Winter Veg in containers?

[sez]

Just wondering if anyone's ever successfully grown hardy 'winter veg' in containers.... I'd love to grow some but I only have a tiny bed and as I MUCH prefer summer veg I can't bear to give up any space for such a long period of time...

[shirlthegirl43]

I have kale 'Hungry Gap' growing in a pot at the moment. I only have one plant and it is not huge but I will probably plant more for next winter as it is lovely in soup and I would love to try it as a veg in its own right.

[SarzWix]

The plot next door to me has red brussels sprouts (which I gave her) growing in black flower buckets, 1 plant per bucket. They're doing fine despite never being watered & now sitting in water as the silly woman didn't put any holes in the bucket...(and she's never bothered to harvest them either..?!)
You can get mini-cabbages which could probably go in a trough type planter? Or you could get plants going in pots & gradually pot them up into bigger pots until autumn when your summer stuff starts to go-over and then plant them in the bed? You should just finish eating them when it's time to plant the summer stuff again?

[veg4681]

The plot next door to me has red brussels sprouts (which I gave her) growing in black flower buckets, 1 plant per bucket. They're doing fine despite never being watered

Well I never knew you could grow brussels sprouts in a pot and a flower bucket at that. Very impressive, even I could try that, thank you ! I have Peer Gynt variety that is supposed to be dwarf type. I have heard that brussels sprouts are very undemanding and work in any condition, even poor ones.

As for winter veg recommendation, I think Oriental leafy vegetables are quite hardy against frost like your Pak Choy and Japanese Mustard.

[momol]

I have been over wintering Collards, Nero Di toscano,red russian kale/hungry jack and some lambs lettuce/corn salad/mache and several other oriental mustard.
I have grown my mache in pots before but has no idea with the other 3. I think it should be possible but it will only fit single plant per pot which is not very convenient.
During summer, I don't have much place for them too as my garden is not that big , they were raised as seedlings during august (in pots) and they only go in the final spot after all summer veggies were gone ( late october to mid november) and it works so far .Hope this help.

[Cutecumber]

I wouldn't grow brussel sprouts in a pot, personally. They are big, for a start, they suffer from the usual brassica problems and you don't get much for the space it takes up. Just because you can grow it doesn't meant it's worth it

Better use of a container would be some chard - because basically you can eat all of it, there is nothing to waste - or some dwarf kale. They are both easy to grow. A small savoy like Protovoy could work, but I have not tried them through the winter months, so I can't say for sure. A cabbage is much easier to protect from pests than a large brussels plant, too.

Winter lettuce, such as valdor is great in a pot - give it some protection and it should be fine.

[veg4681]

Better use of a container would be some chard - because basically you can eat all of it, there is nothing to waste - or some dwarf kale. They are both easy to grow.

A small savoy like Protovoy could work, but I have not tried them through the winter months, so I can't say for sure. A cabbage is much easier to protect from pests than a large brussels plant, too.

Winter lettuce, such as valdor is great in a pot - give it some protection and it should be fine.

Sorry for pestering but do you grow the Chard and Kale in a pot and what size pot and how many to feed at least 2 adults (& a little child who may not like them).

But surely Protovoy is still one cabbage per pot which to me is too extravagant. As for Valdor lettuce, how many lettuce per pot?

[Cutecumber]

There are pots and there are pots. I will use a typical florist bucket as an example, though.

from the rear...

Valdor lettuce are big and slow growing. One per florist bucket to grow them to maturity, more if you just want some leaves.

Protovoy. One per florist bucket. One tightly headed cabbage goes a long way, I don't think it's bad for the space as you can eat it all. Keep it covered and even the outermost leaves will be sumptuous.

Kale. One per florist bucket. You can cut and come again, in which case you certainly need five or six, or just grow one or two and cut the whole lot in one go. You can't eat the stem, but most leaves should be edible if it is kept sheltered.

Chard. These can grow very big, but you could squeeze two in a bucket. At their peak, four plants should give you enough for a helping for two. You only pick a few leaves from each at one time.

If you want to eat these things regularly, clearly you need more plants. If you grow for a treat every few weeks, fewer are needed.

Growing in containers involves compromise. Try not to pack too many plants in one pot - you may be disappointed with the total crop.