For many, gardening means picking flowers or designing a dish of different succulents. But you can take your gardening to a new level wherein you could also feed your family, and even save money! Vegetable gardening is the way to go!
Unsurprisingly, the hobby of growing vegetables has been more popular these days because people spend more time at home. But some people living in the Metro find it hard to start because of lack of space. Fret no more because you can be resourceful by growing your vegetable garden--in containers!
You can start by buying pots, or decluttering your house and making use of anything that you can poke holes at the bottom. Use the ones that can hold the soil and the ones that allow adequate space for the growing roots.
Next, invest in a good soil. Vegetable plants need nutritious soil to feed on so they could produce healthy fruits. It's also best to choose a soil that has good aeration because it will provide room for the roots to breathe inside the container. It would also be nice to use a soil that is made up of organic compost so you could have a tastier, and chemical-free harvest.
Now, let's talk about the seeds to plant. You may want to check this guide from Agrilife Extension for the Suggested Container Grown Vegetables:
*Name (Container Size, Number of Plants) – Varieties
Broccoli (2 gallons, 1 plant) – Packman, Bonanza, others
Carrot (1 gallon, 2-3 plants. Use pots 2 inches deeper than the carrot length) – Scarlet Nantes, Gold Nugget, Little Finger, Baby Spike, Thumbelina
Cucumber (1 gallon, 1 plant) – Burpless, Liberty, Early Pik, Crispy, Salty
Eggplant (5 gallons, 1 plant) – Florida Market, Black Beauty, Long Tom
Green Bean (2 gallons minimum, space plants 3 inches apart) – Topcrop, Greencrop, Contender, (Pole) Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder
Green Onion (1gallon, 3-5 plants) – Beltsville Bunching, Crysal Wax, Evergreen Bunching
Leaf Lettuce (1 gallon, 2 plants) – Buttercrunch, Salad Bowl, Romaine, Dark Green Boston, Ruby, Bibb
Parsley (1gallon, 3 plants) – Evergreen, Moss Curled
Pepper (5 gallons, 1-2 plants) – Yolo Wonder, Keystone Resistant Giant, Canape, Red Cherry (Hot), Jalapeno
Radish (1 gallon, 3 plants) – Cherry Belle, Scarlet Globe, (White) Icicle
Spinach (1 gallon, 2 plants) – Any cultivar
Squash (5 gallons, 1 plant) – Dixie, Gold Neck, Early Prolific Straightneck, Zucco (Green), Diplomat, Senator
Tomato (5 gallons, 1 plant) – Patio, Pixie, Tiny Tim, Saladette, Toy Boy, Spring Giant, Tumbling Tom, Small Fry
Turnip (2 gallons, 2 plants) – Any cultivar
Pay attention to the watering, transplanting, and sunlight requirements of your chosen variety so all could go well with your journey.
See, you could actually grow your very own salad bowl right next to your home! Aside from it's free, it's also fulfilling to indulge in the tasty harvest of own labor.
Vegetable Gardening in Containers
Posted by Jewel Sebastian on