Container Veggies thread

[hathor]

Thanks for that, Demeter.
I'll put the beans & cabbages together, and plant the peppers in threes.
Was hoping to put out my tomato plants too, which are in little pots in the kitchen, but I'll need to make up more potting mix for that and I've run out of vermiculite.
Wish I knew if I could use the "insulation" kind, as it not only looks cheaper, but the bigger bag woud go further, too!

[Gwen11ian]

Container Garden: Most successful veg

I know there are quite a few of us on the vine that container garden, and I thought it would be great to share what veg we've had the most success with this year. This was my first year, and it's all been a matter of trial and error. I'll be ordering my seeds soon for next year, and I could use some ideas of things that really grow great in container conditions.

My best:
Runner Beans - I've had such a huge success with these. I'm not sure the exact variety because they were saved seeds from someone on the seed swap, but they're huge plants with scarlet flowers. I have them in the
standard plastic window box with multipurpose compost, three or four per box.

Cherry Tomatoes - I grew two or three different types of cherry tomatoes all in the same large Woolworths plastic pot, tied to canes. Again multipurpose compost. I didn't get a huge number of tomatoes (due to lack of direct light, I think), but they're healthy plants with no sign of blight.

Nasturtiums - I grew these for the flowers, but didn't really eat all that many because I found them a bit too strong a flavor. They grew great though, and the honey bees just loved them. Which meant there were always plenty of bees around to pollinate everything else I was growing. I grew them in a wall basket, and under my beans. They really added a great bit of color, and seem happy to climb or tumble depending upon the circumstances.

Some other things that did okay, but not great:
Zucchinis/Courgettes - Some harvested, but half fell off after flower bloomed
Lettuce varieties - Never a great harvest
Chard - Stayed small all summer
Perpetual spinach - Miner worms got most leaves before I did
Globe carrots - No carrot fly, just never grew very large
Sage - Got powered mildew despite good ventilation outdoors, some used
Rosemary - Powered mildew, some bits used
Mint - Got white fly, but some used

Things that did really poorly:
Garlic - Never got big
Cucumbers - Fruit started, but never grew.
Dill - Really spindly, then something ate it
Radishes - Bolted before the root formed, grown in spring with plenty of water
Butternut squash - Just started blooming last week


My plot is outside my front door, a very small area with very little direct light.. at most an hour a day.

[vegnut]

I had good success last year with dwarf french beans, just keep them watered and you get a good crop.

[Dipzy]

I had great success with :

Courgettes Tomatoes (plum type)
Cucumber Spring onions
Dwarf and climbing french beans
Mounge 2 Marigolds Broccoli
Chillis Stringless Runner beans
Peppers Potatoes Peas

Most impressive was the mounge 2, couldn't believe how fantastic they are straight from the plant. Every visitor to the house got made to try one.

[JILLY JACKSON]

Amazing success with hanging basket tomato(grown in large pots) red fruit from june to now.Cucumber,kept producing all summer still a couple on there now.Courgette,useless,produced zero!Carrots,good,going still.two more tubs to go.Basil brilliant.spring onions,great,still going now.Chilli,so good gave to my neighbour as they nearly blew my head off.Lettuce very good kept us going all summer.radish again great.all other things were grown in the ground.Oh bar spinach which has gone crazy and am about to go and pick some more today.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Had good results this (second) year with rhubarb saved from my mothers garden and a gifted blackberry plant trained up around a wig-wam of 2.4m supporting canes. These are both in large 50 cm diameter containers. Ditto the success with the hanging basket toms grown in large containers.
Only drawback for me with ground level containers - my dogs eat the toms and blackberries at their head level. Still, it is a healthy addition to their diet.

[maximepaul]

Its good to see that eveyone is having success container gardening

Watercress Aqua - Having a good crop sowed these in a trough container made sure well watered these are cut and come again made some lovely watercress soup!! due to have second lot any day!!

Cherry Toms fantastic!!

Chillis doing well not red yet though!!

Beetroots they are baby but did well same with carrots

Potatoes were ok expected a bigger crop but that just might be me being greedy

all my herbs did well

[Winged one]

My tumbling Tom tomatoes in a hanging basket did very well again this year.

My peas were dreadful this year, but I think that's because their tub was out of the suin as well as all the rain allowing too many slugs to flourish. Most years though, they do very well up a pyramid.

Effectively containered were mangetout (a small bed which is bordered by concrete on 2 side and bricks on the other 2, and very little poor soil in it) - given full sun and a lot of water, they produced MASSES!! (Oregon sugarpod was the variety I think).

Early nantes carrots were a surprising success - picked as baby carrots, they worked out very well in a tub about 12" deep only. In a similar pot, I had a couple of batches of mixed salad laaves, which had turnips in the mix. I let some of those grow to baby eating size, which were a nice bonus too.

I'm waiting to see what happens my potatoes - planted in august but the foliage is going great so far!!

[Gwen11ian]

The slugs just munched through my peas, I only got about five or six pods for at least ten plants! I'm thinking of doing them in a hanging basket, has anyone tried this?

[BrideXIII]

most succesful

Runner beans
Radishes
peas
black cherry toms

least successful
rocket and mustard (slug raided to point of total destruction)
carrots until they were transplanted into beds

total failures

lettuce

[Demeter]

The slugs just munched through my peas, I only got about five or six pods for at least ten plants! I'm thinking of doing them in a hanging basket, has anyone tried this?

I haven't personally but have seen it done. Choose a shorter variety like Kelvedon Wonder

[Diva1983]

Has anyone tried spuds in containers? If so can anyone recommend a type? I'm planning for next year I guess I want to be greedy so if I get a nice yield I'll be super happy

I'm looking for an all-rounder potato (if one exists?!).

Alliyah

[BrideXIII]

I haven't personally but have seen it done. Choose a shorter variety like Kelvedon Wonder

I did kelvedon in a tub this year, and it was cropping fine, not that any reached the dinner table, i cant resist eating them from the pod.

then the slugs and snails got at them.

so I might actually try this next year, if not in an actual basket, which might lack depth, but hanging the buckets up on chains, cos they are 'dwarfs' according to the packet, and do look like they will tumble well.

[Alice]

Hello Diva, there's miles of stuff on here about growing potatoes in buckets so have a go with the search button.
I don't think all rounders are the best bet for containers. They're cheap in the supermarket. If your space is limited to containers it might be better to go for early salad potatoes which are expensive. They always do well dor me. Charlotte is my favourite but others have done well. Good luck. See some of mine here.
Charlotte, Cherie and Sharp's Express.

[maximepaul]

agree with alice i only ever do salad varites like charlotte fir apple vivaldi etc seem to do okay