Grow Your Own Food: Top Tips for Edible Plants in Containers

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION
2 FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING EDIBLE PLANTS
3 BEST EDIBLE PLANTS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING
4 MAINTAINING EDIBLE PLANTS IN CONTAINERS
5 TOP TIPS FOR MAXIMISING YIELD IN SMALL SPACES
- 5.1 Companion Planting
- 5.2 Succession Planting
6 CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Container Gardening offers flexibility to grow plants in small spaces without even a land. By utilizing pots you can grow plants., not only just plants you can grow an Edible Plants Garden.

Growing plants already have benefits like purifying air, calming the mind and decorating the home. But growing Edible plants even level up these gardening. Having edible plants in the garden means you can use them for cooking purposes, and you can grow chemical-free edible plants, herbs and fruits in your home garden.

The biggest flex in container gardening is you can utilise any small space even a windowsill as a mini garden. There are specific pots for windowsill that allow to grow plants windowsill as well.

Container Gardening offers great control over soil quality., repairing non-nutritious soil on a piece of land is heavy work and needs a lot of money. In container gardening, you can switch and make the best potting mix based on your plants’ needs.

You might see people having terrace gardens to grow vegetables, and having separate greenhouses to grow vegetables in containers. That is not only a way to grow vegetables in pots. You can grow edible plants in Balconies, patios and any urban settings.

All you need to know is what kind of edible plants are fit for your location., how to choose the right edible plants for your garden. In this blog post, you will learn about how to choose an edible plant and how to care for and maintain it as well.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING EDIBLE PLANTS

Before choosing an Edible plant to grow there are some factors you need to identify and tick the box. Looking out these factors and buying plants based on these helps to grow a successful garden.

Container size and depth

You need to choose pots based on your plant’s needs. I’ll give you a size chart in upcoming paragraphs. But one thing is if you want to grow bigger edible plants that need bigger pots., reduce the quantity of the plants. Because overcrowding affects plant growth and health.

Identify the plant root type and choose pots based on this., Shallow-rooted plants like leafy veggies grow in shallow pots aka less depth pots. Deep-rooted plants with veggies or fruits like tomatoes need deep pots.

If you start from seed you can grow in a seedlings tray., then transfer to actual pots or grow bags. Edible plants are short-lived living they grow faster than foliage or succulents. So, choosing bigger pots based on the matter size is preferable.

Sunlight Requirements

Every plant has its unique need for sunlight. For plants, sunlight helps to generate carbohydrates aka plant food. Like humans every one of us differs in height, weight and growing habits so choose the spot based on plant need., or buy a plant based on your spot’s sunlight.

In the Shade-loving Plants Blog post, I talked about the importance of sunlight, how to categorize light and how to know the spots of light. So, feel free to read and know more about sunlight.

Climate and growth zone

If you living in extreme heat weather or cold weather choose plants based on the dominant climate zones and temperatures of your location.

You can see your climate zone using a climate zone map to identify your zone climate and match it with your plant’s ideal climates, this technique is applicable for temperatures as well.

Space constraints

The biggest flex of container gardening is you can utilise any small space., you can use vertical space with vertical planters. If you still have no place to utilize, choose Dwarf varieties.

BEST EDIBLE PLANTS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING

Leafy Greens

If you want to start with easy-growing edible plants, Leafy greens are my choice. Easy to care, for and fast-growing you can also grow these leafy greens in small pots.

Spinach, Lettuce, Kale and Arugula are good choices for beginners. You need 6-inch or 8-inch-deep pots to grow leafy greens. 4-6 hours of sunlight is needed. These leafy greens’ ideal growing temperature is 45-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Herbs

These herbs also can be grown in shallow pots and windowsills., and you can grow them in sunny spots as well. Herbs like Basil., Cilantro, parsley and mint are edible plants and you can use them for cooking, garnishing and medical purposes.

These herbs thrive in 70-degree Fahrenheit., cilantro and parsley can be grown in 50 degrees Fahrenheit as well. For smaller herbs 4-inch or 6-inches pots are enough. For bigger herbs like Basil choose 8-inch or 10-inch-deep pots. These herbs prefer 6+ hours of sunlight. But mint plants tolerate partial shade as well. Use well-drained soil for better growth.

Root Vegetables

These root vegetables need deeper pots or deeper grow bags because the veggies grow under the soil. Plants like Radishes, carrots and beets are easy to grow plants. These root vegetables need at least a 10-inch pot for better root development.

These plants can tolerate 6+ hours of sun., and prefer well-drained soil. 60 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal growing temperature.

Vegetable Plants

Plants like Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are easy-grown edible plants for container gardening. They thrive in 16-inch pots and 6+ hours of sunlight. These plants need nutrient-rich well-drain soil for better growth. They also need some support like creeper net and trellis while growing.

Edible Vining Plants

These plants are the best choice to utilize vertical space. Plants like cucumbers, Beans and Peas are a better choice for beginner gardens. They need at least 12-inch-deep pots to grow well. Also, they need support to climb like a trellis net. A well-drained nutrient-rich soil is good to go., 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit and 6+ hours of sun are the ideal growing temperature.

Berries

Strawberries and Blueberries are ideal to grow in pots, if you want bigger berries consider choosing a dwarf variety. These berries need at least a 14-inch-deep pot to develop a good root system and tolerate 6+ hours of sunlight. Berries prefer acidic soil, nutrient well-drained soil.

You can know about how to adjust ph. levels in the soil by reading my blog post about Soil pH.

MAINTAINING EDIBLE PLANTS IN CONTAINERS

These simple tips support your way to success in container gardening.

Regular Watering is important for edible plants because these plants dry faster than foliage or succulents.
In hot weather areas, consider using mulching to hold moisture in pots.
Underwatering leads to plant stress, affecting the plant growth and yield.
Also water the plants in the Morning or less hot temperature time avoid evaporation.
Also ensuring proper drainage holes to avoid water logging and root rot.
Use the Finger testing method when you feel the top layer of soil dry water the plants.
Prune the dead leaves or any yellow, mushy, brown parts to avoid plants wasting energy on dead parts.
Trimming the overgrown leaves helps the growth.
Harvesting at the right time increases yield.

TOP TIPS FOR MAXIMISING YIELD IN SMALL SPACES

Companion Planting

Companion planting is a natural pest repellent and space saver. Growing pest-repellent plants along with Edible plants increases growth and enhances flavour.

Growing Basil along with tomatoes enhance the flower of tomatoes. Growing radishes with carrot radishes grow faster and loosen the soil so carrots grow easily. Growing shallow-rooted leafy vegetables with deep-rooted plants saves space.

Succession Planting

It’s a method that is used to get a consistent harvest by planning with intervals to ensure continuous harvest.
After harvesting a quick-growing crop (like leafy greens) replant the other crop.
For example, plant lettuce-like crops every two weeks so that you can harvest continuously.
Having a plant calendar based on an Edible plant’s lifespan., and growing seasonal plants in their seasons are useful.
If you want tomatoes all year round., the life span of a tomato plant is one growing season aka 6-8 months., so planting tomatoes in the gap of 2 months helps to get a continuous harvest.

CONCLUSION

Growing edible plants in gardens not only benefits air-purifying and visually appealing. It produces organic grown, veggies, herbs and fruits for your needs.

You can experiment with different edible plants but the above-mentioned plants are easy to care for and grow. Let me know your experience with edible plants. Refer to mypotsgarden.com for more hacks and tips.