I was concerned in grow my own veg for a long time . But I thought it ’s not potential in my apartment and I need to move to a house with a big backyard .
Then I trip up upon the theme of container veg gardening and how it ’s possible to acquire vegetables even in the limited grow space such as a balcony or patio .
I desire this station can help you know more about set up your own veg container garden .
Spinach grown in a container at the BMC Horticulture Show 2023
I was excited about being able to get vegetable in containers on my balcony . But the question was which vegetables should I choose to acquire .
There are a ton of choices when growing container vegetables . you may get almost any vegetable in them .
After thinking about this for a while , I decide to maturate four different type of vegetable . These would be a herb , a leafy vegetable , a fruit veggie , and a radical veg .
Spinach grown in a container at the BMC Horticulture Show 2023
Growing these vegetables would give me a unequalled learnedness experience that I could later use to spring up even more type .
And this would also give the spirit of growing a mini veg garden even if it will just contain four vegetables .
I picked cilantro as the herb , prickly-seeded spinach as the leafy veggie , tomato as the fruit vegetable , and radish as the origin vegetable .
Radish growing in a container at the Horticulture BMC Show
These vegetables are easy to arise for a beginner and will give you a boost in confidence when you successfully harvest them .
Cilantro
Cilantro is an herb that belongs to theparsleyfamily . It has a singular fragrance and flavor that make it great as a garnish .
It ’s widely used in Mexican , Middle Eastern , Indian , and Asian culinary art . you’re able to even use the dried seeds of the cilantro industrial plant as a spice recognize as Chinese parsley .
Cilantro can be an well-situated plant life to grow as a beginner , but you need to rise it in nerveless conditions as it ’s a cool - season plant life .
Plastic containers I bought for plants
I would urge you get the Calypso variety of cilantro that raise 12 - 18 inch in height and can suffer a little of heat .
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Spinach
Spinach is a leafy vegetable that belongs to the amaranth syndicate . It has gloomy green leaves that are rich in nutrients . They are a common summation to Middle - Eastern , Mediterranean , and South - East - Asian cuisine .
Spinach can be eat raw as a salad or cook in alimentary paste , soups , sauces , sandwich , and omelets . It tastes different when raw than cook .
Most variety of prickly-seeded spinach are a coolheaded - season plant which means you’re able to farm them in spring or fall .
Organic fertilizer I use for my plants
I would urge you get the Indian Summer spinach diversity because it grows just 12 inches tall and fully matures in just 35 - 40 days .
Tomato
Lycopersicon esculentum are a fruit vegetable that comes in a spacious variety of shape , sizes , and color . you could get determinate or indeterminate varieties of love apple . The determinate varieties spring up to a fixed size and give fruit . The indeterminate maintain on arise and provide fruit .
tomato are a fond - season craw that would favor to grow in the summertime . They are a fruit vegetable which mean they need a lot of water to grow well .
I would recommend growing a definitive variety in the pot because that ’s easy to do for a beginner . The Bushsteak is a good miscellanea that produce up to 22 inches improbable and takes just 64 days to produce yield .
you may eat the tomatoes raw and wangle . you’re able to make a sauce out of them , sum up them to soups , pasta , meat dishes , sandwich , and salads .
Radish
I like to grow radish in pots because they are one of the fastest - develop vegetable . The radish is a root vegetable that has a pungent flavor .
It can grow from 1 to 24 inches and comes in a smorgasbord of unlike Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , sizes , and colour . And many of them mature to full size in just 3 - 4 weeks fourth dimension .
you could use it raw as part of a salad or cook it as it ’s done in many cuisines around the world , like Indian , Mexican , and European .
They are a coolheaded - time of year crop , so they would make a good companion to the prickly-seeded spinach or coriander plant plants you will grow .
As a founder , I would urge growing the Royal Purple radish variety that grows to just 2 inches in diameter and matures in just 33 days .
Where can you buy vegetable seeds and seedlings?
The good topographic point to buy vegetable seminal fluid packet and seedling is your local garden nitty-gritty or nursery . If you do n’t have them nearby , you may also grease one’s palms them from an online store .
I ’ve listed some inside information like the miscellany , temperature , elevation , and maturity of the four vegetables that we will arise in the container garden .
When is the best time to plant vegetables?
The best time to plant the vegetable depends on whether they are a cool - time of year or warm - season crop .
