You don’t have to have 15 acres of land to grow fresh vegetables. All you need is a little outside space, a few pots, and a little love for your plants, and you’ll be greatly rewarded. Container vegetables to the rescue!
11 Delicious Container Vegetables You Can Easily Grow in a Pot
One of the best things about summer to me is all of the fresh vegetables. Once you grow your own, you are totally spoiled to fresh deliciousness of home-grown.
Anything you buy in the store will taste so utterly sub-par that you may refuse to eat it.
One of my favorite things to eat is a sun-warmed tomato over the sink. I sprinkle each bite with a tiny bit of sea salt and watch the juice flow down my arm with each bite. So good!
1. Tomatoes
I will start out to say that I know a tomato is technically a fruit. But most of us think of it as a vegetable, so in this article, it’s a vegetable. 🙂
I grow almost all of my cherry tomatoes as container vegetables. I just find them easier to care for, and they seem to thrive in them.
I’ve also found that regular-size tomatoes love the pots too and are extremely productive in them.
Sometimes I use a tomato cage or post to tie them to, others I just let drape down. Either way, I am rewarded with lots of tomatoes!
All you need to make the tomato plants happy is a lot of sunshine and regular watering.
I do notice like with anything in a pot, they require more water, but I don’t mind. I enjoy poking around in my gardens, taking care of my delicious food!
The minimum pot depth I would suggest is 12″ so the roots can have a little room. Bigger is fine.
I can’t suggest a certain kind of tomato, as I’ve used several different kinds of seeds that I purchased through Johnny’s Seeds. And I’ve tried cherry, grape, and regular tomatoes.
All have done very well.
I know they have come up with a compact plant created for containers, but I have not tried it.
My pots get a mixture of Miracle Grow potting soil, some organic horse manure that’s at least a year old, and sometimes peat soil or regular potting soil. I also try to give them some tomato vitamins, although I have to admit that it is sparingly.
They are forgiving and gracious because my bounty is big!
Tomatoes are one of my favorites container vegetables to grow.
2. Lettuce
As of this writing, this is the first year I have tried them in a pot. Actually, the lettuce is in a deck pot that my husband built for me, and as you can see, they are doing well. (I am letting some go to seed so I can harvest them!)
I actually prefer them as container vegetables as the little bunnies can no longer much on them. We have lots of rabbits around here!
Walking out on the deck to grab some lettuce for my salad is something right out of a Hallmark movie; I simply love it. And it tastes delicious! Way better than anything in the store!
I have a few different kinds in that box (red leaf, red romaine, purple arugula), and all are growing perfectly.
Lettuce has a shallow root system, so the minimum depth is as low as 6″. You can also grow these in shady areas, and maybe it would do even better to have some shade.
Mine are just about full sun, though, and are also very happy. Nice to know you can stick them in some shade, too, though! Out of all vegetables, lettuce is very easy-going and will grow just about anywhere for you.
Want lettuce on your burger? Well, just walk out and get it. Fun stuff.
3. Spinach
I found out the hard way that spinach prefers a little shade or, if no shade is available, cooler months to grow.
I started some spinach next to my lettuce in the spring, and it did great at first, even in full sun.
Then came our unseasonably hot and humid weather that has so far lasted all summer.
This poor spinach really tried, and I kept it watered, but it just burned away.
Most vegetables like the sun, but a spinach crop does better in cooler weather or at least some shade.
I will plant it again in a couple of weeks and harvest in the fall.
But it grew fast and easy, and like lettuce, it has a shallow root system. Therefore, a minimum of 6″ depth pot is great. It will spread out, though, so make sure to give it some room.
Plants with a shallow root system make great container vegetables!
4. Kale
Another nutrient-packed vegetable to grow in a container – kale!
Minimum depth is 8″, but it does spread out, so at least a foot across would be recommended.
Kale does great as container vegetables, though, and does like well-drained soil. It also seems to last far past the first frost, although it’s more susceptible to freezing in a pot.
For those reasons, I try to keep it out of the wind a little (it gets windy here as we are slightly on a hill), and it gets mostly sunny days.
Another one of those vegetables that are forgiving, though it doesn’t like to be too dried out, as most vegetables don’t!
5. Beans
I am so happy that beans do well in containers because the bunnies out here will eat every one of our plants!
