With some planning and a little bit of care, your container vegetable garden will flourish under the right conditions and provide you and your family with healthy and delicious vegetables that were grown entirely by your nurturing hand.
A Vegetable Container Garden for Every Type of Household

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image: cabbage in vegetable container gardenAt first thought, not everyone has the space to have a vegetable garden. Others, such as apartment or condo dwellers have no land at all and yet many of these people would like to raise their own vegetables. If a person has a balcony, a doorstep, or even a windowsill they have room for a vegetable container garden.

Almost any container will work as long as it is large enough to hold a mature plant, can hold soil without loosing it, and will allow water to drain. Keep in mind, moreover, that since the size of the vegetable is really what determines the container size, for most vegetable container gardens, you will need a container that is at least 12 inches in diameter.

It probably should go without saying, but the container for growing vegetables should never have contained toxic material. You can be imaginative and use many discarded items for your containers. Examples include large wooden boxes, truck brake drums, old wine barrels, cast iron sinks, plastic pots, or even garbage cans.
The Importance of Soil Selection

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Once the container has been selected you will need to choose a medium for your vegetable container garden. Avoid using regular garden soil because it is too heavy and will not be porous enough to allow the plant roots to get both air and water.

image: woman adding soil to container for vegetable gardenYou can purchase pre-packaged potting soil in most department stores that have garden centers. Examples include Home Depot and Kmart.

If you need a lot of soil or just have a sense of adventure, you can make your own. Mix one part garden loam with one part peat moss and then add one part coarse and clean builder’s sand.

Mix thoroughly. Add your own 10-10-10 fertilizer of about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons per 12 inches of container depth. Finally check the pH and add lime until you have a pH of around 6.5.
Making Sure to Water Your Vegetable Container Garden

Before planting your vegetable container garden, fill your container to about 1/2 inch from the top with a slightly damp mixture of your soil. Whether you are sowing seeds or using transplants, water your plants gently with warm water and then clearly label your container so that you know exactly what it holds. Water will evaporate rapidly from a container especially if it is in the afternoon sun.

image: tomato plants in container gardenWater your vegetable container garden often until the water starts to run out the drainage hole. Avoid watering so much that your soil becomes soggy soil because soggy soil will invite root diseases. Check your soil daily or more if in a hot location. Adding mulch to the top of the soil will help it to retain it's moisture and keep in mind that light pots do better than dark ones. Your plants will need food so plan to fertilize every two to three weeks with a water soluble fertilizer.

Remember to inspect your plants on a daily basis for dryness and while you do this, make sure to check your plants for curling leaves, holes in the leaves, discolored leaves, or for other signs of disease or invasion by pests.
Vegetables For Your Container Garden

Now that we have selected the containers and added the soil to the contianers, it is time to plant your vegetables. You can purchase vegetable plants for around $2.00 to $6.00 on average from your local garden center or you can buy a pack of great seeds for under $2.00 and grow twenty-five or more plants, dependening on the seeds that were chosen. Keep in mind that dwarf or compact varieties of vegetables grow best when planting these vegetables in containers. With this is mind, the following list represents some of the vegetables that can be planted in containers.

* spinach
* radishes
* peas
* swiss chard
* lettuce
* peppers
* pumpkins
* beets
* zucchini
* onions
* cabbage
* carrots
* cauliflower
* broccoli
* summer squash
* cress
* turnips
* cucumbers
* parsnips
* tomatoes
* eggplant
* pole beans
* parsley
* green onions
* radishes
* beans
* squash
* green beans
* leaf lettuce

Vegetable Container Garden: Conclusion

Your vegetable container garden will add hours of enjoyment to your life and help you to reduce your weekly grocery bill. Inspect your plants regularly for insect damage and keep them out of direct sunlight if possible. Give your vegetable container garden shelter from heavy rains or hail and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

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!