Growing your own vegetables can be both fun and rewarding. The sense of pride you feel after successfully growing your own produce is fantastic. However, if you’re a beginner, you’ll quickly discover that growing your own veg isn’t as straightforward as you thought; particularly if you’re using a container.
To make it easier for you, here we’ll look at the top 5 steps to grow veggies in a container.
1. Pay attention to the soil
One of the main things you need to get right in order to grow veggies successfully, is the type of soil you use.
When planting them in a container, you can’t just get away with using regular soil. This is because it can get very water-logged and be far too heavy for the veggies to grow. It’s much better to invest in proper potting mix soil as although it’s more expensive, it is also much more effective.
2. Select the right container
Once you’ve determined which soil to use, it’s then time to focus on the container. There’s a lot of different types of containers out there and not all of them are suitable for growing veggies.
Ideally, you want to choose the biggest pot you can fit in the garden. The only thing to note here, is that larger containers are obviously a lot heavier, so you may need to invest in casters or on a plant caddy to easily transport them around.
3. Understand which veggies can be grown in a container
While technically, all vegetables can be grown in a container, it’s easier when you’re starting out to focus on ones designed to grow in smaller spaces.
Some of the best veggies to start out with include peppers, eggplants, onions and herbs. Of course, whichever veggie you do decide to grow, you should research as much as you possibly can before you start.
4. Remember to water frequently
It’s important to know that veggies grown in a container will require more water than those grown in soil. This is because they tend to dry out quite quickly.
As for how much water you should be using, it will all depend upon the type of veggies you’re growing, along with the climate of your area, the container and the soil type you’re using.
5. Always add mulch
It’s quite easy to forget to mulch your veggies, but it’s a really important step. It helps to keep the soil moisturized, but you’ll wat to avoid using hardwood bark varieties. This is because this type tends to take quite a while to decompose and uses up a lot of the soil’s nutrients. Cypress or cedar are much better options for use in containers.
So, there you have it, 5 steps to grow veggies in containers. These are obviously very basic tips. It helps to do as much research as possible into the different types of containers on offer, as well as the type of veggies you plan to grow.