We usually like to plant enough to get our fill while also canning them, but when we are having a year of extra bunnies, it makes it tough. My husband hates putting a fence around them because then it’s hard to weed, so pots and containers to the rescue!
Both the bush and the climbing variety have done well as container vegetables, I just had to have something for the vines to climb, which was my deck!
The minimum pot depth for beans is 12″, and the pot can be as wide as the amount you want to plant!
I love stepping out on my deck and grabbing a fresh bean to much on. Reminds me of doing that as a kid in my grandparent’s enormous garden.
Growing beans in a container are both easy and rewarding.
6. Jalapeños
Get your spicy on! If you like to add some zip and spice to your meals or fill them with sour cream and wrap them with bacon, jalapeños do well in a pot or container.
As with most container vegetables, water the jalapeño plant when it dries out and try to water at the base, instead of pouring all over the leaves.
I would advise against letting it dry out too much or too often, though, because your peppers will be almost unbearably spicy!
This plant will grow well in a sunny area in a minimum container size of a 4-5 gallon pot (12″ depth).
Side note, these are super easy to freeze too. We just stick them in a ziplock bag and use them throughout the year in just about everything!
7. Radishes
I feel like the radish is one of those vegetables that aren’t appreciated enough!
Home-grown and given enough water, they are delicious enough to sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on and pop in my mouth. (not enough watering and radishes turn spicy)
I have not found any particular variety better than the other, but they will happily grow in a small pot with minimum depths of 6″. Of course, don’t overcrowd, though, as that can lead to problems for their health.
These vegetables grow quickly and are one of the easiest to grow as container vegetables. They like full sun to partial shade and don’t like to be too dry.
If you want to see your rewards quickly, try the radish.
8. Onions
I love onions in just about anything, so growing them in our garden is a given. They also do well in containers, especially green onions.
Just make sure your pot has a minimum depth of 4″ and that your onions get a mostly sunny location.
Most of them don’t mind being a little crowded, either, so that’s great for the container gardener!
Onions are a must-have for us!
9. Peas
Peas are fun to grow because they can be planted in early spring and again in early fall (depending on variety) if wanted.
They also have a great quality of leaving behind a good supply of nitrogen in your soil.
And for some reason, it seems like kids always like growing and picking peas! Another reason they make great container vegetables; easy to get to!
They do need to be watered often, and fertilizer would only be beneficial to them. But like I mentioned, I often forget that part of the process and mine still do well.
Minimum pot depth should be 8-12″ and the wider, the better. Peas do best when getting at least 6-8 hours of full sun a day.
10. Cucumbers
Out of possible choices for container vegetables, this one was probably the most surprising to me.
I guess because when I see them in our garden, they are sprawled out all over. Cucumbers are a yearly staple for us!
This is another vegetable I love picking and immediately standing over the kitchen sink to eat it with a little sea salt. I could never do this with store-bought cucumbers!
They will reward your need for harvest as they grow quickly in partial to full sun.
They are water-lovers, so don’t let them get too dried out in a container.
I have found both the bush and vine variety to do well, although the vine tends to produce more vegetables.
Minimum depth for your container should be 8-12,” and they do like a little fertilizer.
Who knew cucumbers would be such great candidates as container vegetables?
11. Sweet peppers
I so love sweet peppers! They are great in a salad, stir-fry, and excellent to munch on raw.
And they grow great as container vegetables!
Just make sure your minimum pot depth is 12″ and place these babies in an area that receives at least 6-8 hours of full sun.
They don’t do well in high winds I’ve noticed, so try to keep them a little sheltered. Here, that means placing them in the corner of my deck near the Paperbark Maple I have there. So it doesn’t get shaded, just protected a little.
I’ve also just used the rails of my deck as protection, and they do find there as well.
As with most vegetables or even flowers, just water them when they feel dry.
Note that overwatering is the first thing that will kill these plants, so keep a fine balance and they will reward you with their bounty!
I love my summer vegetables so much! Funny, because as a kid, I remember loving it just as much with my grandparent’s garden. There’s just something SO FUN about picking and eating your own vegetables. It’s very rewarding too!
These are just the vegetables I’ve personally tried growing in containers so far. What other container vegetables have you tried with success? Please let me know below, I’d love to give them a try! 🙂 Thank you!
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