Container gardening is a great way to grow veggies if you’re short on space. If you live in an apartment or only have a small balcony, you can still enjoy heirloom tomatoes, fresh greens, and crunchy cucumbers.
Gardening always comes with a learning curve, though. Container gardening is no different. The five most common mistakes you’ll make when you’re growing vegetables in containers are: putting too many plants in one box, not having any drainage, not watering enough, mixing unfriendly plants in a small space, and using poor soil.
Soil quality is always a factor in gardening, but it’s imperative if you’re growing vegetables in containers. There is some possibility that plant roots can stretch out to find the nutrients they need in the ground, but they can’t do that in a container.
Watering a container garden is another big one. The simple fact is that water evaporates much more quickly from the soil in containers. And some popular containers, like terra cotta, absorb water quickly. Of course, this is easy to remedy—plan to water your container garden more frequently and make sure you have proper drainage.
Whether you have a tiny balcony off your fifth-floor apartment, a concrete driveway, or a sunny spot on your deck, container gardens are a valid option for anyone. You can build your own vegetable garden box out of wood, buy a galvanized steel version, or even use an old five-gallon bucket for a “folksy” look. A lot of people seem to think using a box limits what you can grow, but that’s only partially true, and it really depends on all sorts of circumstances in addition to what container you use.
In the articles below, we dive into all of these approaches to container gardening, and you can learn more about it in our How to Grow a Vegetable Garden: 10 Things Every Gardener Needs to Know Before Starting a Food Garden freebie. Enjoy!
I love window boxes – especially those DIY window box planters I come across now and then. They’re just bursting with personality. I saw a fantastic steampunk window box a few years ago that I wish I would have taken a picture of. The box itself was ordinary, but it was embellished with these amazingly detailed metal gears, copper piping, and even a few pocket watches thrown in for good measure. Naturally, there was garlic growing in the box.
In some universe, there’s an older version of me sitting in a rocking chair on a big farmhouse porch, looking in disbelief at the latest gardening catalog. I can hear myself now: “Fabric grow bags? What’s with all these newfangled things. Back in my day we just put seeds in the dirt.”
Is there anything better than sitting on a porch, drinking a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade, and reading a good book? I love a good porch sit but what I love even better is utilizing porch real estate as bonus garden space. I’ve written about the joys of container gardening before and how it’s a great gardening entry point, but we shouldn’t forget to think vertically too.
I’ll admit, I spent years wondering how to prevent moldy soil in my container gardens. At times it felt like a losing battle, and I’m sad to say that more than a few of my indoor plants suffered the consequences of my ignorance.
I’ll be blunt; if you enjoy cooking, you owe it to yourself to have a garden. I realize not everyone has the space for a big garden in the backyard. An edible front porch garden or balcony garden is a lot more attainable. In fact, even if you do have space for a big garden, there are some distinct advantages to growing your herbs and veggies right outside your door.
Nothing beats the taste of fresh herbs and you will never change my mind. And this year, my outdoor herb garden is a thing of beauty. ::brushes dust off of shoulder:: But, I live in a climate that experiences cold winters and frozen ground. My darling herbs will not fair well. I know I can […]
If you’re done with rabbits eating your kale, deer munching on your tomatoes, skunks enjoying your cucumbers, and slugs eating your lettuce, you’ll want to know about the Vegepod Raised Garden Bed. What’s a Vegepod, you ask? It’s understandable if you aren’t familiar with the Vegepod Raised Garden Bed. I’ll admit that I only heard […]
We can’t all have outdoor gardens. But we can all have gardens. And even though the majority of gardens are outdoors, there are some advantages of container gardening indoors, as well. I know plants thrive with fresh air and sunshine, but there are disadvantages to life in the outdoor garden, too. A surprise hail storm […]
I love adding some fresh, crunchy lettuce to my meals. Lettuce is delightful on its own as a simple salad with a dash of olive oil, and it’s great in sandwiches or as a bed for grains. Living in a cooler climate, though, I had to learn how to grow lettuce in containers if I […]
There are some plants and vegetables I love that, no matter how many positive vibes I put out into the universe, will never grow in or around my house. Banana trees, for example, won’t grow outdoors where I live. And I just don’t have the right light to grow them indoors, though I have friends who grow them.
