I've been thinking of trying to grow some vegies in containers. But while looking at vegie catalogs, they feature enticing pics of the edible vegie. . .but not of the plant, its habit, height, etc.

Of course, those vegies I like are of most interest: yellow summer squash (crook-neck and straight), acorn squash, carrots, corn, potatoes, iceberg and romaine lettuce. . .and of course yellow seet corn!! I LOVE cataloupe and one catalogue's pic of a personal-sized melon is especially enticing.

Does anyone have any experience growing vegies i n containers, or is this just a passion for in-ground gardeners?

My mom grew potatoes in a bucket type container and they did great. I thought she planted too many pieces in each bucket (I think she put 3 pieces, each with an eye or two), but she still got a yield. I tried leaf lettuce in a container, and it was a total flop. Have no idea what I did wrong except put radishes with it which also was a total flop. I did the lettuce thing because I saw at Lowe's they were selling what they called Salad Bowls and there was 3 different kinds of lettuce in the planter bowl. It looked great and healthy. Mine sure didn't.

Bet - I have very little vegetable gardening space with some sun exposure. But, that space has to share with a few roses, perennials and shrubs. I've taken to growing vegetables in containers over the past couple of years. I started small with Burpee's Kaleidoscope small carrots and tomato 'Reisentraube' (because the seeds were free). Then I moved on to kale, Swiss chard and Napa cabbage. For this coming year, I've done a little research on summer squash and zucchini that I can grow in pots since they take up more space in the ground than I allotted. I'm also going to try potatoes for the first time ever - those will go in grow pots. The main thing to remember is that the containers will require more water during the growing season. I hesitate to recommend specific varieties because your summers get a lot hotter than mine. You can search for "patio" and name your vegetable/fruit for some recommendations online.

I grow vegetables in large containers all the time.
Yes, they need more watering than in the ground, and sometimes the yield is not as great as it would be in the ground.
There are "patio" and dwarf varieties of most vegetables.
Go ahead and try a few, and see how they grow in your zone in containers.

I started growing some veggies in containers when we were in SoCal....because of rabbits and gophers. Where we are now, I have a small, so far, fenced area with tables because of the deer....I grew strawberries and green beans in containers this last year. I grow the French Filet bush beans because those are my favorite and they're never available commercially...This year I will, hopefully, be expanding into trying more things. I'm currently using large plastic storage bins for growing in...simply because I already had them

Hi, BetNC:

Carrots, lettuce and potatoes do very well in containers (potatoes need a larger container, though). For squash, look for a "bush" type that doesn't grow quite as large as others. Burpees sells a sweet corn that is supposed to be specifically for containers--I think it's called "On-deck" or something similar. Supposed to have a higher yield in smaller spaces.

I grow all of my veggies in containers, and it's amazing what can be done with the right size container and proper water/fertilization.

Even though I have three raised beds for veggies I always have overflow in containers on deck or here and there around yard. Geranium Kiss tomato is a variety developed for containers that Im trying this year. Just got my seeds from Peace Seedlings, the folks who developed this tomato. I see it's also available from Baker Creek. Herbs like basil often do better in containers than in beds. Really it's the amount of sun that determines success with veggies, most can adapt to containers just fine if enough hours of sunlight.

I've successfully grown dwarf tomatoes in 5-gallon containers, peppers in 3 and 5-gallon containers, and lettuce, basil, chives, parsley and pak choi in smaller containers. Had mixed success with cucumbers. Squash might be iffy because the vines spread all over. I've never tried to trellis squash vines, but that might be one way to handle it in a large container. The picture shows Gypsy peppers in pots.

You can also grow some melons and watermelons in containers. Minnesota midget melon is one and there's a watermelon that I've heard of people growing in containers but the name of it escapes me right now.

Territorial Seeds lists 52 "Container Friendly Vegetables".

http://www.territorialseed.com...


