Your Complete Guide to Back Garden Growing

Growing vegetables in pots is a great method for many gardeners. It means that even if you only have a small garden to grow in, you can still enjoy cultivating a wide variety of crops. You will also have more control over the growing medium than you would have in open ground. A container garden will give you the benefit of being able to control elements you may not be able to monitor so closely normally, such as protecting against pests and diseases, and will mean you can move your vegetables to protected areas if there are any severe frosts or the like. That said, you will need to keep a closer eye on watering to make sure crops aren’t drying out, or getting waterlogged.

What to grow
Although there are lots of crops suitable for growing in this way, it is important to check that you are growing types that will give you the best yields – those that thrive in these smaller spaces. Lots of dwarf varieties of popular veg crops are available, so these are bred to give you a real bang for your buck. It is worth looking through seed catalogues to find out what is out there, and what takes your fancy. This way you can get a better idea of what will suit your particular needs in terms of the space and time you have.

Basic crop care
There are a few things to keep in mind when growing crops in pots, and as long as you are aware of these possible issues, you can keep your plants happy and healthy without them needing too much additional care from you.  The main thing you may find with container- grown vegetables is that during the summer months, the soil can dry out rather quickly. Irregular watering is not good for your crops, so make sure the earth stays consistently moist. Setting up a drip watering system can work well if you are able to use one – other than that you will need to be vigilant with your watering can!

In the same way as veg grown in open ground, it is important to make sure the plants have enough air circulation around them, as being placed too closely together can cause fungal diseases and other issues. Also, in terms of space, you will need to make sure that you have followed the instructions on your seed packet as to how much root space your chosen varieties of veg will need. If the roots are too restricted, plants can wilt and die. Re-potting as the plants grow is a good way of avoiding this and keeping the crops happy.

Pests such as aphids are likely to be particularly interested in crops such as chillies, so keep an eye out for the little bugs, which usually congregate around the underside of leaves. If the infestation isn’t too bad, you can wrap some sellotape around your hand and dab gently at the leaves, picking up the aphids. For more severe problems, biological controls are available to help you get on top of these pest issues. However, pots do give you the advantage that you can move them around, and place them under cover if particular issues keep rearing their head.

It isn’t only veg crops that thrive in containers – you can also create a mini fruit garden, too! Strawberries look beautiful cascading from hanging baskets, blueberries actually fare better in pots, as you can ensure they have the right type of soil, and you can even grow dwarfing apple and pear trees to create a container-grown orchard – the possibilities are endless!

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