Grow your own Vegetables in Containers
May 25th, 2010
Container growing is a great way to grow many vegetables, most herbs and some fruits too, especiallyfor the organic gardener . This is particularly suitable if you have a small garden or your local weather and soil conditions are not ideal for growing fruit and vegetables in your garden usually.
If you are a student to gardening or want to push your young family , container growing is a easy place to start . Seeing those first shoots rise from the surface is both fun and rewarding and for those who are unable to or cannot dig a garden, an easy way to raise your own organic food .
This easy way of growing is cheap any pot or vessel is suitable. Providing it has a whole in the bottom for drainage, which is very significant or your plants will become waterlogged and die. A bigger container is better , particularly for growing larger vegetable or fruits. Before you do anything make sure the container is well scrubbed and cleaned particually if it has been grown in before , pests and disease will kill your young planting so take special care.
With Container Growing you can get a head start from the usual planting season outside and without the extra disbursement of a nursery or cold frame. Sow your seeds in the warm indoors in early springtime and move them out slowly as the weather gets warmer , during the day at first, taking them in at night when frost is at risk.
Always use a fresh organic compost and soil mixture, do not be tempted to skimp and use existent soil from an old container that has been grown in before. It is improbable to have any good nutrients left to help your new plants grow, and will almost sure enough contain pest or diseases to. After planting feed with a good organic fertilizer on a regular basis to make sure you get the best harvest.
When you begin with Container Growing small crops are preferable , salad leaves, lettuce, herbs and strawberries grow well. Organic tomatoes and peppers are also worth growing along with some fruits which will do well on a bright balcony or terrace. Try growing the crops that you and your family love most, it will make the whole experience that more rewarding and worthwhile especially for your kids .
When growing fast maturing crops like lettuce or salad leaves, it is okay to grow something else in the same compost afterward, but not from the same family for example not salad afer salad lettuce after lettuce. Just strip out the roots and debris add a little more soil and sow your next crop, Maybe something like spring onion or dwarf beans after lettuce.
Since container growing conditions are very dissimilar from those found outside in a normal kitchen garden, where crops grow freely in the ground , a new regime is required in order to succeed. The way you grow your crops will also depend on weather they are a seasonal planting or something you intend to grow on such as a small fruit tree like a fig tree or similar that will do well in a pot .
Keeping your container crops watered is vital to ensure a copious crop and healthy plants, containers plants will quickly use up water especially in hot weather and will need a never-ending supply. If your thinking of a holiday makes sure someone is on hand to take over the watering or you will return to a garden with little living .
When you are growing your own organic plants fruit and vegetable in containers you know where it has come from, nothing is fresher than picking it directly from the plant and eating it. No chemicals or pesticides have been used, it is as fresh and healthy as nature intended. Nothing is more worthwhile than growing your own vegetables it is something you will love and a great hobby for the whole family and something that will also save you cash too!
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