Container Vegetable Gardening
The Ohio Valley is certainly not blessed with good natural soil in most of our
residential areas. Many of us have become quite discouraged trying to grow many plants,
especially vegetables. Well, read on because the following instructions will give you
great success for the fruits of your efforts. All you need is a good sunny area (1/2 day
or more), a pot, plastic or clay, between 14" and 20" in diameter, good
sterilized potting soil, and your vegetable plants or seeds.
Fill your container to within 2 inches of the top with your potting medium, firm lightly
to eliminate air pockets and then plant. With tomatoes, plant your plants 4 to 6 inches
deep, burying up to 1/2 the main stem in your soil. This procedure will give you much
stronger and stockier plants. Install a tomato cage and you're all set. Cucumbers can be
planted by seed, placing 5 to 8 seeds 1/2 inch deep into the soil 2" in from the side
of the pot. Place a tomato cage into your pot for the cucumbers to grow on.
You can plant any other vegetable, including carrots, in your pots by using either seed or
by buying the plants. For full season container planting, plant lettuce, cabbage, spinach,
and peas in early spring and replant the same pots after spring harvest with the summer
vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and melons.
General Tips:
- Containers must have drainage holes.
- Use good sterilized potting soil. We recommend REDI EARTH.
- Feed with liquid plant food every two weeks for the first month then switch to a
granular fertilizer (5-10-5 or 6-12-12) and give each pot 1/2 cup monthly.
- Use tomato cages to support upright and vine vegetables.
- With tomatoes and cucumbers, bush varieties are available that do not require a cage.
- Place pots on patio, deck, or on top of existing vegetable garden soil.
- Water when dry; daily when very hot. (It will take approximately 20 seconds per pot to
water.)
- Herbs can also be grown using the container method.
- Early Girl, Patio, and Better Boy tomatoes are best.
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