For years my husband and I lived in apartments, where I could only dream about growing my own fruits and vegetables. But then I learned about container gardens. While I’m still learning how to be a better gardener, my friend Kristen over at Shifting Roots will share her expertise with us so we can continue to grow produce and flowers throughout the fall and winter, too. And with that, I’ll let her take it away…
Everyone dreams of having a garden, but not everyone has the time or resources. You don’t need to have a huge plot of land to start a garden, you just need a container and some dirt.
Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that, but we’ll get to it in a minute.
How to Grow a Container Garden
For context, I garden in the almost-tundra-zone-3a (joking. . .not really) that is Saskatchewan. When I researched your growing conditions in zone 7a, I got extremely jealous. The longer growing season, the option to grow two crops, the extra plant varieties. . . the envy. However, if you’re reading this and in zone 3a, check out my post on gardening when you have no clue.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to growing vegetables.
Best Vegetables for Containers
If you’re new to container gardening, tomatoes, leafy greens like lettuce, swiss chard, kale or spinach, and herbs are a great place to start. These plants do really well in a patio container and will flourish as long as they have enough water and light.
You can grow almost any vegetable in a container, except for maybe larger squash and pumpkins. It’s a success is going to depend on the circumference and depth of your container.
Not all containers are created equal. Larger containers mean you can grow more food in that container and can get away with less watering.
Planting Depth
Here are the minimum soil depths for healthy growth. However, this does not mean that you plant the seeds this far down! This is the depth that the roots need so that the plant can flourish. Follow the directions on your seed package for the best results.
- 4-5 inches: chives, lettuce, radishes, other salad greens, basil, coriander
- 6-7 inches: bush beans, garlic, kohlrabi, onions, Asian greens, peas, mint, thyme
- 8-9 inches: pole beans, carrots, chard, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, leeks, peppers, spinach, parsley, rosemary
- 10-12 inches: beets, broccoli, okra, potatoes, sweet corn, summer squash, dill, lemongrass
Planting depth source: Urban Gardening with Vegetables by Kathy Laliberte
Simple Container Gardening Vegetable Care
You’ve planted the seeds. . . now what?
Make sure your container gets at least 6 hours of sun, although 8 or more is ideal. Water every 2-3 days, and every day when temperatures are above 24 degrees celsius/75 degrees Fahrenheit. I also like to water with Miracle Grow once a week or add a slow-release fertilizer to my dirt before planting.
Leafy greens and herbs will grow back multiple times if you leave some of the greens when you cut. Translation: don’t pull your lettuce out of the ground until it bolts!!
If you get an unexpected frost warning before your plants are ready to harvest, cover your pots with an old bed sheet to keep them from freezing. If you live in a colder area as I do, you might have to pick your produce early and let it ripen inside.
RELATED: How to Grow Bean Sprouts in 3-5 Days
How Late is Too Late to Plant?
You can start a container garden up until approximately 50 days before the last killing frost in your area. This isn’t a hard and fast rule and doesn’t work for all vegetables, but it is a general guide for vegetables like peas, beans, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, kale, and beets. Be sure to check the days to maturity on your seed packet, and as long as its around 50 or under, the rule should work.
This rule WILL NOT work for tomatoes or pumpkins.
Now that you know the basics, you can give gardening a try. Every year you will become more confident in your growing skills, and before you know it you’ll be the one everyone in your community garden looks to for advice. Head on over to Shifting Roots for more gardening tips, tricks, triumphs, and failures. Also, if your mom loves plants she will love these 5-peony inspired Mother’s Day Gifts. 😉
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The Beginner’s Guide to a Simple Container Garden
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Thanks for sharing! I would love to garden more, but have a bit of a green thumb, I may need to try starting with a couple containers.
Yah I’m still working on my gardening skills too and find that starting small really helps!
I have always wanted to plant but I knew there was more to it than just pot and water. Thank you for the post I’ve been looking for!
I just started my “container garden” and I am so excited to see my little veggies grow. This is such a great idea when you just don’t have the space. Thanks for sharing!
Dianne . good luck!! I hope you get a huge crop 🙂
We are moving & will have limited space for a garden. So your tips for a container garden inspire me that a garden is possible
Tomatoes in pots need to be watered EVERY day. Ask me how I know. Ha. Anyway, great information and I pinned it.
haha yes it’s true! So do sunflowers, as I’m realizing 😉
I agree! In the beginning when they’re smaller it seems to be okay to skip a day, but I skipped last weekend and mine were looking pretty sad. I hope you have a great crop!
