Lookings for guidance on container gardening.

[lolly3fh]

Hello, I am based in Buckinghamshire. I don't have an allotment yet but I'm on the waiting list for the ones being built on my estate; they've no ETA on a handover yet though which is really frustrating! Last year I grew some bits on my patio and will have to do the same this year.

Last year I grew courgettes (3 plants, with much success, but they pretty much took over my patio), serrano and habanero chillies (4 of each, mostly successful, I learnt a lot throughout the season), sweet peppers (4 plants, with no edible peppers to show for it), tomatoes (1 plant with much success), potatoes, carrots, spring onions and herbs (all successfully).

I only have a mini greenhouse type thing; with four shelves, 110cm wide. I plan to grow more chillies, tomatoes and peppers again. To save on space, could I plant two plants per 25cm pot? Would the tomatoes fare well outside? (in the summer, of course). The greenhouse was open most of last summer anyway. The greenhouse worked well last year until they all got so tall I had to start removing shelves, then I ran out of shelf space.

RE courgettes, I was only going to plant one yellow and one green, until I thought about pollination. I did well last year but had three plants of one variety. I guess I need two yellow and two green? They are definitely not bush varieties, so could I train them over an arch or up a trellis to stop them taking over my space? I use 40cm tubs for them, do you think I could squeeze two plants in each tub?

Sorry for the long post. I had also considered peas in tubs too, and a cucumber, but I really don't think I have the space.

[Jimmy]

I never had any success with Sweet Peppers, Chillies do OK though

Butternut quash was also a waste of time with 1 per plant.

Given your limited space I would only grow what you like and what works.
Expand if you get a lotty.
Jimmy

[Jimmy]

I you have a trellis climbing french beans would give a good crop
Jimmy

[lolly3fh]

I you have a trellis climbing french beans would give a good crop
Jimmy

There aren't many veggies I don't like, but I'm not a fan of French beans. I might stick to just 2 green courgette plants, rather than two of each. Put a tub at each end of an arch and see how it goes.

[Jimmy]

Yellow are much better!
Jimmy

[Small pumpkin]

Hello, I am based in Buckinghamshire. I don't have an allotment yet but I'm on the waiting list for the ones being built on my estate; they've no ETA on a handover yet though which is really frustrating! Last year I grew some bits on my patio and will have to do the same this year.

Last year I grew courgettes (3 plants, with much success, but they pretty much took over my patio), serrano and habanero chillies (4 of each, mostly successful, I learnt a lot throughout the season), sweet peppers (4 plants, with no edible peppers to show for it), tomatoes (1 plant with much success), potatoes, carrots, spring onions and herbs (all successfully).

I only have a mini greenhouse type thing; with four shelves, 110cm wide. I plan to grow more chillies, tomatoes and peppers again. To save on space, could I plant two plants per 25cm pot? Would the tomatoes fare well outside? (in the summer, of course). The greenhouse was open most of last summer anyway. The greenhouse worked well last year until they all got so tall I had to start removing shelves, then I ran out of shelf space.

RE courgettes, I was only going to plant one yellow and one green, until I thought about pollination. I did well last year but had three plants of one variety. I guess I need two yellow and two green? They are definitely not bush varieties, so could I train them over an arch or up a trellis to stop them taking over my space? I use 40cm tubs for them, do you think I could squeeze two plants in each tub?

Sorry for the long post. I had also considered peas in tubs too, and a cucumber, but I really don't think I have the space.

Hi sounds like you had a good season last year.
I'd only put one tomato or pepper plant in a 25cm pot.
You don't need 2 plants of the same variety of Courgette. They have boy & girl flowers so pollinat them selves. the green and yellow will pollinat each other. That only becomes a problem if you're seed saving.
It depends on the variety of courgette if it can be trained up something. You can train it to grow round it own pot several times. Again only one courgette plant to a pot. Because they are very hungry plants and as you know potentially triffid sized. Peas and cucumber will do well in pots if you can find the space. Kelvedon wonder peas don't grow to tall.I've grown them in pots. Someone else might know of a better variety. Cucumber needs to be an outdoor variety, afraid I can't help with that I only got indoor ones.

[Kirk]

How big are the contemplated containers?

You can get some big pots about 20 inches at the top (50cm) add compost and manure (2 compost 1 manure) and put in 3 maybe 4 salad potaoes like Anya or Pink Fir Apple, and you will get a fair crop.

