Container Veggies thread

[LaurenGrows]

I discovered this site today & registered as I am intending to grow various types of veggies in pots in my garden for the first time.

Thanks for the advice on what sorts of veggies to grow & I shall look out in Morrisons for the flower pots -this is probably a stupid question but I fancy some larger more colourful pots to grow a mixture of veggies in as well - is there any reason why I cannot use a tub trug with drainage holes cut in the bottom?

Thanks

Hello Nightingale and welcome to the Vine.
I'm a newbie too and have very little room to grow. I have most of my plants growing in tub trugs. I drilled holes CLOSE to the bottom and then covered the base (up to the holes) with 10mm gravel to allow for drainage. Everything seems to be doing really well so far.
Lauren (touch wood)

[LaurenGrows]

Some of my potatoes growing in tub trugs.
Lauren

[SueA]

They look great Lauren, I think I'll get one to put the last few potatoes I've got in.The handles mean you can move them around easily too, I'm always having to rearrange the pots in my garden as I have 'eyes bigger than my belly' syndrome in that I always think I can fit something else in the garden!

[LaurenGrows]

The next size up (Tub Trugs) I have my peas and dwarf and runner beans growing.
Lauren

[Alice]

Your tubs look good Lauren.

[Bren In Pots]

Hi Nightingale welcome from another newbie who's also growing in pots.

Most of mine are black flower buckets I suppose you could paint them to give the pots a bit of colour, but once you've got something planted in them you don't notice the black as much.

[nightingale]

Thank you!!

Thanks for the welcome & the advice am off out now to buy some tub trugs - they look great in the pictures.

[miniplot]

Hi, I have also bought the 'Black Forest' courgette, but they have yet to germinate (says 5-7 days on the packet and I've been witing 9 so far!). I have room in my tiny plot for 1, but the otner is going in whatever I can fit it in! I figure that if the pot is a bit too small, then you'll get a few less courgettes, but how many can you eat anyway!

[smallblueplanet]

I know everyone's local council is different but ours were saying you could have as many black recycling boxes as you wanted - we've got 8! They're the perfect size for spuds and stuff, maybe your council might let you have more than one box?

Does anyone grow dwarf french beans? I fancied trying the Kenyan type but haven't room in the garden. Is it too late in a box?

[eddie]

hi dutch im a retired plumber and grow loads of stuff in old central heating header tanks [the plastic ones ]if you can find a few they are just the job for growing just about anything and usually dont cost a bean

[shirlthegirl43]

I know everyone's local council is different but ours were saying you could have as many black recycling boxes as you wanted - we've got 8! They're the perfect size for spuds and stuff, maybe your council might let you have more than one box?

Does anyone grow dwarf french beans? I fancied trying the Kenyan type but haven't room in the garden. Is it too late in a box?

Still planting dwarf french in morrison's flower buckets - nearly managed fresh beans for Christmas day last year with no greenhouse - deffo gonna get there this year! I suspect they crop longer in the garden and possibly exhaust the multi purpose compost in the buckets - so trying repeat sowings.

[smallblueplanet]

Sounds good shirl, when and what do you plant/sow? How long is it from planting to picking?

[shirlthegirl43]

Planted the first lot this year on 11 April and they showed through on 27th. I don't remember how long they took to reach cropping stage last year - didn't think to write it down (making better notes this year) but the ones planted on 30 July were cropping up to November as far as I remember (and the carrots planted the same day were eaten with Crimbo dinner). I put about 7 seeds in the 10 litre flower bucket and water and wait. They are great as they don't need staking or anything - just keep picking as soon as they are ready and they make more and more.

[hathor]

Hi All

I am planting up my crates which are 36cm by 47cm and 24cm deep (30ltrs), and would like advice on how many veg plants to put in each crate. Just came back from Homebase and picked up 3 each of purple sprouting, savoy cabbage and broad beans at 20p per threesome. Do you think I could plant all 3 beans and 3 cabbages in the same crate, and 3 purple sprouters in a second crate, or do they need to be more spaced out than that?

I am only growing for a household of two, so I don’t need the cabbages to be as big as footballs, for example.

On the same subject, I have loads of pepper seedlings on the window ledge ready to go out, so would 6 to a crate be too many?

I know you can plant containers more densely than if you are growing in rows in a conventional garden, but after that I’m still a bit confused.

Help. Please.

[Demeter]

This is my first year, so take all this with a pinch of salt, but ...

(1) I don't think PSB is good in containers - it needs plenty of space, and firm ground. There was a thread on here recently about it, I think.

(Ah no, it was Brussels sprouts - but I think same would apply?
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ers_17797.html)

(2) I've never grown savoy cabbage but based on my experience with summer cabbage and broad beans this year, I think you could just about squeeze 3 of each into one container. (If the cabbage starts to get too big you can always pick it young and call it greens!) If it were me, I would do it in zigzag formation, like this:

Ca Bn Ca
Bn Ca Bn

(3) I've two pepper plants in a 26l round tub - they are 2ft tall and quite bushy - I hope they don't grow very much more as the tub seems just right for 2. It may depend on variety (mine are marconi rossi) but I would think more than 2-3 for a 30l container is going to be pushing it.

Hope that gives you a starting point - or at least it'll give the experts something to laugh at, eh?