We are grow three nerveless - season plants that are cilantro , spinach , and radish . And we are spring up one warm - time of year plant that is tomato .
The cool - season crops will produce between 50 to 80 ° atomic number 9 . And the warm - time of year harvest will grow between 65 - 85 ° F .
You need to grow the plant in the above temperature kitchen range because if the temperature is too humbled , the seeds wo n’t sprout . And if the temperature is too high , the works will either die or produce seeds and lose flavor .
The best time to engraft nerveless - season plants like cilantro , spinach , and Japanese radish is in spring or dusk . And the best meter to set lovesome - season plant like tomatoes is during summer .
The welfare of growing herbs like cilantro and leafy greens like prickly-seeded spinach is you’re able to glean the leave before the industrial plant fully matures . So you get a lot of leaves to reap during the mature season .
How to choose the pots for the container vegetable garden?
We are growing four unlike vegetables in our container garden , so we will need four pots . The type of pot for each veg will alter depending on how large the plant is and how many we will grow in each flowerpot .
you’re able to get the pot made from unlike materials like charge card , ceramic , terracotta , metal , and concrete . you’re able to even use a grow grip for growing the container garden . You also have the option to use windowpane box placed on the apartment balcony .
I would suggest either utilise the plastic pot or a grow bag for the four vegetables we want to grow . These material are lightweight , cheap , and durable .
You could apply a stiff muckle such as terracotta if you desire to go with something biodegradable . But this is poriferous material so you may necessitate to water it more often .
If you already have a pot lie around or got some recycle unity , that ’s unspoiled to use as well .
Whether the pot is new or reused , surcharge it in a mixture of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water for one hour . This kills the pests and disease that may be present in the pot and could harm the plants .
After an hour , rinse the wad well with water to houseclean the mixture from it and countenance it out to dry out . Once it ’s land up dry out , you may start planting in it .
The type of container that you utilize for the vegetables should have drain hole at the bottom . All four vegetables call for water system , but they do n’t like dampish soil . That can cause job like origin rot , damping , and blossom - end decomposition .
If there are no adequate drainage holes in the pot , you will need to drill some yourself before using them .
You will need to use pots or grow purse with the good container size bet on the vegetables you need to grow .
The effective grass to pick out for cilantro is one that is 10 - 12 inches inscrutable and 18 - 24 column inch wide . This size helps the cilantro tap roots fan out wide and get a honorable amount of nutrients and moisture . And the width will help you produce several cilantro plants in the same pot to get a respectable harvest .
The spinach industrial plant has shallow roots , so a pot that is 6 - 8 inches deep would be sufficient . You desire to raise and harvest many flora in one pot , so the pot width of 18 - 24 column inch is good .
The radish we will mature are pocket-sized , so a pot that is 6 - 8 inch deep will work for them . The width should be at least 12 inches , so we can grow several radish plant together in the same pot .
The tomato plant can grow deep and propagate wide as well . That ’s why it needs a larger pot than the other vegetables . If you picked a tomato plant that can uprise 3 - 4 metrical unit tall , you will require at least a 5 - gallon container . And if the tomato plant life can grow tall , you ’ll necessitate a 10 - 20 gallon container for larger plant life .
I ’ve researched some plastic container and grow bags you could practice for growing the four vegetable in your container garden .
Which potting soil should you use?
The most important factor that will shape if the vegetables in your container garden succeed is the potting land .
Do n’t make the mistake of using garden soil in the commode . That can have a short texture that either run out out the urine fast due to too much sand or retain extra urine because of too much clay .
The garden soil may also stop harmful plague , diseases , and chemicals that you do n’t want into your vegetables .
The garden soil tends to be heavier than the lightweight culture medium of potting soil . This can cause grunge concretion and problems with drainage .
Pick a upright calibre pot soil and do n’t interest about the price because it will be worth it . Neutral potting grunge is the best alternative to go with for the container vegetable .
Add the potting grunge to the four pots that you picked for the coriander , spinach , Raphanus sativus , and tomato plant life . leave alone just 1 - 2 inches from the top of the pot so water and soil do not spill out when watering .
If you’re able to get compost , add that to your potting dirt during this step . The compost will add rich , organic nutrients good for the vegetable .
If you do n’t have compost , you could add an organic , slow - release fertilizer to the potting soil when make the pot . This plant food will release into the filth slowly after each lachrymation you give . The fertilizer can be a balanced one with N - P - K values of 5 - 5 - 5 or 10 - 10 - 10 .
