Organic Container Vegetable Gardening: A Guide

There is growing recognition for the benefits of organic produce because it does not contain harmful pesticides and is easy on the ecosystem. Organically grown vegetables and fruits are more expensive than the conventional ones. But now you can grow organic produce right in your garden at an affordable price.

You can harvest delicious organic vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, radish and herbs like parsley and basil with simple container gardening if you do not have much space in the outdoors or good outdoor soil quality to grow them. As long as you have enough sunlight, you can grow them in your patio or by the window sill. People choose container gardening even for the outdoors if their land-soil is not organically treated.

You will find that maintaining a container garden is simple and fulfilling with the following steps.

Prepare an organic growing medium: Many stores sell organic container mix. You can also prepare your own medium from mixing organic soil, organic compost and sand in equal measures. Add peat moss to the mix to hold water and organic perlite to help drainage. Make sure that the soil is free from insects and weed seeds.

Prepare a good container: You can use your imagination to select a container. You can buy fancy decorative mud, clay or terracota pots or recycle old buckets and canisters. Do not use rusty containers. Select the container's size according to the vegetable you plan to plant. Plants with bigger and longer roots need at least a 5-gallon container. Make sure that the container has enough holes to provide good water drainage. You can use 1/2" to 1" of coarse gravel at the bottom of the container to prevent water from logging in the soil mix.

Plant the organic seeds: Plant the seeds in trays or seeding pots filled with a thin (1/2" to 1" thick) layer of the potting medium. Place them where there is sufficient air and sunlight. Once they germinate and grow a few leaves, carefully place them in containers. Follow instructions on spacing requirements for the vegetable (they come with the seed-packet).

Water and fertilize the plants: After the plants are transferred to their containers, water them regularly. Some plants need to be watered once in two days while some need water twice a day. Follow instructions that come with the organic seeds. The potting medium has limited nutrients - so use fertilizers frequently. Many fish and compost based organic fertilizers are available for your garden. Once a week, leach with plain water so that excess fertilizers can be drained.

Use organic pesticide: Use organic pest-sprays in you container vegetable garden. Container plants can crowd and become a home for bugs. Inspect your plants regularly for wilting and rust. You can also remove pests like aphids with your hands or a water spray.

Harvest when they are ready: Outdoor container vegetable plants usually get a lot of sunlight. Make sure your indoor containers do as well. Unlike salad greens, veggies like cucumbers, eggplant and tomatoes like at least 6-8 hours of sunlight every day. When your vegetables are mature and your salad greens are tender, they are ready to be harvested.

Spring is the right time to get started on your organic container vegetable gardening. All tools and seeds are readily available in stores like Home Depot.