10 Vegetables For Container Gardening

Backyard vegetable gardening can be done in containers.  So, if you’re short on space but big on fresh vegetables in the summer containers can be a solution.  Today, we’re going to discuss vegetable container gardening and the best vegetables that can be grown in containers.  There’s nothing better than fresh veggies during the hot summer months.  Most people think that they must use large plots of land to create a kitchen garden.  However, that is simply not true.  
Vegetable container gardening has become popular over the years.  It’s a great way to grow fresh vegetables when you have limited space. I have listed 10 vegetables that I plant in my garden each year, but are also excellent choices for containers.  You containers can be regular flower pots, crates, 5 gallon buckets, or plastic tubs from the dollar store.  So, get creative and use your imagination.  Here’s 10 vegetables for container gardening: 
container vegetable gardens

 

 

1.  Cherry Tomatoes – First, cherry tomatoes are a great choice for hanging baskets on patios or balconies.  Don’t you love the idea of reaching up and grabbing a few tomatoes for a salad or snack. My favorite cherry tomato is the Sweet 100. It’s hard for me to make it out of my garden with devouring my harvest.

2.  Eggplant – Great for growing in pots. A 4 foot garden stake can be used to support the plant. Black Beauty is an excellent plant for containers. The blooms alone are worth finding a spot in the garden for eggplant.

3.  Bell Peppers –  Second, green, red, yellow, white or orange peppers can be grown in pots.  Five gallon bucks make excellent pots for container gardening. You will need a 4 foot stake to hold the plant.

4.  Herbs – Small clay pots are excellent for growing herbs in windows or on a patio.  Basil, oregano, sage, mint or Rosemary can be grown as shown.

5.  Chili or Jalapeno peppers  – Depending on your pot size, you will need a 2-4 foot stake to support your plant.

6.  Salad Bowl – Next, I have 2 wash tubs that I use.  For example, I grow Butter Crunch, Black Seeded Simpson and Salad Bowl lettuce so that I have a good mix of salad greens. If you use metal containers, place bubble wrap or newspaper at the bottom to keep the roots of the plants from burning. Lettuce likes cooler weather so if you use metal containers remember they hold heat. Place your container in a shady spot so the lettuce doesn’t bolt.

 

container gardening

 

 

7.  Lettuce – If you’re lucky enough to have wine crates, they’ve excellent for growing lettuce and herbs too.

 

vegetable container gardening

8.  Tomatoes  Five gallon buckets, rectangle, square or round pots can be used.  Depending on the variety you will need to stake or cage them. A 5 foot stake or cage should suffice, but be sure to stake or cage early. Look for varieties that can be grown easily in containers like Early Girl, Patio Princess or Tiny Tim to name a few.

9.  Cucumbers  – You will need a trellis so they an climb. Nothing fancy, find 2 sticks in your yard and wrap twine around them as shown.

10. Radishes or Carrots – Last, grow a pot of rainbow carrots with your children or grandchildren. The rainbow carrots are yellow, orange, purple and red.  Great idea to introduce kids to gardening while having fun.

Finally, make sure your containers have adequate drainage.  For example, use a quality, organic potting mix. Don’t limit yourself to the 10 suggestions above.  You can also grow peas, beets, squash, and zucchini in containers too.  Now that you know space is no longer an issue, you can enjoy fresh vegetables too.

 Additionally, you may also like: How To Grow Bigger Tomatoes or How To Stake and Cage Tomatoe

My Kitchen Garden Is Thriving


I spent some time in  my kitchen garden checking on my babies and pulling weeds.  The only negative that find in gardening is weeds.  In the above picture are Sugar Baby watermelons, cantaloupe, and a yellow watermelon which I have never grown before.


I cut down on my peppers this year.  I have an orange, red and green belle.  I lost my white belle. I have a Tabasco and a jalapeno planted as well.  


My Blue Lake pole beans are starting to climb.  Hopefully I will have a good crop.  I did remove the weeds and laid a path of newspaper and leaves to help keep the weeds down.


My sunflowers are getting huge.  I started these in bottles during the winter.  You can see my post on Greenhouse Bottles here.