Here ’s a list of potting soil that would be suitable for farm your vegetable plants in containers .
How to plant vegetable seeds in the pots
I like to plant all four vegetable plant life seeds directly in the pot to avoid the hassle of start up the seeds indoors . The only reason I would do this is if the grow season is shortsighted and I need to get a head start on the plant growth .
If you ’re lazy like me , I would suggest growing all veggie from source in the individual pots itself . The worst thing that may happen is some seed wo n’t evolve . But that ’s o.k. , because we will plant plenty of them and increase our chances .
irrigate the soil to make it moist before planting the seeds . You need it to be a piddling moist but not damp or soaking soaked .
implant the source in the potting grime at a little distance from each other . you may plant 2 - 3 semen in one planting cakehole because we will thin out them later .
The four plants of cilantro , prickly-seeded spinach , radish plant , and tomato have the same requirements on how mysterious to plant the source . You require to cover these seeds with 1/4th in of potting land .
Use a spray - can to spray piss mildly on the soil to keep it moist . You take to do this every twenty-four hour period because the seed need to remain in moist soil for sprouting . The seed will evolve after 5 - 14 days depending on the change and type of seeds .
How to transplant vegetable seedlings to the pots
You may need to transpose the vegetable seedling if you bought them from the garden center . Or if you started seeds indoors and want to transplant the seedlings alfresco .
supply the potting soil to the pot till it ’s full . But keep 1 - 2 inch from the rim of the tidy sum so the water and soil do not spill out when watering .
take away the seedling from the container it ’s grow in . you’re able to gently drift your hands on the outside of the container to relax the soil so the tooth root ball occur out . You may need to cut unfold the container if the root glob is stuck .
Now take out the potting soil from the middle of the pot . The hole should be of the same size as the root egg of the seedling .
Put the root ball inside the hole and add some potting mix to cover it so the plant roots are inside the potting mix . Gently press the potting admixture near the base of operations of the works so it is stable .
Water the potting mix so that it has good wet for the roots to adjust to the transplantation .
When you transplant the seedlings , you need to indurate them for a few daylight . That means observe them outdoors for a piddling while every day and bring them back indoors . take off with an hour and then increase the meter you keep the seedlings outdoors every solar day .
The harden operation help the seedlings adapt to the outdoor environment , including the sun and wind . Otherwise , the transplant may stimulate a shock to them and they wo n’t grow well or even die .
After a few day , you may move the pot out of doors when the seedlings have adjusted to the outdoor condition .
Where to place the pots?
The location where you place the pot with the vegetable plants out of doors will depend on the case of plant .
herb like cilantro prefer full sunlight for at least 6 - 8 hour of Dominicus every day . prickly-seeded spinach and Raphanus sativus also want the same amount of sunlight every day . You could get off with less sunlight but the plants will maturate dull .
Tomatoes demand a draw more sunshine than the other plants . You need to give them at least 8 - 10 hour of lineal sunshine every day .
Just make certain the heat does not get too much for these vegetable plants . If it ’s too red-hot in the afternoon , you will need to move the pots to a shaded location .
How to water the vegetable plants
The disadvantage of growing vegetables in pots is that the roots can not spread further than the throne itself . So the plant has to trust on you to bring home the bacon it with sufficient pee .
All the four vegetable plants we want to grow need the soil to be moist . This helps their roots absorb the wet and nutrients from the soil .
The plant might tolerate a petty dry stipulation , but it will harm their growth if this happens for too long .
So it ’s best to irrigate the veg plants on a regular basis to secure the soil is moist and worthy for them .
If you ’re starting seeds , the best way to keep the dirt moist is with a gentle nebuliser of water from a spray - can . This serve keep the wet in the soil without give the sack the seeds .
Once the seeds have germinated into seedling , you’re able to set about watering them with a watering can . But too much water in the dirt will drown the rootage .
There ’s an easy method you’re able to use to figure out if you require to irrigate the sens . Stick your finger 1 - 2 inches into the soil . If the tip of your digit does not feel moisture , it ’s time to water the soil .
You should water the soil deep and lento till the water run out from the drainage holes of the smoke . This ensures the H2O is pass all voice of the soil so the roots can get the moisture .
Rainwater is the good water you could apply for your container veggie works . But you postulate to collect and store it when it rains . The next proficient pick is to use distilled water if you may give a distiller at home .
