Do you savor the taste of homegrown vegetables and fruits, but the work involved in a large garden seems daunting? Is your yard space-limited, or do time constraints prevent you from delving into a long summer chore? Growing an edible container garden is a beautiful alternative providing a low-maintenance experience to enjoy throughout the season.
You can grow just about anything in a container. From garlic to potatoes, raspberries, and strawberries – even asparagus grows well in a pot. It does take some work to set up a container garden. However, once the system is up and running, all that’s required is to sit back and watch your plants grow.
Now, you will have to check on things from time to time. Water lines occasionally get clogged with tiny grass seed, or a roaming cat might run through and rip all the emitters out of the pots. But it’s still much better than dragging hoses around to water weeds.
Learning how to grow an edible garden in containers will save time, a lot of work and provide an easy harvest. Building a delicious container garden that is efficient and cost-effective requires some effort. However, the work involved in the set-up is rewarded with each bite of the fresh produce you grow.
Planning Ahead
Growing food in a container garden is a breeze compared to planting in a garden plot. For the most part, all you need are some containers, good potting soil, seeds or plants, and an irrigation system for watering. It is a good idea, though, to have a well-thought-out plan before you begin.
Here are a few factors to consider in the initial planning stages of growing an edible container garden:
What types of vegetables and fruits will be grown in the containers?
Contemplating what plants to grow in an edible container garden depends on what foods you enjoy eating. For some folks, there is nothing more satisfying than the taste of fresh vine-ripe tomatoes. Others may want to pick radishes and lettuce for a quick dinner salad. Perhaps you enjoy the flavors of fresh peppers, or the thought of picking juicy strawberries every day entices your palate.
A great place to start is by looking through a seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Park Seed, or Johnny’s Selected Seeds. These colorful publications provide beautiful photos, in-depth descriptions of various profiles, growing techniques, and estimated harvest times.
Container size
Knowing what type of vegetables & fruits you want to grow will help determine the container size needed for a particular plant type. Selecting the appropriate size container for your plants is the key to a successful harvest.
Some plants, such as lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and arugula, have small root systems. These plant varieties grow well in shallow containers, usually between 6 – 8 inches deep. Long, square containers provide little rows to plant seeds within the space and make for easy harvesting.
On the other hand, tomatoes, artichokes, and eggplant have deeper roots requiring large containers, typically 24 – 36 inches deep. Round containers give these hardy plants an excellent base to grow in. Knowing how high the plant will grow helps determine the space needed for its root system to develop.
While there are beautiful decorative pots for sale at local garden shops, containers do not always have to be round pots. Creative gardeners might display a bed of radishes in a deep wagon or a patch of carrots in a colorfully painted beehive box. Just make sure the container has drain holes in the bottom for water to run out. Otherwise, the plants will suffer from root rot and eventually die.
Placement of containers
The planning stage should also incorporate container placement in your outdoor space, considering the amount of sunlight each plant will receive during the day. Sun worshipping plants such as tomatoes, beans, and peppers grow abundantly with at least 8 – 10 hours of sunlight each day.
Other vegetables such as lettuce, radishes, and broccoli will ‘bolt’ (produce seeds) in hot conditions, reducing the flavor to a bitter, unpleasant taste. Choose a cooler spot out of direct mid-day heat for these cool-weather crops during the hot summer months. Also, consider that the sun will move during the growing season.
Potting Soil
The next step in planning a container garden is choosing the best soil for your planters. There are many products to choose from on the market, so read the labels carefully before purchasing. A soil that will drain well with a pH close to neutral is ideal. Potting mixes filled with organic material such as compost and wood chips provide good aeration while encouraging microbial activity to supply essential nutrients to your plants. Look for mixes with perlite or vermiculite, which retain water but allow for good aeration.
Many commercial potting mixes have been heated during processing, ensuring they are free from weed seeds, pests, and disease. However, heat-processed soils are void of any microbial activity, vital to plant life. Also, some potting mixes offer pre-loaded nutrient soil mixtures boasting no need to fertilize for six weeks. These mixes are not the best options for all plants as nutrient requirements vary for plant species.
More importantly, the pre-loaded nutrients are probably not organic. The idea of growing your food should begin with the notion of organically grown, not full of chemical fertilizers. It all starts with the soil. Starting with a good base of organic materials will safeguard the success of your container garden.
Seeds or plant stock
Starting plants from seeds is an exciting venture watching them pop out of the soil. Some seeds should be directly sown into their final containers, such as peas, garlic, beans, and leafy greens. Other plants such as tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, and eggplant take some time to establish their root system. These seeds are best off sprouted indoors 4 – 6 weeks before the last frost to give them enough time to grow through the season.
A sunny window is an excellent place to start young seedlings. They need warmth and moisture to promote germination. Once the seeds have sprouted and begun to grow, you will notice them leaning toward the light. You can either rotate the seed starting containers each day to help the young plants grow up or provide a source of light directly above the containers.
If starting seeds sound like an overwhelming task, a trip to a local nursery will ease your mind. Most garden centers offer established plant stock ready to go into containers immediately. Look for plants with healthy green growth and a vigorous root system.
Setting Up an Irrigation System
It’s easy to take the work and worry out of watering your container garden by setting up a simple irrigation system before planting. Using an inexpensive timer, ½ – ¾ inch mainline poly tubing, and inserting ¼ inch poly tubing into each container provides an efficient way to water your plants. Dripline emitters, ranging in how much water per hour each container receives, control water flow and adjust to different size pots.
Spray emitters set up throughout the container garden provide spring-like showers on the foliage, helping cool the plants during hot summer months. Setting the timer to come on for 10 -20 minutes each morning, depending on how hot it is, not only conserves water but also saves you precious time.
Maintaining the Container Garden
While back-bending work is greatly reduced growing an edible container garden, some maintenance is required to keep things running smoothly. The plants need frequent nourishment as nutrients wash out of containers much faster than those grown in the ground. Look for organic-based products high in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (NPK) in early vegetative growth. For plants that produce flowers for pollination, choose products with lower nitrogen and increased potassium levels when flowering begins.
Other maintenance projects include checking the water system to make sure each plant is receiving adequate moisture, and the emitters are functioning properly. Pest problems are generally minimal in container gardens since they are enclosed and above ground. However, keep an eye out for aphid infestations or the dreaded tomato hornworms as these little nuisances often enjoy your garden as much as you do. Planting basil, dill, marigolds, and other natural pest repellent plants near your container garden help deter these pesky bugs.
Benefits of Container Gardening
Vegetables planted early in the Spring include leafy greens, berries, peas, cauliflower, and broccoli. Expect an early summer harvest for these delicious varieties. Wait to plant tomatoes, beans, and peppers outdoors until after the last frost. Although, one benefit to early container planting is the ability to either cover the planter with a sheet or bring it indoors overnight if a late frost occurs.
With container gardening, you don’t spend back-breaking hours pulling or hoeing weeds. While some may pop up in the container, it’s easy to spot them and pluck them out before they get too big. Maintenance is minimal growing in containers and harvesting is an easy task above ground level.
Whether you want to grow a few plants or create a self-sustaining supply of food for the entire summer, growing an edible container garden offers a stress-free means to cultivate your green thumb.
