Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

If you haven’t got a  plot of land where you can grow vegetables then why not use some containers or pots to provide you wish some free vegetables for the table?

Quite a few vegetables are suitable for gardening in containers or pots. You can select bush or dwarf varieties. Almost any vegetable can be adapted to growing in a pot. Vegetables that take up little space, such as carrots, radishes and lettuce, or crops that bear fruits over a long period of time, such as tomatoes and peppers, are perfect for container vegetable gardens.

Containers and Pots for Vegetable Gardens

Selecting Containers: Containers for your vegetable gardens can be almost anything: flower pots, pails, buckets, wire baskets, bushel baskets, wooden boxes, nursery flats, window planters, washtubs, strawberry pots, plastic bags, large food cans, or any number of other things.

I have used old dustbins for potatoes and you can make use of a pile of tyres – filling up with soil a tyre at a time as the potato plants grow.

Drainage: No matter what kind of container you choose for your vegetable garden, it should have holes at the base or in the bottom to permit drainage of excess water.

Soil and Fertilizer

You can use soil in your container vegetable garden, but the synthetic mixes are much better. Peat-based mixes, containing peat and vermiculite, are excellent. They are relatively sterile and pH adjusted. They also allow the plants to get enough air and water. Mixing in one part compost to two parts planting mix will improve fertility.

Using a slow release or complete organic fertilizer at planting will keep your vegetables fed for the whole growing season.

Watering

Pots and containers always require more frequent watering than plants in the ground. As the season progresses and your plants mature, their root system will expand and require even more water. Don’t wait until you see the plants wilting. Check your containers daily to judge the need for water.

Have fun with your garden and you will soon enjoy the fruits of your labour.