I only have access to tap water system at home , so I leave it in a container for 1 day before using it . This helps remove the chemicals like Cl and fluoride that are present in tap water and can harm the plant .
I like to irrigate the works ahead of time in the morning so the roots can absorb the required moisture before it evaporates . But avoid splashing piddle on the leaves as it creates a moist environment that can attract fungal disease .
Here ’s a leaning of watering cans you will get hold useful for water your container veg plant life .
How to thin the vegetable seedlings
I ’m lazy so I prefer to constitute my vegetables directly in pots as much as possible . But to increase the chance that some seeded player will pullulate , I plant more than one seminal fluid per hole .
It often will befall that more than one seed pullulate from the same maw . If you allow them to grow , the plants will compete for nutrients in the soil . That ’s why we need to thin them .
Thinning is the process where you cut off some seedling that may have germinated , leaving just one . You also want to bring down out the seedlings that may be too close to another one , leaving a few inch of space between the seedling .
cutting help avoid the crowding of plant where they compete for food . It also helps separate the vegetable plants from each other , which give good air circulation and sun and protects them from fungous diseases .
You should reduce each of your cilantro , Spinacia oleracea , radish , and Lycopersicon esculentum plants as presently as they have grown 2 - 4 inches grandiloquent .
You should be able to see which are the hefty seedlings per fix . permit that seedling stay to spring up and cut off the other seedlings grow from that hole . Hold the base of the seedling and turn out it out with a pair of garden pruners .
you could expend the cilantro , spinach , and radish seedlings you slue off as part of your salad . But do n’t expend the tomato seedlings as the leave are toxic to humans .
How should you prune the vegetable plants?
Pruning your vegetable plants will keep them in adept wellness and free from pest and disease . It helps the plant focus its energy on mature new foliage .
The character of pruning you need to do or not do calculate on the plant you are rise . You postulate to dress coriander and spinach so they keep producing more leaves for your consumption .
you may snip tomato plants to reduce the foliation so the plant can focus on developing more fruit .
And there is no need to prune the radish plants unless you find some pests and diseases on the leaves .
For cilantro and spinach plant , you could prune the mature office of the plant . For the tomato works , you could prune the suckers that keep growing from the main stem .
The respectable way to prune is to place your thumb and forefinger on the leaf or stem and pilfer it off . You do n’t desire to pull on the plant but just softly pick off the husk you need .
I wish to use a dyad of gardening scissors to prune the farewell and suckers of the vegetable plants . This helps forestall creating a wound on the plant that takes a long time to heal and attract disease .
Pruning is a taxing activity on the plant , so I wish to add a little of potting mix and compost to give the veggie establish a boost .
Here are some hand pruners you may use for trim your vegetable plants .
How to support your vegetable plants
Cilantro , spinach , and radish are small flora that do n’t need supporting . But the determinate tomato plant will need accompaniment , particularly if the fruits are heavy .
you may either use staking or cage in to support the tomato flora in the pot . The support help the tomatoes stay away from the stain and avoid attacks from pests and diseases .
It also helps provide right aura circulation among the leave of the plant and prevents fungal disease .
To use hazard , you need a wooden wager that is settle inside the pot or in the terra firma outside the pot . you’re able to also put the bet in another heavier mint .
To use cage in , you use a tomato batting cage and grow the tomato plant inside the cage . As the Lycopersicon esculentum plant grows , it take the support of the batting cage . You do n’t need to bond the plant to the cage .
Do the vegetable plants need fertilizer?
It ’s always good to give a little cost increase to your vegetable plant as they produce by adding some nutrients to the potting soil .
The best nutrients you’re able to tally is in organic compost . If you may get compost , add it to the potting soil when preparing the container .
The compost works well because it contains rich , constitutive nutrients beneficial to the veg plants . It also introduce microorganisms that further ameliorate the grunge grain .
you may add the compost every month as the vegetable industrial plant are growing . If you do n’t have compost , a slow - release constitutional plant food also can be append to the potting mix . This fertilizer will be slowly release into the dirt as you water the plants .
It ’s important to follow the instructions on the fertilizer bag because you do n’t want to summate too much or too little .
For the Chinese parsley , prickly-seeded spinach , daikon , and Lycopersicon esculentum flora , bestow the fertilizer just once during the develop time of year should be sufficient . You could also expend constituent swimming fertilizer or else . You need to add that every 2 week to the plant life .
