Edibles growing now include broccoli, lettuce, sorrel, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers,
ground cherries, herbs and even a blueberry bush.
I’ve been slowly filling my big back deck with containers of vegetables and ornamental plantings. It’s nice to have this space as eventually I won’t have my wonderful garden at school anymore. While I’d probably prefer a big backyard where I could put in a proper garden, there are some serious benefits to having a large container garden instead. First off, there’s no weeding to worry about. Second, the plants tend to mature more quickly and have longer seasons because the soil warms more quickly, and I can protect the pots by setting them up against the house wall when the temps drop. Pests and diseases also seem to be more limited in my containers, likely in large part because they’re surrounded by concrete otherwise.
And, for me, it’s great to be able to control the soil(less) media in the container, making it surprisingly easy to grow carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas which don’t otherwise grow as well in my heavy clay garden soil. In my pots, I mix half ProMix potting soil with half finely graded compost. The top of each pot gets “mulched” with additional compost to help with water conservation and to then be turned into the pot once the plants are removed in the fall. I don’t empty my pots at the end of the season; rather, with the addition of the compost, I find that I can keep reusing it. I also fertilize my container with compost tea once a week, ensuring my plants grow and produce plenty.
Do you have questions about gardening in containers? I’d be happy to try to answer them. Just leave a comment.
