Fun Tips for Vegetable Container Gardening

What tastes better than luscious vegetables fresh picked from the garden? Even if you don't have a yard for a traditional garden, you can still enjoy planting and eating your own vegetables. Vegetable container gardening is growing in popularity as more people live in apartments. Whether you buy your containers commercially or make them yourself, it's easy to begin growing your own vegetables. This article will discuss the types of vegetables that are suited for vegetable container gardening, and the different types of containers you can use. You're only limited by your imagination!

Determine which vegetables are your favorites and you're ready to scope out a place for your garden. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green onions, beans, lettuce, squash, lettuce, radishes, and parsley all do well in containers. Any vegetable that you could think of would be suitable for a vegetable garden container.

Do you have a sunny patio or indoor window where the sunlight can stream in? Vegetables will grow better if they are in direct sunlight. A balcony would work as well, or you can even have a rooftop garden.

Now it's time to choose your container. Gardener's Supply Company has self-watering vegetable containers that cut down on the time that you spend watering, and have convenient drainage holes at the bottom for easy refilling. If you like sweet, juicy tomatoes, try the Tomato Success Kit. Boasting a four gallon reservoir, this kit includes 40 quarts of Gardener's exclusive soil mix. Your tomatoes will be 30% larger than typical garden-grown plants. Have fun browsing their website and choosing your container from the many varieties and colors.

For tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, a five gallon container works best. Use a six to ten inch pot for green onion, parsley, and herbs.

Commercial containers can be made of terra cotta or clay. Depending on the type of clay used to make them, colors like off-white, brown, pink or earthy beige are available. If you don't mind the extra watering, wooden containers will provide better insulation from extreme temperatures. Good choices of wood include rot resistant redwood, cypress, or cedar.

If you're on a budget, you might want to make your own containers. Plastic buckets, old bleach jugs, and large vegetable cans would work well. Plastic is not only practical, it's also very affordable. Plastic will stand up to extreme temperatures and also retains moisture well. Paint or decorate your bleach jugs and vegetable cans. Let your imagination run wild. If you have enough plants, you could even use an old bathtub.

Don't forget to put drainage holes in the bottoms of your containers. Use a pocket knife or thumb tack to poke the holes.

Vegetable container gardening takes time and effort, but it's all worth it when you bite into those scrumptious vegetables. Have fun!

Sources:
aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html
www.gardeners.com
gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/ContainerVeggie.htm