Johnny's Seeds lists these after a "container" search, but the 2nd and 3rd category did not seem useful.
Johnny's Products (187)
Growing Resources (127)
Growing Ideas Blog (3)
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/sea...

Pepper , it might be Golden Midget ,, all seeds ,,,

Peppers always do great in pots for me. Mesh grow bags seem to work the best for peppers both hot and sweet. Be sure to get a quality soil mix. Dr. Earth has been my go to.

Pics of veggies I have grown in containers:

http://garden.org/plants/brows...

I tried zucchini and summer squashes in containers and they really didn't do very well. I think the pots stressed the plants.

Varieties of those smaller eggplants did really well in pots. Peppers seem to do well on pots also. For tomatoes I only like to plant smaller growing Determinate types.

Rita:
     There are several varieties of summer squash advertised as being suitable for container use. I only know of a few, but there may be more.
     Buckingham Patio (zucchini)
     Papaya Pear (zucchini)
     Spacemiser (zucchini)
     Balmoral Patio (Scallop)
I have not yet tried any of these, but doggone it, now you've aroused my curiosity!

DonShirer said:Rita:
     There are several varieties of summer squash advertised as being suitable for container use. I only know of a few, but there may be more.
     Buckingham Patio (zucchini)
     Papaya Pear (zucchini)
     Spacemiser (zucchini)
     Balmoral Patio (Scallop)
I have not yet tried any of these, but doggone it, now you've aroused my curiosity!

I didn't have any of those varieties and instead planted the types that I would have planted in ground. I only tried them on containers one year. The following year I planted in ground and I will stick with in ground from now on. I think there are better choices for containers. At least that is the way it worked out for me. Better to put a pepper plant or eggplant in the container and put the summer squashes in the ground.

BetNC said:I've been thinking of trying to grow some vegies in containers. But while looking at vegie catalogs, they feature enticing pics of the edible vegie. . .but not of the plant, its habit, height, etc.

Of course, those vegies I like are of most interest:

=== list snipped and kept below ====

Does anyone have any experience growing vegies i n containers, or is this just a passion for in-ground gardeners?

I've grown lots of things in containers. But containers for veggie gardens need to be quite large.

BetNC said:yellow summer squash (crook-neck and straight), acorn squash,

"Bush" varieties of squash do OK in larger pots. I've also grown cucumbers and vining squash plants in planter pots with nets to grow on, or with a tomato cage or a few feet of fence mesh wired in a small circle stuck in the middle of the pot for the vines to grow up. You need a 16 or 20 inch pot for squash plants to really thrive. It actually helps to grow beens or peas in the same pot with the squash. I have a hanging planter now with snow peas that just sprouted, that I plan to add either cucumbers or a few vining "tatume" squash seeds to later, when the weather is more squash friendly.
Actually, adding corn might be interesting if you want to try a 20 inch "Legend of the three sisters" planter pot.

BetNC said:carrots,

I've never tried carrots in containers. Seems like they wouldn't do as well. Maybe a ring of them around a 12 or 16 inch pot would work.

BetNC said:corn,

I personally haven't done corn in a container. There are some "container friendly" varieties available. As I said above growing corn, squash and beans together in a 20 inch pot would be interesting as a "legend of the three sisters" pot.

BetNC said:potatoes,

The right "container" for potatoes or sweet potatoes is a very large, deep container. The ones I have used were purchased as plastic "trash cans", and I drilled several big drainage holes in the bottom. You can grow a decent crop of potatoes or sweet potatoes in a container that size.

BetNC said:iceberg and romaine lettuce.

I've grown a lettuce bed in a deep, large plastic "storage box" with holes drilled for drainage. Normal varieties don't do badly. The stuff will bolt quicker in hot weather in a container than it will in the ground.

BetNC said:. .and of course yellow seet corn!! I LOVE cataloupe and one catalogue's pic of a personal-sized melon is especially enticing.

**grabbing pen and notebook to write that down**

Thanlks, Eric!!