Container gardens are easy and productive. Instead of filling all your large flower pots with geraniums and other annuals, plant a few with vegetables. The vegetables most people like are the ones that grow the easiest in pots.
Many varieties of tomatoes will grow in a patio container. Look for ones that say 'determinate' on the label as they maintain a shorter size. A tomato cage can be placed in a large pot or around a smaller one to help hold the tomato upright.
Try red, purple or yellow bell peppers or one of the white or purple eggplants.
Just as easy are hot peppers, onions, lettuce, bush beans or bush cucumber.
Vining plants such as some of the cucumbers, peas, squash or melons might need a support, can be used in a hanging basket, or they can just be left to sprawl on the patio.
Choosing a Pot
The larger the pot the better, but many of the dwarf or compact vegetables can grow in an 18-inch-tall pot.
To keep the pots light, look for a potting soil that is soil-less. It will be a lightweight blend of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, tree bark, compost and other ingredients. It might also have fertilizer and moisture-holding granules. Soil-less mixes are almost sterile and have few weed seeds, insects or disease spores. Replace one-third to one-half the mix with new soil each year to keep it fresh.
Planting a Container Garden
Plant seeds according to the package instructions. When filling the pot with soil, leave the top inch or two of pot exposed so that the pot can be watered and not overflow. Never add gravel in the bottom of the pot. Just cover the drain hole with a small piece of paper or cloth.
A large pot might be too heavy. Fill the bottom third with empty milk jugs, packing peanuts or other filler. Cover the filler with a cloth and then add the soil. There should still be at least six inches of soil for the roots.
Another easy way to grow vegetables in a very small space is to grow them in a product trademarked as EarthBox. Filling the reservoir allows the plants to self water until you fill it again, making watering much easier. Water is not wasted as it is in regular garden plots. These boxes can be moved into the sunny spots of the yard and a trellis can be installed so tall plants and vines can grow. It uses a sterile soil mix for no weeds and the fertilizer is installed at the beginning of the season, using either regular fertilizer or the new organic version.
One box can handle two larger plants like tomatoes or four smaller plants like bush beans.