Great tips for a beginner garden. I’ve done both a traditional in-ground garden and containers and I love the simplicity and ease of container gardens. No weeds to slave over for hours every weekend!
That is definitely a perk.
Where were you in May my dear? I had a brown thumb till 2 years ago but am still learning a LOT. Gonna save and pin this post. Thank you.
haha hopefully this helps people come next spring!! GOod luck 🙂
This is so cute! And a great idea!!! I’ve never thought about the smaller containers
I only have an apartment patio, too, so I actually maybe do this! I’d love to be able to have some greenery outside 🙂
Thank you for this. I have an apartment without any sort of yard that I can plant in. This will come in handy!
This is so helpful! I always wanted to try container gardening. We have such a crazy rabbit/squirrel situation, that anything I plant in the ground gets eaten the moment it sprouts – ha! Thanks for these great tips, they’re perfect for a newbie like me 🙂
Oooh I hope this helps! And sounds like some hungry rabbits and squirrels 🙂
My husband and I used to have a garden when we first lived together, it was so fun to take care of it together and watch our hard work really pay off but since we’ve moved we haven’t started a garden yet. I love the idea of container gardening for some things, even though we have plenty of space for a big garden. I love the convenience and cuteness of container gardening so I think i’ll start with that for our new gardening ventures. Thank you for this post. I’m going to save it so I can come back to it later!
Yah – it can be a first step back regular gardening!
I needed this guide…. thank you!! 🙂
This is awesome! I’ve grown spinach in a container before and it turned out great. I had almost forgotten and would love to try it again!
Oooh I’d love to try that!
This is a great guide! Thanks for providing all your awesome photos
Great tips! I have only grown a couple of herbs. My husband has the green thumb, so he tends to the garden. I would love to grow more herbs and possibly other things that I can eat. I am getting around to it one plant at a time!
Willow – good for you! Keep it up. (And nice husband!)
What a great idea, and a great start to a garden!
Such a cute idea for beginner’s! However I can’t seem to keep a plant alive…
Thank you for this great post! I did a container garden this year but really winged it and didn’t know what to plant where or how deep to place bulbs or seeds. The directions are perfect! Hopefully I’ll have a few more veggies from the garden next year!
You and I both! haha 🙂
This is great! We have a garden in the backyard, and use a container area for all of our herbs. Unfortunately the Houston heat has been too hard and we lost most of our plants the last month or so.
Oh no! It’s hard to keep my plants watered here in DC too after some 100 degree days.
Herbs are perfect for container gardens.
first of all, I lived in DC for 7 years ( but left in 2002, great town). I always love gardening advice, since i do not have a green thumb. This year I just did herbs, thought it would be easier!
Hopefully you did well with them! And so cool you used to live in DC too. I’ve been here six years so far.
Legit been wanting to do this for the entire summer and never got around to it! My dad made containers for his giant garden and now I want to as well!
Your dad sounds handy!
This is really helpful! I have been wanting to start a container garden with my daughter!
I think it would be so cool to have my own garden. I’m just afraid my dogs would dig up the plants haha!!
ha! My cat knocks over my plants sometimes.
Great idea! I’ve been trying to up my gardening skills
This is so very helpful! I recently started planting in small containers, but haven’t really gotten the hang of it :\ Hopefully these tips will fix my not-so-green-thumb problems!
xo, Taylor (thesprinkle.tayloramead.com)
I absolutely love growing herbs. I don’t have hardly any space so growing things in a pot is a must.
Thanks for the tips! I have been wanting to create a container garden for some time now. I live in Philly and don’t have much of a yard, so this is really my only option.
Love these tips! We had a garden this summer but would love to have some containers too so definitely saving this!
Good luck!
I have a small patio with our apartment and this gave me some great ideas on how to utilize the space. Now to find some super cute tubs 🙂 I pinned this for me to use this weekend!
Joy
http://www.basicallyjoy.com/
Yay! I hope they turn out awesome 🙂
This is such a perfect guide! I’ve wanted to create a container garden for my herbs for a while. Thanks for the tips!
Good luck with your herbs!
Thanks for the tips! I’ve been working on a garden and yard plan and will be coming back to this post.
Every single year I tell myself I am going to do this and I just never get around to it. Bookmarking this for next year!
I have always wanted to start a veggie garden maybe this is a good way to start! Pinning 🙂
Pallets ! , how fun we use them at work and I burn the old broken ones . I’ve built trellises out of old pallets , as we get various styles. Good job sir and the children will remember working outside not playing video games . You make are planet proud .