Smaller Vegetables for Your Container Vegetable Garden

Think you can't grow a vegetable garden because you don't have enough land? Think again. There are so many new varieties of compact or baby vegetables available today that growing enough veggies to feed an army in containers right on your patio is possible. Apartment dwellers no longer have to suffer buying no-taste tomatoes at the corner grocery store. People with small yards don't have to spend an arm and a leg just to have healthy organic vegetables on their plates. In fact, even if you do have a large backyard, you can enjoy more of it by planting some of your favorite vegetables in containers that can be moved before starting that huge volleyball game.

Container gardening is nothing new but today's variety of compact vegetables is so huge that there are barely no types of vegetables that can't survive nicely in a pot. And just because these vegetables are small in size, doesn't mean they are small on taste. No sir, these babies taste just as good as their larger-sized cousins.

Looking for a little spice in your life? I haven't found a pepper plant, either sweet or hot that didn't grow well in a container. A new tiny pepper variety to try is Golden Baby Belle peppers - The plant grows only to about two feet high and gives forth the cutest little yellow skinned peppers you will ever see. These tasty treats are ready for picking when they are only an inch or two large. Great when used in salads or stuffed as appetizers.

Eggplant is another vegetable that does consistently well in containers but Fairy Tale eggplant has been developed to be a perfect fit for containers. They produce tiny marble colored (purple and white) eggplants that are only four to five inches long and about one inch wide that grow in clusters of six.

Cucumber vines and leaves taking over your yard? Not if you plant Little Leaf cucumbers. Little Leaf cucumber plants have leaves that are only half the size of regular cucumber plants making them perfect for a patio grown veggie.

Patio variety tomato plants stay compact and yet are strong enough to hold those big bunches of juicy ripe tomatoes ( Try Tomato Heatwave II or Patio Princess). If you've ever tried a home grown tomato you know the difference in taste they have compared to store bought. If you plant nothing else in a container this year be sure to have a couple tomato plants growing.

Even watermelon comes in a pint sized variety. Delicious Bush Sugar Baby Watermelon grows on vines that are only three and a half feet long and produces melons that are about twelve pounds each.

When planning your container vegetable garden keep the words, bush type in mind as opposed to vining varieties when it come to veggies like peas ( Try Peas in a Pot, Shelling peas) and green beans (Try Bush Bean White Half Runner).

Don't overcrowd your baby vegetables. Choose or buy containers that are large enough to allow room for mature plants including airspace for proper circulation and watering capabilities. One per pot is also a good rule of thumb for most vegetables when they are being grown in containers. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, many baby carrots, garlic bulbs and radishes can be planted in one pot with no ill effects, as long as your containers are deep enough.

Add some herbs to your container vegetable garden and you've got all the makings of a delicious, healthy meal right at your fingertips. Compact basil varieties work nicely as does parsley, thyme, and oregano. Rosemary will do well in containers as long as you keep it snipped. In fact, I can honestly say that I haven't met a culinary herb yet that can't live and thrive in a container garden.

You should be able to find most of the varieties I've mentioned at Burpee.com or look for them in seed packets at your local gardening center.

For more vegetable gardening tips visit me at Fresh Cooking From Your Garden!