Spray the water - soluble fertilizer on the soil and the foliage to give the plants a boost of the nutrient they demand .
Cilantro and prickly-seeded spinach are leafy vegetables so you want to encourage folio ontogeny . Fertilizer rich in nitrogen will help you do that . So pick a fertilizer that has N - atomic number 15 - K of 10 - 5 - 5 . Fish photographic emulsion is an excellent fertilizer that is plentiful in atomic number 7 .
For tomato and radish plants , you do n’t want to further leaf growth but want more yield and root development . That ’s why you should not use a fertilizer rich in N .
or else , you need to utilize a fertilizer with N - P - K of 5 - 10 - 10 that is productive in morning star and potassium to encourage yield and root ontogenesis .
Be careful not to overuse the fertilizer on your veg plants as it will damage the leaves and ascendent .
Here is a list of slow - release constituent fertilizer you could habituate .
Here is a lean of organic fluid fertilizer you could utilise .
How to protect vegetable plants from weeds
The welfare of develop vegetable plant in a pot is they are much more protect from sens than growing them in the ground .
There will still be some weeds reaching the flora because birds , animals , and wind will channel some source into the pot .
The best style to forefend the problem of weeds is by using a layer of mulch in the sess . The mulch can be organic material , like gage clippings , dried leaves , straw , or moss .
The best prison term to add the mulch is when the veggie plants have sprout and grown a few inches tall .
The mulch will preclude sunshine from reaching the weed seeds and prevent them from germinating .
Another benefit of tot up mulch to the container is it keeps the wet in the soil to last longer . It decelerate down the vapour of the moisture from the heat of the sun . And it regulates the temperature in the grease . So it remain cool and suitable for your vegetable plant .
I suggest using organic mulch because it get out down over time and adds deep , constitutive material to the potting grease .
How to harvest vegetables from your container garden
The best part of grow veggie in pot is when the time come to reap and enjoy them in your meal .
Cilantro and spinach
Cilantro and spinach will acquire tight and you ’ll be capable to harvest the leaves in just 3 - 4 week ’ clip .
The plant should have reached at least 4 - 6 inches in height before you harvest the leaves . The more leaves you harvest , the more foliage the plant life will farm .
Harvest just 1/3rd of the cilantro or prickly-seeded spinach at one time and let the other leaves stay to grow . This give the industrial plant sufficient foliation to go forward growing well . And you will be able to keep harvesting them every few twenty-four hours .
The secure manner to harvest is to pick the leaves that have matured . you’re able to nip them off with your thumb and fingers .
Or you could apply a pair of horticulture scissors hold to dilute them off the plant . It ’s important to not pull on the plant as you ’re reap the leave .
Radishes are stem crops will also develop tight and depending on the variety , you may harvest them in 30 - 40 daytime ’ time .
You will love the radishes are ready for harvest when the top becomes the sizing of a quarter . If you’re able to not see the radish top , move a morsel of dirt near the base of the works to check .
To harvest the Raphanus sativus , halt the stalks at the base of the plant . You do n’t require to pull on the leaf because they ’re delicate and will break off .
apply the stalking with your hand and mildly pull it out of the soil . If it ’s a petty hard to pull , hear giving it a little pull before pulling the radish out .
Tomatoes
The tomato flora , look on the determinate variety , will take at least two months to turn and deliver tomato .
The tomato will be ready for crop when they are firm to touch and bright in color . you’re able to apply your finger to harvest the tomatoes from the works or clip the stalk with a horticulture pruner .
I would recommend glean the tomatoes from the industrial plant only when you are going to consume them . This help you get the most tang and nutrients from the tomatoes .
If you want to store them after harvest , then snip off them along with the star - form top attached to the Lycopersicon esculentum . This will serve keep them fresh in storage for a longer time .
Further Reading
you may find more details on how to design your vegetable container garden in the next link . I ’ve written detailed information about the canonic footfall needed for growing in container , what vegetables you could maturate , and how you could go about it .
Fact Checked , Written , and print by Kevin Rodrigues
Kevin is the founding father of Gardening Mentor , a website that train to instruct people to grow their own food for thought in a limited space . As a self - taught gardener , Kevin has spent several days growing plant and creating gardening content on the internet site . He is certified in Home Horticulture and Organic Gardening from Oregon State University . He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Horticulture and Landscape Gardening from Mumbai University . learn more
