What Kind Of Fruits Herbs And Vegetables Grow Well In A Pot?
Posted by admin on February 19, 2010
I live in an apartment to they need to be potted..
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you know what? almost all flowers, bushes and shrubs, mini trees, herbs, vegetables and even some fruits grow well in pots. super good list on the first link below.
but the secrets to success are the size of the pot, the quality of the soil (loads of compost and organic matter as the pot has nothing else to get nutrients from as it’s not “attached” to the ground), the light exposure compared to what the plants require, the air circulation and drainage (must must must be a well draining container) and ofcourse, the health of the plants.
for veggies and fruits especially (they’re big soil nutrient hogs), start with as big a pot as you can, really good soil with some nice composted planter mixture and rotted manure (all avail in suitable sized bags at garden centres) and really nice healthy plant starts.
you can very successfully grow all matter of salad stuff, tomatos (if lots of light and warm conditions), strawberries (a great little strawberry pot would be perfect for you in your situation), squashes, chives, basil…just about anything.
you could also companion plant some flowers around it (marigolds are good for with tomatos to keep some bugs at bay and so on…) to make it look even prettier and incorporate a bit of an “ipm” (integrated pest management) thing. (eg: nepeta -catmint is great to plant around aphid prone plants. they attract lacewings which happily feed on aphids and the honeydew they produce…)
for herbs, oodles of sun, a very good and well draining soil mixture with lots of sand in it and you’ll have beautiful lavendar, rosemary, or whatever.
don’t over water anything… let it dry up a bit between waterings and definitely don’t overwater the small leaved herbs. they’re used to growing in hot, dry places (the smaller the leaf, the drier it likes it’s conditions).
there are OOOOOODLES of excellent sites onliine, magazines articles and books dedicated to container growing. with realestate as expensive as it is, outdoor spaces are precious and can be very bountiful.
here are just a couple:
great list of container-friendly flowers, veggies and fruits:http://www.containergardeningtips.com/pl…
excellent general tips:http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gardenersco…
have a blast making your little “farm on your deck”.
cheers!
I have grown chives and tomatoes well in pots. For apartment living you need to think of your water source. I say this because I grew some sweet peas on my balcony patio when I lived in an apartment and I had to carry the water out there. It was gratifying even though the water source was far and it took effort. I have also learned from books that dwarf citrus does pretty good in pots.
Blueberries provided that you have a big enough pot, otherwise grow the minis.
Just about any herb.
Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers.
Carrots.
Reeealy dwarf fruit trees–I like the dwarf citrus and pomegranite.
Strawberries.
Cucumbers (provided that you have a small trellis in the pot)
OK, here’s what you can’t grow in pots:
Pumpkins (duh)
Raspberries and blackberries, not sure why, but all the garden experts will tell you that. I think it has something to do with the root system.
Fruit trees that grow more than four or five feet tall (you just can’t get big enough pots.) This is why I say reeeally dwarf work.
Potatoes, unless you have a trash can and lots of space to spread out the dirt when you dig for the tubers.
Hope this helps.
It all depends on if you can get them enough light. If you can, tomatoes and strawberries do well in a pot.
Most herbs can be done in pots. As far as veggies, you would need to research the type that can do well in pots. Bell peppers are great in pots and there are patio tomatoes as well.
you can grow tomatos basil, rosemary, time, mint, and many other herbs and vegetables