Hello everyone! I want to plant a little container garden in a pretty smallish area... I don't have any large pots, just a few small pots. I would like to grow some vegetables. Any ideas? Thanks! ~tgplp
you'd still need at least 12 or 14 inch diameter containers that are fairly deep - some plants have pretty decent root systems and they'll need enough room to support healthy & fruitful crops. containers that have wider diameters would probably be better though. various beans and peas would be good since you put in some supports for them to grow upwards on. tomato and pepper plants are also viable in containers. most herbs would also do well. lettuce or spinach would be workable. as would carrots and radish.
A friend of mine grew carrots in a small pot in her town kitchen. They just turned out miniture :) (but still tasty).
If you only have small pots then you can plant vegetables such as green onions, parsley, and radish. If you can find medium-sized pots, then you can plant leaf lettuce and green beans. You'll need large pots for cucumbers, eggplant, pepper, squash and tomato. Make sure that the soil you use is fertilized. ______________ Mary Henderson
I've come to the conclusion that, if you're planning to maintain a container garden over the long term, it's really vital to have containers on the bigger side--especially deeper. As a pp said, this is so that the plants have the root space they need. Otherwise my experience is that the plants look fabulous while they are just beginning to mature, and once they hit maturity and start to get big, they end up looking scraggly and exhausted. I finally have invested in bigger containers and I think it'll make container gardening a lot more satisfying. That said, you can still do it. But remember that even if your containers are smaller than ideal, every extra inch (especially, but not only, in depth) will help. For vegetables, concentrate on smaller plants. As a pp mentioned, lettuce and green beans. Also smaller cherry tomatoes--how about tumbler? Or even something like sweet million will, I would guess, manage in a small pot--not ideally, but sufficiently. For zucchini, ambassador. You can't go wrong with rosemary, parsley, mint, sage, basil, etc. In the short term those will do okay in small containers, and in the case of perennials or regrowers you can always repot them eventually. "Bountiful Containers" is the classic book on edible container gardens.
I'll echo previous comments that encourage you to get some larger containers, but you didn't state what size your 'small pots' are. I have some long, narrow planter boxes that are only about 6" high, 6" wide, 24" long and have grown radishes, baby bok choy, beet greens, ball-shaped baby carrots, chives, & mint. This year I plan to grow cut-and-come-again Swiss chard and spinach in them. You could also try growing some edible flowers. In 10" to 12" pots (with very good soil), I have grown larger Swiss chard, kale, snowpeas, garlic, gai lan, scallions, & cherry tomatoes. If you really just have the small 4" pots from the nursery, then you could still try to grow a smaller cut-and-come-again lettuce, or several pots of baby bok choy (as you'll need quite a few for just one stirfry). I have also been experimenting with year-round veggie planting in my container garden, so even if you only have a small space as long as you have plants that are appropriate for the season, you may be able to grow at least some veggies throughout the year. Happy planting!