I have a small bed of lettuce, which is looking good.  I have a shady spot, that receives some sun, so I’m going to start another bed this week. Homegrown lettuce taste so much better than store brought.  

 



My cucumbers are starting to climb.  A few have latched onto my make-shift trellis, but it looks like I will have to train one.  I used left over rabbit fencing for my trellis staked with 2 fence posts. Last year I used a bamboo trellis, it didn’t work very well.  I have Marketmore, Lemon, Boston Pickling and Salt and Peppers cukes in this area.  

 


This is garlic, which I will be digging up in another 1 – 2 weeks.  This is the first season that I was able to grow it successfully.  The first season I planted in the spring, and it did not do well.  I planted this crop last fall and it has done great.  The leaves are starting to dead back, so it’s getting close to  harvest time.  I can’t wait to use fresh garlic in my recipes this summer and into the winter.  


Stay tuned for a future post on the other veggies in the garden.  I’ll be starting my seeds for my fall crops, cauliflower, kale, spinach, and collards.  What’s growing in your garden?  Leave a comment and I’ll stop by to check out what’s thriving.  

How To Build A Green Bean Trellis

Last year I used a teepee trellis for my pole beans and it worked well.  So, I want to share with you How to Build a Green Bean Trellis so you have a cool trellis for your beans too.   Planting both bush and pole beans were on my backyard vegetable gardening list of things to do.  Well, time is not always on  my side.  So, I decided to go another route.

home gardening, vegetable gardens, bean trellis 

 

I had made a trellis for my green beans in an earlier growing season.  But, I decided to modify it to maximize my green bean harvest rather than plant bush beans.  My goal was to add bars to the trellis teepee so I could plant beans completely around it.  However, one side was left open. I wanted my grandchildren to have a seat inside of the teepee while I’m gardening.  So, an adorable miniature chair will be placed inside the green bean trellis for them to sit. 


Making a bean teepee can be simple and inexpensive.  I used the bamboo poles from last season and cuttings from my bamboo squash trellis.  I found left over string from other projects under my sink and used it to tie the smaller bars around the legs of the teepee.  String is great for the tendrils of the plant to latch onto. Lowes and Home Depot sell bamboo poles that won’t break the bank if you can’t found a resource locally. The Dollar Store sells string.  My brother has a yard full of bamboo, so I luck out. 

 

 

 DIY garden trellis

 

Here’s what you will need to build a green bean trellis:

  • The poles should be 6 – 8 feet tall and you will need 4 pieces. 
  • I used (4) 7 foot poles and 5 bars across. 
  • 1 5 ft. fence T-post
  • Be sure to secure the poles tightly at the top and get them deep into ground before you tie on the horizontal poles.

 

Here’s the steps for building a green bean trellis:

1.  Tie your 4 poles at the top securely.
2.  Your poles should look like A-frames.
3.  Place the frames in the ground deep enough to hold them securely.
4.  Tie the smaller pieces (20) across the bars to form 3 sides.  Leave an opening to place a chair for the kids or spacing for growing lettuce through the summer, which requires shade.  The leaves of the beans will provide the shade.
5.  Plant your choice of pole beans completely around the bottom of the teepee and watch them climb.
6.  Place a 5 foot garden t-post on the rear of the teepee.  Re-enforce the teepee by tying string from the top of the teepee to the T-Post. This will give the teepee strength when it is covered with vines and green beans.  

 

 

 

 

Last, I use Blue Lake pole beans.  I believe they are more flavorful and less stringy than other beans.  However, planting Jade Bush Beans along with the pole beans will prove beneficial.  Also, companion plant green beans with tomatoes and cucumbers.  Place your green bean teepee close to your tomatoes and cucumbers.  Here’s a picture of the teepee covered with green beans.  It was so heavy with beans it started to lean forward.  We pulled it back and re-enforced it with a fence t-post stake in the back of the teepee.

 

 

Green bean trellis

 

 

 

It is now straight and loaded with enough of green beans to freeze several quarts for winter.  Perfect for soup and green beans and corn.

 

 

Green Bean Teepees

 

You may also like:  Using Eggshells In The Garden