How would you like to grow an amazing vegetable garden this year? Without a yard? Yep! Without gardening experience? Yep, yep! Whether you live in an apartment, suburb, or aren’t able to dig in your backyard, I am going to teach you “Vegetable Container Gardening the Easy Way”!
So, exactly what does that look like? How does one start a vegetable garden from scratch? What if you can’t keep a house plant alive?
I’ve been there…seriously.
But if you’re willing to learn and do a little work, you can absolutely have a successful garden this year! The experience you get from this year’s garden will allow you to build even better subsequent gardens in the years to come!
What Will I Need for Container Gardening?
1. Containers – You do not need to purchase containers, there are plenty of them that are free if you’ll just look around! The qualifications for your containers are this:
a) It must hold soil and not be biodegradable.
b) It must not have held anything toxic like paint or solvent.
c) It must be able to drain excess water. (You may need to drill a few holes)
Here are a few more container gardening ideas…
-Mr. Stacky Container Garden (I love this!)
-Used ceramic pots
-Large plastic ice cream containers
-Hanging pots leftover from last year
-Discarded pots from local nurseries, just ask if they have any! FREE!
-Older sand buckets
-Old 5-gallon buckets
-Recyclable grocery bags
-Wicker baskets with a liner
-Barrels that didn’t contain anything toxic. Barrels can be cut lengthwise!
-Metal containers aren’t recommended due to the fact that they hold more heat and can burn your plants
If you are someone who prefers containers that are more ecstatically pleasing, here are a few ideas.
2. Potting Soil
Depending upon how large your containers are, you’ll need a good amount of good quality, organic potting soil for containers, specifically.
Do not use potting soil for seedlings, this will not work with container gardening.
How Does Companion Planting Work?
3. Container Garden Location
Your garden’s location is important.
First, let’s talk about direction. The BEST way to place your containers is south. This way, the plants get the same amount of sunlight during the day.
However, this isn’t always possible.
Tall trees in your yard or neighbor’s yard can block the best of the sunlight! Or, your garden location faces East or West, which limits your full sunlight to about 5 hours per day.
So, this presents you with a couple of options.
First, if your garden can only get 5ish hours a day of full sun, these are the best vegetables for container gardening that will grow in partial shade:
*Kale
*Potatoes
*Parsnip
*Garlic
*Cauliflower
*Asparagus
The second option is to move your containers around during the day to capture the sun. I’ve done this to grow tomatoes and peppers, and it can be done.
How to Grow Strawberries in a Container
What if You Get Full-sun in Your Container Gardening Location?
Awesome! Here are the best vegetables for container gardens that grow well in sunny locations:
*Tomatoes
*Peppers
*Cucumbers (Cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon can grow in containers, however, they need room for their vines to grow. This is usually not feasible for container gardeners, just letting you know!)
*Cantaloupe
*Watermelon
*Eggplant
*Squash
5 Ways to Avoid Garden Burnout
How to Buy Seeds
Good quality seeds are important!
I recommend open-pollinated, non-GMO and organic seeds, here’s where I order from!
How to Plants Seeds in your Container Garden
The best way to ensure success with any seed is to read the back of the package. Everything you need to know is there, from seed depth to spacing seeds to the amount of sun needed!
Getting Started
You’re almost home at this point!
I found this container in the barn, so I’m going to start with this! It has good drainage with factory-drilled holes in the bottom.
Fill the container with your organic potting soil, about an inch or two from the top.
Here, I’ve planted sunflower seeds about 6″ apart. I pushed them down 1/4″ into the soil, as the package said, and covered them. Water your seeds lightly and set them in a sunny window or on your patio, if it’s warm enough!
It’s a good idea to label your seedlings with the name and date that you planted them so that you’ll know when it’s fully mature.
Within a few days, you start to see your little sprouts popping up!
Follow the directions on the seed package and soon, you’ll be harvesting your own fresh food
Enjoy!
