VEGETABLE
GROWING BASICS
FOR CONTAINER GARDENING
(Very
general guidelines on what grows where and when;
consider them only as starting points, not as hard
and fast rules)
Light Requirements:
-
High
light: at least 6 hours direct sunlight (and more is better). Examples include
such fruiting vegetables as cukes, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes
-
Medium light: about 4-6 hours direct sunlight. Examples include root vegetables
such as radishes and carrots; cabbage family members such as broccoli and
kale prefer the high end of this range
-
Low light: minimum 3-4 hours direct sunlight. Examples include the lettuces,
chard, spinach, mustards (grown for an early leafy harvest)
Note: Too
little light tends to limit harvest and may result in weak or sickly
plants.
-
Cool conditions: generally cool soil, temperatures in high 30’s-high 60’s
for most of a short growing season. Examples include the leafy vegetables,
snow peas and sugar snap peas, green onions (from onion sets) and most of
the root crops
-
Warm conditions: generally warm soil, temperatures in low 60’s-high 80’s
for most of a long growing season. Examples include most of the fruiting
vegetables requiring high light and both pole beans and bush beans; chard
does well in warm conditions and a few leafy vegetables do accept them just
before harvest
-
Sultry conditons: warm soil, temperatures in low 70’s-high 90’s for most
of an extra-long growing season. Examples include deep South vegetables
such as the sweet potato and okra and exotics such as tampala and Malabar
“spinach”
Note: Temperatures
strongly influence plant harvest. If soil or air temperatures are too warm
leafy vegetables “bolt” which means they stop growing tender leaves and begin
to produce a flower and seed stalk with bitter leaves.
Tomato plants do not set fruit if nighttime temperatures are too high
(80’s) and their general growth slows or stops if daytime temperatures are
too cool (50’s)
Suggested
Container Sizes:
-
Window boxes (at least 6” deep) or the equivalent: good for all quick growing
greens (to harvest in 25-55 days from germination); acceptable for short
root crops such as small radishes (again quick-cropping) and perhaps baby
carrots; works with the really dwarf tomato plants such as “Tiny Tim” and
“Red Robin” if not planted too closely
-
2 gallon pots or the equivalent (about 8-10” pots): okay for a single pepper,
eggplant, bush or short vine cukes, a determinate tomato plant such as “Small
Fry” or even “Celebrity.” The “Patio” and “Husky” series tomato plants would do better
in a larger, 12” or so pot, for full productivity.
-
5 gallon pots or equivalent (15” or more in diameter: think kitty litter
pails, detergent pails, trash cans, too): try a single full-fruited tomato
such as “Rutgers” and “Big Boy” and the cherry types such as “Sweet 100”
or “SunGold” or “Yellow Pear” all of which are indeterminate in character
and will need the support of a cage or trellis
-
7 gallon and larger pots including whiskey barrels make excellent combination
planters. Try mixing quick-crop leafy vegetables
with long-season tomatoes and cukes. The greens
are harvested out just as the other plants burgeon out and take up more
room
Note: Choose
the largest container possible to fit your space just because small containers
dry out more quickly and watering becomes a problem in a long, hot summer
Special
considerations of location:
-
Weather conditions: Plan to move your container or containers to shelter
if spring or fall temperatures drop severely; or cover them (even with an
inverted plastic bag
-
Wind: exposure to strong winds can dry out your plants, bend them in half,
even topple your containers; tie container to a porch rail or support or
provide a cage or trellis for tall growing plants.
-
Mess: be prepared to spill water, fertilizer, soil, plant debris as you
garden. You need a spot which can be tidied up
and/or be resistant to stains.