The pandemic made more and more people want to grow. Most of us wanted to stay busy, and now that there aren’t enough foods in stores, we have to grow our own. However, not all of us have land that works for us, or any land at all.
You should think about what you want to grow right now. Good news: container gardening means you can grow your own food even if you only have a porch in Brooklyn or a roof in Raleigh. If you do container gardening, you’ll grow your food in pots instead of in your yard or on the ground.
1. Lettuce
When planting lettuce in pots, loose-leaf and romaine types do best because they don’t need as much room as head or stalk types.
If you want to grow cabbage in pots, the best soil mix has peat or compost, soil, and perlite to keep it from drying out. Plant seeds not more than half an inch deep. Don’t let the dirt get too wet.
2. Basil
Pesto fans, good news! It’s easy to grow this herb in a pot for cooking. Once there is no longer any chance of frost, basil can be grown outside from seeds or young plants. This will help your basil grow because it likes rich organic matter.
Put your basil plant in a pot in full sun and water it once a week when it’s dry outside. Remove the blooms or tips of each stem before they open to make the harvest last longer.
3. Chives
This small plant that tastes like onions is best started from seeds in a pot. When you place chives, make sure they are about ¼ inch deep. Leave 4 to 5 inches between each seed. It will take 10 to 15 days for the seeds to sprout.
If you don’t cut them, chives can get 10 to 12 inches long. Cut an inch or two off the tips of the chives with kitchen tools when you need new ones. Bring the pot inside in the winter or when there is a chance of frost. On a warm windowsill inside, chives do very well.
4. Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be grown outside in pots once the temperature drops to the mid-50s at night, whether you plant seeds or young seedlings. Smaller tomato types, such as patio hybrid, Small fry, and Tiny Tim, as well as cherry and grape tomatoes, do well in containers. In a 5-gallon pot, you can grow one small variety plant.
Either tomato cages or stakes should be used when growing bigger tomato types. In a 25-gallon pot, like a half-barrel, plant full-size types. When you plant, add fertilizer to the dirt and water the plant right away.
After that, only water the plants that are starting to wilt. The heat is great for tomatoes. After four to six weeks, mulch plants that you planted in a big half-barrel pot. It gives the soil time to warm up when mulching is put off.
5. Snow Peas/Sugar Snap Peas
The pods of both plants can be eaten, which means you can get more peas and not have to shell them. Put your window box, half barrel, or other pot somewhere sunny. Plant seeds 3 to 4 inches apart and about 1 inch deep in dirt that drains well. As they grow, these climbing plants will need to be supported.
The vines can grow up a tomato cage, a trellis in a pot, or a bamboo teepee that is fixed in the ground. This will keep them off the ground and at eye level. A lot of times in the spring, look for worms. The plants could grow up to 5 feet tall.
6. Peppers – Bell or Chili
Peppers like sweet bell peppers and hot chili peppers not only make food look better, but they also add bright color to your patio garden. Peppers are easy to grow in pots because they stand up straight and produce a lot of peppers while taking up very little balcony room.
For growing in containers, choose bell peppers that are small, or add tomato cages to a 14-inch deep pot to hold plants that are taller. Hot peppers tend to grow more compactly, which makes them great for growing in containers.
7. Zucchini
Doesn’t this one come as a surprise? You might think that growing zucchini needs a lot of space, but if you don’t have much, planting them in pots is a great way to get them to grow. Dwarf types work especially well for this. Avoid regular yard soil because it can suffocate the roots.
Instead, use a light potting soil. Put two or three seeds in the middle of the pot, about an inch deep and three inches apart. When you water the dirt, make sure it doesn’t get too wet. This will help the seeds grow.
If all of your seeds grow, thin them out and keep the best ones. Ten hours of sun a day is best for the plants, and use sticks or tomato cages to hold up the vines. Every four weeks, feed the plants.
8. Strawberries
You can grow this beautiful and tasty berry easily on your deck or patio in terracotta pots, barrels, tiered planters, and hanging baskets. One strawberry plant can fit in a pot that is 3 to 4 inches tall. Three to five plants can fit in a hanging box.
To keep roots from getting hurt by the heat, put mulch on top of the dirt and don’t plant strawberries in dark containers. Strawberry plants have small root balls that spread out in all directions, so make sure the roots are buried all the way.
Strawberries don’t do well in soggy soil, so make sure the soil drains well. Find out more about how to grow strawberries in pots here.
9. Radish
Are you new to planting in pots? It’s very easy to grow this food from seeds, and it does well in full sun in pots of most sizes. So that plants don’t bolt, make sure the earth doesn’t dry out. Radishes usually don’t need to be fertilized.
Choose pots that are deep enough to let the roots grow easily. Plant seeds about half to an inch deep.
10. Microgreens
This quickly growing mix of very healthy and very tasty greens should be in your collection of food container plants. You should spread microgreen seeds out on top of a soil mix that has vermiculite in growing boxes that have lids with domes on top.
Spread a thin layer of soil mix over the seeds and place them on a porch or patio with a cover to protect them from direct wind and bad weather. Depending on the type of seed and the growth conditions, microgreens are ready to be picked two to four weeks after they sprout.
Cut the young, tender plants off with scissors when they are one to three inches tall or when they first start to leaf out. You can put them in sandwiches and salads.