GROW VEGETABLES

Growing vegetables in containers can be just as rewarding as growing any other plant and there is a bonus, you get to eat the fruits of your labor. All you need is a little knowledge and time to grow vegetables. 

To grow vegetables in containers, as well as in the ground they first must be properly planted. Fill your containers to within ½ inch of the top with damp soil. Plant the vegetable seeds in accordance with the instructions on the seed package or set transplants. Save the seed packages, they have instructions on how to care for the plant.  Water thoroughly being careful not to uncover seeds. Water your vegetable container garden daily. In hot weather it may be necessary to water twice a day. Let soil dry slightly between watering. If you set containers on a flat surface, put a couple of small, flat, 1/4 inch thick sticks of wood under the container being careful not to block drain holes. This will allow proper drainage of your vegetables.

Be cautious when fertilizing your container vegetable garden. Most people tend to over fertilize their vegetables that are in containers. A good idea is to use half as much fertilizer and fertilize twice as often as package recommends.

Your container vegetable garden will need between 6 and 8 hours of sunlight a day, so place your containers accordingly. Just about any vegetable you can grow in a regular garden you can grow in a container garden on your deck, balcony, porch or even inside your house. A window that faces south is a good place for the containers. Florescent grow lights can be used for supplemental light to grow vegetables. Grow lights are especially needed in the winter months for your container vegetable garden.

According to Iowa State University, these vegetables do well for container vegetable gardening: beets (Ruby Queen), carrots (Danver’s Half Long), cucumbers (Spacemaster), eggplant (Dusky), green beans (Topcrop), lettuce (Green Ice), parsley (Paramount), pepper (Lady Bell), radishes (White Icicle), spinach (American Viking), standard tomatoes (Jetstar), patio tomatoes (Patio), cherry tomatoes (Pixie). There are more types of vegetables and brand names that are suitable for container gardening. A trip to your local garden center and a little shopping can start you on your way to harvesting great tasting and healthy vegetables from your container vegetable garden. Be sure to follow the care and feeding instructions on all seed packets.

Hopefully this information has been helpful to you, but its only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, when it comes to gardening. There are so many types and varieties of plants and vegetables it would be impossible to list the care & feeding of them all here, but the information is available, and I, The Dummy Gardener, need a lot of information and help.