Container Vegetable Garden for Beginners: What to Plant
How to build a container vegetable garden even with little space: pot size, soil, sun, what to plant first and the most common mistakes.
A container garden won't feed your family, and it's worth saying so up front. What it does give you is fresh vegetables, some practice and a habit that, if you ever get more space, you already know how to sustain. You don't need a yard to start: a balcony, a rooftop or a sunny window is enough.
The two things you can't skip: light and drainage
Sun. Most vegetables and herbs need at least six hours of direct sun a day, according to the universities of Wisconsin and Vermont. Leafy greens tolerate a bit less, about four hours. Before you buy anything, watch which corner of your home gets the most sun.
Drainage. Every pot needs holes in the bottom. If the one you like doesn't have them, make them. And even though it sounds logical, don't put rocks or broken pot pieces at the bottom: Wisconsin cites research showing those layers get in the way of drainage, and water moves better through a continuous column of soil mix.
Soil and size
Use potting mix, not garden soil, which compacts. Fill the pot to within an inch or so of the rim.
For size, think of the grown plant, not the seedling:
| Plant | Recommended pot |
|---|---|
| Herbs, lettuce, radishes, green onions | At least 6 to 8 in (15 to 20 cm) deep |
| Basil | About 8 in deep |
| Tomato | A 5-gallon (19 L) pot per plant |
| Zucchini, broccoli, cabbage | 5-gallon pot per plant |
What to plant first
The university extensions agree that small things do best in containers: radishes, beets, carrots and turnips, plus lettuce and other leafy greens, which you can harvest leaf by leaf. Herbs like basil, parsley and cilantro are the most forgiving. And a tomato in its big pot is a good first bet if you have sun.
Watering and feeding
Pots dry out faster than ground soil. Stick a finger in: if it's dry about an inch down, water until it runs out the bottom. Frequent watering also flushes salts out of the mix and keeps roots cool (the University of New Hampshire says so). In very hot climates, watch dark pots in the afternoon sun.
Container plants use up nutrients quickly. A mix with slow-release fertilizer or a bit of compost at the start saves you from fussing every week.
The usual mistakes
- A pot too small for what you planted.
- Too little light: the plant stretches and doesn't produce.
- Watering blindly, too much or too little.
- Reusing pots without cleaning them. The University of Vermont suggests washing them with one part bleach to nine parts water.
- Reusing the same mix year after year; it should be replaced each season.
A garden as part of your reserve
What you harvest complements your food supply; it doesn't replace it. And like everything fresh, it goes first on the menu: the same logic as FIFO rotation.
If you want to keep count
Despendo includes a garden section to log your crops next to your pantry and your 72-hour kit, so what you grow and what you store live in the same place.
Sources and further reading
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension: Growing Vegetables in Containers
- University of Vermont Extension: Growing Vegetables and Herbs in Containers
- University of New Hampshire Extension: Growing Vegetables in Containers
- Iowa State University Extension: Container Vegetable Gardening
- University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Growing Vegetables in Container Gardens
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