When you hear of growing vegetables I’m sure you will right away think of a vegetable garden plot. But do you know that you can also grow vegetables in containers? If you have limited space or living in a condominium unit or an apartment but would like to eat freshly harvested vegetables then container gardening is the answer. Here are tips on how to grow container gardening vegetables which you can enjoy and harvest fresh for your meals.
1. Choose the area in your house where you will setup your vegetable container garden. Be sure that the place you choose is airy, has sufficient sunlight, well ventilated and would be comfortable and accessible for you to work in.
2. Choose the vegetables you would want to grow in containers. Some vegetables are easy to grow in containers like onions, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, radish, squash and beans. Although any vegetable can grow in container gardens some of those with vines or large produce would need bigger spaces and extra care. If you do not want to put in extra hours in caring for your vegetables then you can stick with the easy to grow ones.
3. Choose a soil for your container garden. You can use ready made garden soil especially mixed for container gardens. This type of soil is light, holds nutrients and moisture and drains excess water well. You can also make your own soil the contents of which you can buy from your local garden store.
4. Choose the right containers depending on the vegetables you want to cultivate in them. Parsley and green onions can be grown in 6 to 10 inch containers while eggplants, peppers and tomatoes will grow well in 5 gallon containers. Although you can use much bigger containers, it is important that you give the roots of your vegetables enough room to grow. It should also be easy for you to move your containers around if needed. Your containers should also have drainage holes on the sides and bottom. For a good and improved drainage, line the bottom of your containers with gravel which will allow the plant to release excess water.
5. Plant your vegetables from seeds, from germinated seeds you did yourself or from shoots which you can buy from a plant nursery.
6. Water your plants once a day and place them in a well ventilated area and where they will be able to get adequate sunlight for at least 4 to 6 hours a day. For leafy plants, watering should be done twice a day but you should avoid wetting the leaves which will cause diseases in the plants.
Working on your garden and spending time in taking care of your plants will soon pay off once you harvest your fresh vegetables.
