Due to a lot of reasons I’ve chosen to pot up the vegetable garden this year. The top reason is we will need to move in the middle of the gardening season and I don’t want to leave behind those tasty tomatoes and peppers! Because we’ll be moving sometime in July or August it just made sense to plant the vegetable garden in containers that can be moved over to our new home. Even if you aren’t in the same situation you may find some advantages to growing your vegetable garden in pots or containers!
Advantages
Disadvantages
Watch the video or read the post below it!
Mobility
For us the most important thing right now is mobility. It allows us to pick up the pots and transport them to other locations. Many vegetable garden plants grow great in containers. For this garden we have tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos planted. I also have rosemary, chives, and basil started which are excellent herbs for pots. Moving potted plants is not without its challenges as they can be heavy, probably have grown quite a bit, and will need trellising.
As the summer season progresses the location of the sunlight on your garden may change. By being able to move your pots around you can adjust how much sunlight your plants receive.
The Soil
When you are filling pots and containers with soil you can choose the amendments and the type of soil you fill them with. This enables you to cater the soil to fit the plants you are growing! If they need better drainage add perlite, vermiculite, or fine bark shavings. For a rich soil add compost and organic fertilizers. For herbs opt for better drainage and a smaller amount of compost. You may even be able to add sand for better drainage. Just be sure to create your soil based on what the plant needs to thrive!
Control the Moisture Level
With your garden conveniently potted up you will be able to control the moisture level of the container! Pots will generally dry out faster which may reduce fungal issues. You will want to water the pots thoroughly each time you water until water runs out of the bottom of the container. You can also install drip irrigation fairly easily with containers!
Fewer Weeds
Since you have just freshly potted up your containers any weeds that emerge can be easily removed. Most likely those weeds were ones that flew in on the breeze (or dropped in by birds) since you potted up your containers. These weeds should be simple to pull as you walk around watering your plants. Plus the soil is nice and loose and not compacted which makes weed remove a sinch!
Companion Planting/Under Planting
Companion planting is an amazing technique that uses plant pairings that provide a benefit to each plant. When you use large pots you can plant these complementary beneficial plants in the same container! Marigolds and tomatoes, tomatoes and basil, chives and tomatoes or peppers are just a few ideas I’ll be trying in these potted plants.
Companion plants can attract beneficial insects, disguise plants from predators or opportunistic insects, and help each other grow in a symbiotic relationship.
Extend the Season
If you garden is in containers there is nothing stopping you from bringing it inside when the temperatures start to get cold. Perennials plants like peppers can even be grown inside then brought back outdoors the following spring! If you have a greenhouse you can slide those pots into it to extend the gardening season for weeks or even months depending on your climate!
And now it’s time for the disadvantages of gardening in pots…
Drying Out
Because pots have all sides surrounded by air which does not have any insulating factor at all they will dry out much faster than plants in the ground. This may mean you will need to monitor the watering and water your potted plants much more frequently. In the hot summer months you may want to check them 2 or more times a day and watch for signs of wilt. Wilting is the plants natural defense against moisture loss and is a good sign it needs a drink. To ease this issue some you could setup drip lines and connect to a timer to water at certain intervals. An irrigation system doesn’t mean you can can set and forget to water, it just helps you out a little!
Planting Limitations
Not all plants grow great in pots and some are better off planting in the ground. Corn is one that needs good pollination and is best spaces in blocks of 6-8 inches of distance between each stalk. That can be hard to achieve in pots and I think the value of growing corn in the home garden is very small. It requires a large section of the garden in order to make a good crop which might be better used for other crops.
Sprawling plants like melons can also be difficult to grow in pots. If you can leave potted sprawling plants in the same spot to grow over the season it would be fine but if you need to move them it would be problematic. Melons and cucumbers will grow tendrils that will wrap around other plants. You can grow them in pots but would want to trellis them to keep that under control.
When I first started gardening we lived in an apartment with a deck. We had quite a few plants in pots on that deck like radishes, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We really enjoyed the fresh fruit and vegetables that deck garden provided. Pots can be an amazing way to grow a garden if you have space limitations!
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