Going to try them again. I’ve not successfully grown cabbage things get it. All container growing this year. Way too many pests I cannot fight in community garden.
Do you have articles for indoor produce in pots? That can yield almost year round. I live in Chicago it’s still above the 70s in the day. Please advise. I want to learn how to grow to produce indoors throughout the year. We have a half an acre back yard though, but the weather does not permit us to grow year-round. So I am more inclined to indoor veggies.
Great article! Would you mind doing a comprehensive list of all vegetable varieties? I think most beginners (like me) don’t know the difference between a heavy feeder or a light feeder- a large plant or a small plant. You have some great examples, but I’d love to know what size you need for pumpkin-eggplant-melons and other plants you haven’t mentioned? Or are these plants not good for containers? Thanks so much!
There are a lot of articles about experiments with potatoes . It was proven many times, that the amount of potatoes will not increase from topping up the bucket with soil time from time. Only a pea -size new potatoes will grow. By the way it would be nice to know in which part of California is your garden. But the article is nice, great job.
Am I to assume that ALL of the containers (buckets, galvanized tubs, etc.) have drain holes in the bottom? Didn’t see any staining under tub you divided mint from. LOVE your articles, Brian.! Thank you so much for the abundance of information provided in an easy to digest way (pun intended). I’m gonna take another swing at container veggies now that we will be homebound for the distant future and I can be more vigilant of care-taking.
Hi Brian 🙂 Great article! I have had success planting potatoes in tires. I stacked them 2 high. Last years yield was 150 pounds. Best of all, any garage is happy to give them away because they don’t have to pay the recycling fee to get rid of them!I’ll be honest, I was worried about yucky things leaching but I did it anyway. They are a witch to harvest out of though, so I won’t be using them anymore. I also had an old bbq that the feral cats got to one winter, we were going to toss it, but instead I used it to plant flowers! And I always see myself as unique…case in point: LAST YEAR I KILLED MY MINT. Yeah…I don’t know how… lol! See you on Tuesday!!
I cut a 2 liter Pepsi bottle at the carbohydrates box in the nutritional label, turn the top upside down onto the bottom, push a paper towel through the pour spout and flatten it around the edge of the top half, fill the bottom half with water, the top half with dirt and do my herb garden in those. Basil, dill, thyme, (trying) rosemary, chives. I have had good luck and can keep them in my kitchen window sill. I can start peppers in them in a pot pinch, or any other larger plant..NOT TOMATOES!! But it works
Thank you for sharing this article. Very helpful for beginners like me!! In last summer I tried to grow some small plants using MiracleGro potting mix and they grew pretty well. But in winters I left all my containers outside. Can I use the same soil again this summer? Or should I change the soil? Thank you !!
I live in Florida zone 9B, I want to start some containers in my yard, I was considering putting the containers on top of some thick rubber mats that came out of my horse stalls. If I lay them in the grass and they put the containers on top of them that way the grass won’t grow up around the containers. I know the rubber mats are not food quality but they will be at the bottom. Do you see that as a problem?