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Container grown veg.
zakzak
Posts: 178
in Fruit & veg
My garden consists of just pots and containers. For the very first time I have grown pea pods and succeeded. I have chillies on the go. My beetroot failed no idea why!!!. Please can anyone tell a novice veg gardener what I could grow in pots. I'm not a potato fan. I'm busy waiting for my blueberries to ripen. Also my strawberry plants have sent out lots of runners do I plant these for next year now? Could I do Leeks or not help please.
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I have always grown courgettes in pots and they produce plenty. Alsontimatoes, aubergines, climbing beans, herbs
just about anything as long as a) the pot is big enough and b) you feed them regularly
I have had bad germination from beetroot this year as well, but root veg need deep soil, I wouldnt bother with leeks. The strawberry runners, you have to plant them still attached to the main plant,Dont detach them, push a bit of stiff wire, (I use tent pegs) over the stem near the babies leaves. I have just planted up about a dozen runners in pots near the strawberry bed. But beans,peas,tom,all salad, runner beans,herbs,rocket. I have got a pear,2 cherriy trees Stella,(all dwarf stock) lemons,orange,fig,all in pots. You could grow olives,peaches,apricots,nectarines.
A friend grows apples and pears successfully in pots, she usually manages a couple of pies from the harvest.
I've grown french/runner bean, spinach, radish, spring onions and cherry toms in pots.
If you have a four shelved plastic GH aubergines and chillies would grow well, smaller varieties can produce a good crop. Apache chillies can be prolific.
I'm sure someone else will be along with more suggestions.
I use ready made obelisks, metal, in pots, with a couple of bricks to keep them firm, but we get wind from the Downs and the sea, so making up your own support with canes isnt an option here. pots, unless you want something fancy,I use builders buckets, a few holes for drainage. Mix of compost and farmyard manure,Varieties, everyone has their favorites, personnally, I have been growing Runner Bean Firestorm for several years, and find it a good cropper. This year, Dwarf French Bean Annabel, which has a fantastic crop, really pretty lilac/white flowers, asparagus peas, unknown variety again very pretty red/white flowers! Yes, I forgot I have spring onions in a pot!
I've just sown our second carrot crop in a really big deep pot! The first load did amazingly!! I've also got pumpkins, courgettes, nasturtiums (I use the leaves and flowers on salads), spinach and mixed salad leaves!
Yesterday I ordered chicory, Swiss chard and kohlrabi so going to try those as well!
Just compost.
I always put a bit of broken crock or a few stone or pea gravel in the bottom never had to use weed fabric.. Not had soil washing out either.. I have about 30 pots and planters etc and only one builders bucket..They all work well, less soil pest and if Herbs no spread into valuable growing space..
Last edited: 23 July 2016 22:19:13
Missy Krissy, how do you keep the Pumpkins contained? I have grown some for the first time this year, (promised the grandkids I would give them a go for Halloween) I have 2 in a greenhouse raised bed, only one female flower so far, and one in the veg plot, but the leaves are HUGE and threatening to take over the whole garden. I saw a video on utube, which said you can "prune" them, but the folk pegged down the runners like strawberry runners, and let them carry on.Showed my 6 year old grandaughter how they were doing yesterday, she looked at me as though I was crazy, and said "Mum gets her Pumpkins from the shop, but you grow EVERTHING"
Hi Nanny Beach, your grand daughter sounds like a sweetie! Last year we had pumpkins and courgette growing in raised beds outside and they really did take over - they looked like something from the Jurassic period!! I've reallocated the raised bed to cut flowers so decided to grow pumpkins in very big pots, I am trailing them around my raised veg bed (that has plastic trellis surrounding it) fairly low to the ground so when the fruits develop I can prop them up on something to stop them from spoiling. The only leaves I've cut so far are the old dying ones.
Good luck with them share a pic when they're ready!