Regardless of how little space you have it is still possible to garden. Even if you only have a small balcony, you can still enjoy eating fresh vegetables grown in containers.
Who doesn’t love the taste of new potatoes? Even if you don’t have that extra large garden, plant potatoes early and in containers! The only big thing to remember is potatoes require good drainage so ensure your media will drain well and that your container has adequate drainage holes.
I am fond of cooking Asian food so always like to grow some edible pea pods. Last year, I grew my peas in a long wood container box and had a bumper crop. Little Sweetie, a dwarf type of edible peas is my current favourite. However, it is necessary to have some type of simple trellis for them to climb. Similarly, the bush type of cucumbers can also be grown in a container with a trellis.
I have also grown eggplant along with sweet and hot peppers and had extremely good success. Many vegetables need to grow in a south exposure with lots of sun, heat and moisture. For eggplant and peppers you must have a protected area out of the wind or cover your plants if it turns cold. If the temperature dips below the freezing point and you need to cover your precious little plants use four-liter plastic milk jugs with the bottoms cut off as a cover. They keep the moisture in, do not let cool winds slow the growth and when you are finished simply wash off the jugs and recycle. I am fortunate enough to have a small rooftop garden that has created a microclimate that allows these “hot crops” to thrive. My harvest is so impressive I need to share it with others.
Onion sets are a natural for containers. The big bonus is that when you are gardening in containers, you control the media which means there can be much less chance of getting typical soil borne disease and pest problems. With onion sets, plant half the package, store the other half in the fridge to plant in two to four weeks. This gives you a continuous production of fresh green onions.
One of the nicest things about growing vegetables in containers is you can choose the location to put that container according to the cultural needs of the plants. For cool loving crops simply place your container in an area that receives only morning sun. Cool loving crops like lettuce, radish and spinach thrive in containers as long as they are not subjected to the searing temperatures we sometimes get in the afternoon. With these crops it is also a good idea to do succession plantings. Train yourself to replant as much as you generally consume every two to three weeks, so your palate is always pleased with fresh new greens.
Last but not least, containers can be covered easily or even brought indoors during a late spring snow storm and when all your garden friends are planting their spring vegetables you can either uncover your already growing plants or set them outside and be proud of their growth.
‑ Hanbidge is a Prairie Master Gardener with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture. For more information about joining this community based program or to enroll in our certificate or diploma programs please call 306-931-GROW(4769). Be sure to check out our website at www.growyourfuture.ca
