Image credits: Growing in The Garden
Watch the original video here: @https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8omrQIX8R1g
Gardening enthusiasts often turn to container gardening as a versatile and space-saving solution for growing their favorite fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Angela from Growing In The Garden shares her expertise and passion for gardening by highlighting the top 20 crops that thrive in containers.
This method not only conserves space but also can enhance the growth and yield of many plants. Let’s dive into these container-friendly crops and why they make excellent choices for your garden.
Table of Contents
The Top 20 Crops For Thriving Container Gardens
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes
A staple in any garden, tomatoes adapt well to container gardening. Key to success includes choosing a large enough container, ensuring plenty of water, and considering self-watering containers to keep the soil consistently moist.
2. Squash
Ideal for containers due to their sprawling nature, squash varieties like zucchini can save garden space when grown in pots, allowing their vines to spill over gracefully.
3. Leafy Greens
Kale is not only a leafy vegetable, but it also is an ornamental plant you can grow in your northeast-facing garden
Lettuce, spinach, and arugula excel in containers. Their small root systems and rapid growth make them perfect candidates for pot gardening, needing only regular watering.
4. Eggplants
With warm soil preferences, eggplants like the ‘Fairy Tale’ and ‘Bambino’ varieties are well-suited for earlier planting and growth in containers.
5. Peas
Peas are one of the ideal plants to grow in an aquaponics system as it requires low-maintenance and produce a ton of benefits
Their love for climbing and shallow root systems makes peas a great option for container gardening. Dwarf varieties such as ‘Little Marvel’ and ‘Sugar Ann’ are particularly suitable.
6. Sweet Potatoes
When you want to plant Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in your vegetable garden, grow them indoors first until they can adapt to the temperature outside
Thriving in large containers, sweet potatoes benefit from the ample space to spread their vines, directing energy into the development of the tubers below.
7. Carrots
Carrots prefer deep containers (at least 12 inches) and can be easily grown from seed, thinned to ensure adequate space for each root.
8. Onions and Garlic
If you’re looking for another easy-to-grow plant for spring, then Spring Onions is your best bet
Both onions and garlic are excellent for containers, whether grown alone or interplanted as companion plants. They have minimal space requirements and can even benefit other plants grown alongside them.
9. Peppers
The good drainage and warmer soil conditions of containers are ideal for peppers. This can lead to earlier fruiting and the option to overwinter plants indoors in colder climates.
10. Potatoes
Potatoes are some of the best vegetables to grow underground. The potato harvest is my personal highlight every year in late September to October. I grow my potatoes on a farm close by
Potatoes favor the acidic soil easily managed in containers and harvesting is simplified—just tip the container over to collect your potatoes.
11. Okra
Okra (latin Abelmoschus esculentus)
A warm-season crop, okra benefits from container gardening as it can take over the space left by quicker-harvesting plants.
12. Swiss Chard and Kale
Both of these leafy vegetables do well in containers, tolerating a range of temperatures and offering a prolonged harvesting period.
13. Cauliflower and Cabbage
Cauliflower, latin Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
These cool-season crops appreciate the controlled environment of a container, which helps manage their preference for cooler growing conditions.
14. Strawberries
The scientific name for Strawberries is Fragaria × ananassa
Container gardening elevates strawberries off the ground, reducing pest issues and supporting better fruit production, especially for day-neutral and everbearing varieties.
15. Citrus Trees
Potted citrus trees need to be fertilized more frequently. Every two months is best
Containers limit the size of citrus trees, making it easier to grow multiple varieties and bring them indoors in cooler climates.
16. Fig Trees
Nitrogen (N) is especialy important for fig trees. It is part of chlorophyll that is needed to absorb sunlight
Similar to citrus, figs do well in containers by limiting their growth and making it possible to overwinter them indoors if necessary.
17. Herbs
Chervil is one of the medicinal herbs that is primarily grown indoors using a hydroponics system
While almost any herb can thrive in a container, invasive varieties like mint, oregano, and lemon balm are particularly well-suited as containers prevent them from taking over the garden.
Growing in containers offers a flexible and efficient way to garden, especially when space is limited. Angela’s top 20 picks highlight the versatility and potential of container gardening for producing a bounty of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Whether you’re dealing with a small balcony or a spacious backyard, container gardening opens up a world of possibilities for both novice and experienced gardeners alike.
Credits
This content is based on a video by Growing In The Garden, offering garden inspiration and helpful tips for gardeners of all levels.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.