Budget Vegetable Gardening

Container gardening is a fantastic way to grow vegetables, especially when you lack yard space! If you have a small gardening area or only have access to a patio, balcony, driveway, or rooftop, see our guide on vegetable container gardening for beginners!

What is Container Gardening?

Container gardening is growing in pots; this allows those of us who don’t have room for raised beds or a huge garden plot to grow our own food, too.

Benefits of Container Gardening

The great thing about growing in containers is being able to pick up pots and move them where you know they’ll thrive. Even if it’s only one or two pots on the side of your driveway or in the corner of your balcony, gardening in containers allows you to maximize all of your available space.
Container gardening also gives you much more control over your growing. You can have ideal growing medium with the right amount of nutrients. You’ll certainly have less weeds or even no weeding and can streamline your gardening tasks. Harvesting is much cleaner and easier, too.

A Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening

Just as with a standard garden bed, consider things such as sunlight exposure, water accessibility, and protection from wind when deciding where to put your containers.
To maximize your veggie harvest, you’ll want to place your pots in an area that gets full sun (i.e., 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day). Lettuce, spinach, and other greens can grow well in less sunlight (3 to 5 hours per day), but for fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash, or eggplant, full sun should be the goal. Southern and western exposures will provide the most sunlight and warmth, while northern and eastern exposures will be shadier and cooler.
It’s also a good idea to put your pots somewhere that you can reach with a watering hose. Keep in mind that container gardens tend to need more water than standard in-ground gardens, and there’s nothing worse than having to lug a gardening can across your yard a dozen times every morning—and then having to do it again in the evening! Having an easily accessible source of water nearby will save you a lot of time and effort. Read more on garden hoses here.
Protecting containers from direct wind keeps them from drying out as much and prevents accidental tipping over. Depending on the size of your containers and the plants you’re growing, they may get top-heavy as the season goes on, which makes them more vulnerable to tipping over in strong winds. Place containers in sheltered locations or plan to secure them (e.g., with cinderblocks, stones, or ropes).
Finally, think about the microclimates that exist on your property. Microclimates are small pockets of space in which the climate of the immediate area doesn’t match the greater climate of your location. For example, an asphalt driveway will hold onto warmth longer than a patch of grass will, so any pots placed on the driveway will be exposed to that extra warmth. On one hand, this could mean that the pots dry out more quickly, but on the other hand, the plants may grow better thanks to the warmer soil.

Tip: Utilising the best solar lights on the market into your budget vegetable garden offers an affordable and sustainable lighting solution, extending your gardening hours into the evening while reducing energy costs and enhancing the visibility and security of your nutritious bounty.

What Size Pot for Container Gardening

The most fundamental part of container gardening is—surprise—picking the right container! Ensuring you have the best gardening gloves can make pot handling and soil mixing much safer and more comfortable. In general, the more space you can offer your plants’ roots, the better they will grow. Most vegetables need at least 12 inches of soil to grow well, but larger vegetables will require more space. A 5-gallon container is a good size for growing something like a tomato or squash plant, while a smaller container would be perfectly fine for shallow-rooted plants such as lettuce or other greens.
Bear in mind that larger containers will be heavier and harder to move, and may be too heavy for somewhere like a balcony. Small containers, on the other hand, are more mobile and versatile, but also tend to dry out faster, requiring more attention on hot days.

How Large Should Drainage Holes Be?

A container should have a drainage hole or some other way to allow water to pass through it. Water-logged soil promotes bacterial and fungal growth, which will stunt plants’ productivity or kill them outright. Your climate factors into this as well; gardeners in drier areas may want to choose containers that retain more moisture, while those in more humid environments way want containers that allow for more air flow.
If you have a container which is 4 to 6 inches in diameter, then you just need 3 to 6 drainage holes where each is 1/4th inch in size. Larger containers need 6 to 8 drainage holes and the size would be 1/4th. Holes larger than 1/4 inch in diameter will allow too much soil to escape.

What Type of Pot?

From plastic pots and cinderblocks to whiskey barrels and wheelbarrows, almost anything that holds soil can be gardened in. The final important factor to consider is what the container is made out of. These days, containers come in all sorts of types, each with its upsides and downsides. Here are a few of the most popular container materials:

• Plastic: Plastic pots come in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes, which makes them one of the most popular choices for container gardening. Plastic pots also tend to be the cheapest option. They are relatively lightweight, hold in moisture well, and are easy to clean and reuse for many gardening seasons down the line. If you’re growing edibles, be sure to choose pots made out of food-grade plastic so that chemicals won’t leach into the soil.
• Ceramic (terra-cotta): Ceramic pots are another popular choice. They tend to be more decorative than plastic pots, but are also quite a bit heavier—especially when filled with soil. Ceramic pots come in glazed or unglazed styles; the main difference being that glazed pots hold in more moisture than unglazed pots. The great thing about ceramic pots is that the clay is porous, which allows some level of air and water to flow through it. This ensures that soil doesn’t get overly wet, but also means that soil in (unglazed) clay pots will dry out more quickly than in plastic pots. Additionally, ceramic pots are susceptible to cracking in cold weather, so they should be emptied and stored in a sheltered area through the winter.
• Fabric: Fabric pots have become more popular in recent years thanks to their lightweight nature and the breathability they offer. They often come with handles, too, which makes moving them around very easy. Plus, they can be washed and

Fertilizing Your Container Garden

Fertilizing is a key component of maintaining a healthy container garden. Since water can wash away nutrients in potting soil, regular feeding is essential to replenish these vital resources.

Feeding Your Plants

• Slow-release fertilizers can be mixed into the potting mix at the beginning of the season to give plants a sustained source of nutrition.
• Liquid fertilizers should be applied at least twice a month during the active growing, flowering, and fruiting stages.
• Organic options like liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, or manure tea are excellent for adding trace elements to the soil.

Supporting Your Plants

As your plants grow, they may need additional support to prevent them from falling over or breaking. This is particularly true for tall or climbing vegetables.

• Stakes, trellises, and cages can be used to support plants like tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers.
• Install supports at planting time to avoid damaging the plants or their roots later on.

Choosing Vegetables for Container Gardening

Not all vegetables are suited for container gardening. It’s best to choose varieties that are known to thrive in confined spaces.

• Dwarf or container varieties are bred specifically for container gardening and are more likely to succeed.
• Mixing plant types can maximize space and yield. For example, combine tall climbers with low-growing plants in the same container.

Maximizing Space and Yield

To get the most out of your container garden, consider companion planting and succession planting.

• Companion planting involves grouping plants with similar sunlight and water needs.
• Succession planting ensures a continuous harvest by planting quick-maturing crops alongside longer-growing ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tables Packed with Value

Here are some tables that provide valuable information for your container gardening journey: