Tips on growing fresh vegetables in containers

Did you know you can grow your own vegetable garden even if you don't have enough available ground space for one? A vegetable container garden can work really well if you have limited space, just as long as you follow a few important criteria when choosing your planters. The following tips will help you select the right containers for your container vegetable garden, putting you swell on your way to harvesting an abundance of delicious vegetables.

• Choose the largest containers possible for your container garden.
• The bigger the container, the less you'll need to water it because a larger volume of soil won't dry out as fast.
• Keep in mind certain types of vegetables require larger-sized containers.
• Vining crops, like tomatoes and cucumbers, do best in pots that are at least 20 inches in diameter. This allows enough space for you to add a trellis or wire cage to the planter that supports the height and weight of the vines.

Deeper containers hold a larger reservoir of moistened soil so you won't need to water as often as a shallow container. Plus, vegetable plants that have a deep root system require more soil depth to avoid becoming stunted. Here is a general guideline of the minimum soil depth requirement for popular types of container-grown vegetables:

• 6-inch depth: lettuce, spinach, chives, beets, radishes, bush beans, garlic, onions, basil
• 8-inch depth: carrots, mustard greens, peas, peppers, pole beans, fennel, leeks, chard
• 10-inch depth: cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, dill, lemongrass
• 12-inch depth: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, okra, potatoes, sweet corn

• Although you can use just about any type of container for planting vegetables, make sure you add drainage holes to a container that doesn't already have them.
• Simply drill several holes along the bottom of the planter before you line it with landscape cloth or a screen to prevent soil leakage.

When selecting a container, keep these three tips in mind:

1. Typically, vegetables grown in porous clay pots (terracotta) require more water because the pots absorb some of the water.
2. When choosing containers made from chemically treated wood, keep in mind that the vegetable root systems may absorb some of these chemicals.
3. Dark-coloured containers absorb the most heat which can dry out the soil faster and make it too hot for your plants during the summer.

That's all there is to it when selecting appropriate planters for your container vegetable garden. By following these guidelines, you're