If having the space required for an outdoor vegetable garden poses a problem, consider growing your favorite vegetables in containers. Indeed, virtually every vegetable that can be grown in an outdoor garden also can be grown in a container—especially when compact or dwarf varieties are selected.
Vegetable Gardening in Containers

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You may think that in order to grow vegetables you need land or an actual garden plot, but did you know that you can successfully grow vegetables in containers? If your only outdoor living space consists of a balcony or patio outside your apartment or condo, you can still tend a container vegetable garden.

Your outdoor space will need to get some sun or partial sun at least part of the day and with minimal space you can be on your way to homegrown vegetables!

Start with large decorative pots that have good drainage. In addition, and this is important, all the pots you use must have a hole in the underside so that excess water can drain.

For a growing medium consider a synthetic mix rather than a soil. The peat and vermiculite combinations are wonderful for allowing airflow and water as well. They are sterile and have the correct acidity to support healthy plant growth. Another consideration for your container vegetable garden is the fertilizer. When you plant the seedlings you can add a time-release fertilizer that will last the entire growing season.

Choose the plants you wish to harvest and plant them in combination containers to have a novel "salad" arrangement. Some plants that share light and water requirements also make a great combination on your plate! Cucumbers, chives, and tomatoes are one example of a trio that grow well together in a large pot and that also complement one another in a raw salad when harvested.
What Kinds of Vegetables Can I Grow in Containers?

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image: indoor container gardeningThere are many varieties of vegetables that are well suited to the container method of growing. Compact varieties (also known as bush and dwarf varieties), however, are clearly better choices for growing in containers as compared with full-grown varieties that normally are planted outdoors.

Some specific examples are Salad Bush Hybrid Cucumbers, Evergreen Bunching Green Onions, Buttercrunch Leaf Lettuce, Cherry Belle Radishes, and a large choice of tomato varieties including Toy Boy, Pixie, Tiny Tim and Small Fry just to name a few.

From a more general perspective, the following vegetables are great candidates for container gardening: eggplant, radishes, squash, peppers, carrots, bush beans, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, and beans. Clearly, the choices you have when planning your container vegetable garden are limited only by your imagination.

The main difference between gardening in a plot of land and gardening in a container is that the containers will require much more frequent watering. For this reason it is a good idea to place the containers near a water source or be prepared to fill a watering can and attend to them your plants daily if necessary.

Moreover, there may be times when the heat of the summer sun dries the soil and plants that were watered in the morning. Under this circumstance, your plants will probably need additional watering later in the day.
Container Vegetable Garden: Conclusion

If space presents a problem, consider growing your favorite vegetables in a container vegetable garden. Not only will be you and your family be eating fresh, nutritious vegetables from your home container vegetable garden, but by growing vegetables in containers, you will add beauty to your deck, balcony windowsill, or patio. In a word, with minimal space and effort, your container vegetable garden will yield delicious and healthy results!

Copyright 2009 - Denny Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.
About the Author

Denny Soinski writes about garden decor, gardening, bronze garden sculptures, water fountains, and outdoor metal sculptures. For more information, please visit http://www.water-fountains-and-garden-decor.com right away!