5 Tips on Growing Vegetables in Containers ...

There’s no need to go out and spend a lot of money on fancy planters for your vegetables to be grown in. A 5 gallon bucket, plastic coffee container, or shallow tote can work just as well as any of the expensive planters sold at most garden supply places.

If you plant too many seeds in a container, chances are the plants will be tall and spindly. These types of plants end up not being able to fully mature. You might only be able to plant 1, 2, or 3 seeds per 5 gallon bucket. Take into consideration the height and width of the plant as well. The little seed will need plenty of room to grow.

Most homemade planters don’t have drainage holes already in them. You will either have to drill or cut out some drainage holes in the bottom of your bucket or place a layer of gravel or sand in the bottom of the container under the dirt. You’ll need something to allow the water to drain out of the dirt or else you might end up causing your plants to rot.

Vegetable plants usually require full sun in order to grow properly. I actually can’t think of a shade-loving vegetable. If you know you don’t have an area where your container garden will receive enough sunlight, then you will need to invest in artificial lighting for your plants.

Even if you live in the city you can still give your veggies nourishment with kitchen scraps, compost purchased at the store, or fertilizer made for vegetable plants. It might be an overload for your plants if you try to do all three of these things. If you are using quality soil, there shouldn’t be a need for a lot of soil additives anyway.

I hope you try your hand at growing some veggies in containers. You could start off with a small cherry tomato plant in a bucket. These plants don’t grow to be very large and they are easy to grow. What types of vegetables are you interested in growing in containers?

Top Photo Credit: Normann