Tomatoes can be grown in 8 inch or 9 inch pots at one a pot, you could need a 6 foot cane for them to be tied into or an 8 foot one.
Peppers need a bit of luck but they the same as for tomatoes, try 2 or 3.
Courgettes as you have found run away happily, a 15 inch pots should be OK for a plant
Cucumber should be OK in another 12 inch to 15 inch pot - all the ones I have tried have not been overly vigorous or rampant.

Have grown melon in a large pot, another 20 inch one, with 50/50 compost+manure and a piece of plastic net to grow up.

Pot of spring onion.

Leeks likely need depth and a bit more spac, so unsure of them in a container.

ot of garlic but you may be a bit late now. Maybe a decent sized shop or market one and try 4 to 6 cloves - thinking nothing to lose here.

3 or 4 celery in a large pot (another 20 inch one), or 4 in a 30 inch trough.

Unsure of carrots, should be a fair option in a trough but I have had little success with carrots.

Another 30 inch trough option is turnips, again 3 or 4. Turnips seem to be used at a smaller size.

About all my pots etc I have got at Wilko. Their black ones are good and cost less then the same terracotta coloured ones.

Think their 10 inch ones are a nice size. Used to be about £1 each so I used to just go get 5 a time. If they have 12 inch ones then they are likely a better option - just bigger - and they were £1:25 so 4 of those at £5. However I expect the cost has risen. The 12 inch ones are good for a p[ot of herbs.

Courgettes: Check the Moreveg site, IF I recall they have a few varieties that are marked as sort of compact bush so good for containers.

Have fun getting containers - el cheapo buckets are an option, you can likely find them at £1 each. And they have handles to move the containers with.

Not sure about fruit.

[bramble]

Hi Lolly, you were asking can tomatoes be grown outdoors and the answer is yes they can.
Have a look at varieties as some are more suited to outdoors than others especially those that are more blight resistant.
I can't think right now which might be best but I am sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction.
About sweet peppers, I never had a great success with them but Corno de Torro did ok for me.

[lolly3fh]

Yellow are much better!
Jimmy

Never tried them! I might just do 2 of each then, and try to get them over an arch

[lolly3fh]

Hi sounds like you had a good season last year.
I'd only put one tomato or pepper plant in a 25cm pot.
You don't need 2 plants of the same variety of Courgette. They have boy & girl flowers so pollinat them selves. the green and yellow will pollinat each other. That only becomes a problem if you're seed saving.
It depends on the variety of courgette if it can be trained up something. You can train it to grow round it own pot several times. Again only one courgette plant to a pot. Because they are very hungry plants and as you know potentially triffid sized. Peas and cucumber will do well in pots if you can find the space. Kelvedon wonder peas don't grow to tall.I've grown them in pots. Someone else might know of a better variety. Cucumber needs to be an outdoor variety, afraid I can't help with that I only got indoor ones.

Thanks for this very helpful advice, I totally forgot courgettes had male and female.

My cucumber seeds are outdoor, I bought all my seeds in the sale in anticipation of the lotties being handed over, now we're told it'll be next year instead

[lolly3fh]

How big are the contemplated containers?

You can get some big pots about 20 inches at the top (50cm) add compost and manure (2 compost 1 manure) and put in 3 maybe 4 salad potaoes like Anya or Pink Fir Apple, and you will get a fair crop.

Tomatoes can be grown in 8 inch or 9 inch pots at one a pot, you could need a 6 foot cane for them to be tied into or an 8 foot one.
Peppers need a bit of luck but they the same as for tomatoes, try 2 or 3.
Courgettes as you have found run away happily, a 15 inch pots should be OK for a plant
Cucumber should be OK in another 12 inch to 15 inch pot - all the ones I have tried have not been overly vigorous or rampant.

Have grown melon in a large pot, another 20 inch one, with 50/50 compost+manure and a piece of plastic net to grow up.

Pot of spring onion.

Leeks likely need depth and a bit more spac, so unsure of them in a container.

ot of garlic but you may be a bit late now. Maybe a decent sized shop or market one and try 4 to 6 cloves - thinking nothing to lose here.

3 or 4 celery in a large pot (another 20 inch one), or 4 in a 30 inch trough.

Unsure of carrots, should be a fair option in a trough but I have had little success with carrots.

Another 30 inch trough option is turnips, again 3 or 4. Turnips seem to be used at a smaller size.

About all my pots etc I have got at Wilko. Their black ones are good and cost less then the same terracotta coloured ones.

