Anyone else have veggie container gardens? (growing, containers, tomatoes, cucumbers)

[Wembley]

I don't see many folks container garden though there are plenty of websites on the subject. I'm trying it this year myself. Wondering if anyone here has experience with this and what you are growing? I have bib lettuce, nantes carrots, radishes and cucumbers growing like mad right now. Tomatoes and bell peppers aren't doing so well (growing really slow). Am wondering if green beans are a possibility? I don't know when or where or why but I came across some green bean "seeds" I have purchased at some point and wondering if I should attempt to plant in container?

[gardener34]

I do tomatoes and peppers the last couple years and they did better than when I put them in the ground. I had to cage the tomatoes as they got really big. They really did not take off until July or so.

[Wembley]

I've heard there is less chance of disease or fungus in peppers by not growing in-ground. I've purchased tomato plants in years past and they did very well in containers. However, this year I planted Cherokee purple tomato seeds and after 2 months they are only about 1.5 inch tall and have only gotten 2 plants out of maybe a dozen seeds. I have no experience with growing tomatoes from seeds nor with this variety plant, so no idea what/if I am doing something wrong.

[dens]

I have tomato doing very very well and Scotch Bonnet hot peppers....I wish I had done cucumbers.

[JackF]

I have around 30 or so little green tomatoes on my 4 container plants. They seem to be healthy and doing very well.

[hotzcatz]

If the container is big enough to grow tomatoes, you'll be able to grow beans in it. We're doing raised bed gardening since it is much easier to take care of than an in ground garden. We did make a mistake with the beans and planted pole beans in front so they blocked the light from the tomatoes in the back, but the beans don't last that long so now there's sun on the tomatoes. Those are all indeterminate so they will keep vining all over the place. It's time to replant the beans, lettuce and beets since we've eaten them all. It's also time to switch to the warmer summer crops such as the red and romaine lettuces since those do better in the summer.

[Mary Ann789]

I am trying corn and bush cucumbers in half barrels this year. I am using Mel Bartholomew's growing mix for the soil (1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat, 1/3 mix of 5 kinds of compost). The corn looks great and so does the cukes. We'll see how they taste later on this summer

[Cambium]

I had a picture of the root ball of a Tomato plant I grew in a LARGE pot one year. After seeing the roots compacted like that I knew Pots werent for Tomatoes ...HOWEVER... Determinate varieties of tomatoes, also called "bush" tomatoes, can be grown in pots nicely (big pots)


EggPlants are ok but prefer the ground
Peppers love pots especially hot peppers.(Bell peppers do better in ground but can do well in large pot too)
Brocolli is ok too
The Beans need to be dwarf style or just be ready to let it climb onto something. Put the pot near a fence or something.

Advantages of pots are, soil stays moist
Pot stays warmer then ground overnight
They are portable
Less chance of ground soil diseases

Disadvantages of pots are, pot dehydrates quicker because of the heat so you'll need to water more often.
Roots dont go the way they like to which is vertical.
Hard to stake them up since pots are deep enough for stake
Pots take up more space.
Pots cost more money

[LuckyGem]

I'm doing containers on my rooftop terrace. I'm a city girl who never had potted plants, nevermind actual veggies growing from seed.

I have arugula, cherry tomatoes, two kinds of chives, spring onion, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, radishes, and three kinds of peppers growing.

I have really enjoyed watching them grow from seed it's been quite a learning experience for the most part.

[kinkytoes]

I tried growing peppers last year, but my container was too small. It was about 2 gallons, I think. This year, I am using the gigantic pots and growing my sweet potatoes and regular potatoes in them.

My mom is a super gardener, and she says you can grow regular potatoes in something like a barrel...gives you an idea of how big of a container you should probably select. Veggies get a lot bigger in a relatively short period of time. I would put one plant per 5+ gallon container.

Sweet potatoes (the red-skinned kind we eat in the Caribbean) are grown as ornamentals in a lot of places...LOL when I lived in the city, I actually dug one up (yes I know I am naughty) and ate it. Soo...I'm looking forward to the ones I'm growing in pots to start "cascading" and being lovely.