Container Vegetables

You don’t need a large vegetable patch to grow a selection of fruit vegetables and herbs. Almost all varieties can be raised in pots, grow bags, dustbins, wheelbarrows, whatever you want to grow green things in.

There are many advantages to growing like this; compost takes away bad-soil paranoia, no weeding required, and no soil pests keeping you up at night with a torch although your plants will need constant watering to mature.

When choosing what to grow you will obviously be guided by the space you have available - and what you like to eat!

A complete herb garden can be grown in a single strawberry pot, its many pockets can be planted with different herbs.

The coloured stems of Chard make an attractive pot plant. Aubergines, courgettes, carrots, beetroot, cucumbers and peppers or bush-variety tomatoes all grow well in pots. New potatoes do well in larger pots or even dustbins. Veggies for salad can be grown in pots or grow bags outside the door, you can just nip out to collect the ingredients for a really crisp, fresh salad.

Herbs are fantastic to grow on a windowsill, especially, in the kitchen. The kitchen is generally a great place for windowsill plants anyway, as it becomes pretty obvious what needs watering and you can cut them as you need them.

Most herbs can be sown from seed, grown from a rooted clump passed on by a gardening friend, or pot plant from a garden centre.

Hanging baskets make good homes for peas, french/runner beans and tomatoes but will need daily watering. When assembling your basket add a liner with slits to insert your plants through and is a good idea to place a saucer in the bottom to retain water. Half fill with a moisture retaining compost and push your young trailing plants through the slits. Fill with more compost and plant up the centre of the basket.