Think their 10 inch ones are a nice size. Used to be about £1 each so I used to just go get 5 a time. If they have 12 inch ones then they are likely a better option - just bigger - and they were £1:25 so 4 of those at £5. However I expect the cost has risen. The 12 inch ones are good for a p[ot of herbs.

Courgettes: Check the Moreveg site, IF I recall they have a few varieties that are marked as sort of compact bush so good for containers.

Have fun getting containers - el cheapo buckets are an option, you can likely find them at £1 each. And they have handles to move the containers with.

Not sure about fruit.

Thanks. Got my garlic in before Christmas, that worked well for me last year too.
Most of my veg tubs are indeed those wilko ones! The 30cm ones are now £1.50 each but it's still great value. My courgettes were very happy in the 40cm ones.

[lolly3fh]

Hi Lolly, you were asking can tomatoes be grown outdoors and the answer is yes they can.
Have a look at varieties as some are more suited to outdoors than others especially those that are more blight resistant.
I can't think right now which might be best but I am sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction.
About sweet peppers, I never had a great success with them but Corno de Torro did ok for me.

Thank you!

[Philthy]

To save on floor space you could also do tomatoes in hanging baskets; Tumbling Tom in red or yellow is the one that springs to mind but sure there are other varieties.

Strawberries are another option for hanging baskets. I've never grown them myself though so best I don't elaborate on method or varieties.

Cucumbers instinctively want to grow upwards but with regular tying you can make them grow horizontally along a wire or cane raised up from the ground (or a piece of trellis laid flat if you wanted to encourage side shoots). So you could plant one or two in a decent sized pot but have the foliage growing above the other crops provided they themselves don't get too tall, your herb plants for example. The added advantage to this is that the developing cucumbers can hang down below the plant unhindered and grow to a good size (not too big though as taste deteriorates). Just remember they'll need A LOT of water especially in hot weather, and feeding. Best stick to one variety.

Chillies generally fare better in a greenhouse environment or equivalent, but there's a few that are rated for outside on a patio provided it gets good sun. Apache, Super, Feugo, and Hot Thai spring to mind as they all stay fairly compact. Basket of Fire is another good one plus it'll also work in the aforementioned hanging basket.
Or there are dwarf plants specifically suited for windowsills indoors, e.g. Demon Red.

Personally I'm not going to bother with sweet peppers again as I don't think the return is worth the outlay. However there are an increasing number of chilli varieties emerging with little to no heat and emphasis on flavour and sweetness i.e. mild enough to use fresh in a salad. Chilli plants tend to fruit much more prolifically than sweet peppers for the space they occupy.

Aubergine is another good one well suited for growing in a pot. One plant per pot though as they fill out. Apparently you can grow them outside but sheltered location and consistently good summer warmth is crucial to success, so I'd say just grow them in your greenhouse for the duration if you were interested in trying them.

[Penellype]

I grow a lot of my veg in pots. Tomatoes vary considerably in hardiness and how quickly they fruit, and some of them grow very big. If you want something smaller, the patio varieties balconi or sweet n neat are very compact. Bajaja has hundreds of tiny tomatoes on reasonably compact plants - all these grow well outside, as do the cordon varieties Mountain Magic (blight resistant) and Sungold (orange tomatoes with excellent flavour) among others. I wouldn't put 2 plants in a 25cm pot, as tomatoes are greedy plants and need space.

Cucumbers take up very little space as they are easy to train upwards. A 10 or 12 litre pot is fine for these. I have grown 2 courgette plants in an 18 inch square pot, although I wouldn't say it was a spectacular success. Don't worry about having 2 plants of the same colour for pollination - courgettes can be pollinated by any courgette plant (including themselves) and the colour of the fruit will not be affected. If you want to save seed for next year you need to be careful which pollinates what, otherwise it doesn't matter. 4 courgette plants sounds a lot in limited space.

I've grown peas in 25 or 30 litre pots - they need some support - I used a central cane with supports like these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yuzet-Plant...519094&sr=1-17, which worked quite well. A bucket of peas takes up remarkably little space and an early variety such as Meteor planted in March will be finished by early July, so you could then use the space and pot for something else, possibly a winter brassica such as broccoli or kale.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am most surprised no one has mentioned Black Flower Buckets to use as flower pots, these are a very good and cheap alternative to traditional flower pots. They are in flower buckets for cut flowers used by the like of Morrisons and Tesco, you may some times get them for free but if not last year they were on sale new for 99p for 8 all you have to do is put in some drain holes and away you go.

I grow all my runner beans in these plus tomatoes, sweet peppers cucumbers etc even early spuds at 1 seed per pot.