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From tomatoes to chillies, these veggies will thrive in a container.
Don’t have the space or time for a dedicated veg plot? Containers are the way forward. There are plenty of veggies that will thrive in a pot, so whether you have a patio, balcony or just a windowsill, you can try growing beautiful and flavoursome varieties that you will never see on supermarket shelves.
Lucy Chamberlain, gardener and author of RHS Grow Food Anywhere: How to Plant the Right Crops in the Right Place and Help Your Garden Thrive, says there are many good reasons to grow veg in containers: 'You can have plenty of diversity in what you grow and when you’re growing lots of different crops, you can stagger the harvests. A succession of smaller harvests means you’re less likely to get a glut of one veg and you’ll have things flowering at different times; and if you get one that fails, then there’s always something else.'
She suggests making a mini potager by grouping pots together on a terrace, patio or balcony – you can have lots of fun rearranging them through the growing season to spotlight the ones at their peak. 'It makes it a little less daunting to look after,' says Lucy. 'And it’s a great way to use space to the maximum.'
One of Lucy’s key tips for growing successfully in containers is to grow vertically – for example, cordon tomatoes and climbing beans take up minimal space, and you get a high reward for your efforts, so it's an easy win.
But it’s important to choose the right pots, advises Lucy. Go for the largest your space can cope with – a minimum of 20-30cm in diameter. Glazed pots with a thicker wall to minimise water loss are better than terracotta pots, which dry out more easily, and galvanised steel pots tend to heat up in direct sunlight, causing the roots to dry out. You can circumvent this to a degree by lining pots with old compost bags, for example, which helps to reduce moisture loss. Some crops work well in shallower containers like old wine crates – early sowings of carrots or salads, for example. It’s also important to get a good compost mix; peat-free combined with soil will give you a good balance.
Read on for 10 expert-approved recommendations for growing vegetables in pots:
Carrots are great for growing in deeper containers – try using old crates filled with a free-draining sand and peat-free compost mix. You can sow successionally from early spring and pick as you go. In shallower containers, try rounder-style carrots such as ’Baby Chantenay’, 'Paris Market' or 'Atlas'. These are good for growing with kids as they are quick to mature.
Ideal for growing in pots, chillies are perfect windowsill veggies or look great as a table decoration. There are so many different varieties to choose from, depending on how hot you like them! 'Fiery Flames' is a super-hot variety with high yields on a compact plant. Or try the amazing heirloom variety ‘Buena Mulata’ that starts out purple.
Chillies need regular watering and feeding during the growing season, and you can help with pollination by gently brushing each flower with a small paintbrush. Make sure the weather is a steady temperature before moving plants from your windowsill to outdoors.
You might not get a huge crop, but you will definitely grow the best potatoes you’ve ever tasted, and it’s especially worthwhile for the early new potatoes.
You just need a large bag or a bin – recycle your old compost bags, making some holes in the bottom for drainage. Add a layer of compost with three seed potatoes per bag. As the potatoes send up shoots, add more compost until the bag is full – this is just like earthing them up if you were growing them in the ground. When the plants have flowered, you can simply empty the bag and count how many delicious potatoes you’ve grown.
Supermarket cucumbers lack the crunch and flavour you can get from a home-grown one. Amaze your friends with the yellow, round 'Crystal Lemon' cucumber. Cucumbers are climbers and quite prolific, so you will need a large pot and a strong supportive wigwam or trellis for your plant to clamber up. You can pick the ripe ones off as you need them. 'Cumini' is good for smaller spaces – even hanging baskets with good resistance against powdery mildew.
Choose a sheltered position in full sun, a large container, or grow bags and rich peat-free compost. Plant cordon tomatoes next to a cane for support and tie them in as they grow or choose tumbling varieties to trail over the edges. Look for good disease resistance – it’s so disheartening when your crops are decimated.
‘Gardeners’ Delight’ is a very tasty cherry variety, easy to grow, and so reliable – it’s great for first-time growers. ‘Rubylicious’ is a good blight-resistant cherry tomato and produces lots of good fruits. Try compact trailing toms for hanging baskets like yellow and red 'Double Love' or 'Cherry Blast'. Feed and water regularly through the season as the fruits develop.
Lucy recommends ‘Purple knight’ and ‘White knight’ for pots because of their compact size and longer, productive season. The fruits are long and thin versions of traditional aubergines, and if you try this trio from Thompson & Morgan, you can enjoy the different white, purple and green colourings, which make them great for an edimental planting mix.
Grow coloured beans that look great on the vine and are easy to spot when they’re ripe for picking. Choose a large, deep container so the roots have plenty of room. Try climbing 'Cobra', a newer variety with stringless pods up to 20cm (8") long. ‘Blauhilde’ is another productive, disease-resistant purple bean. And yellow beans look great in summer salads – try ‘Golden Gate’, which has a really high yield.
This small, compact, lesser-known leafy perennial is great for growing in pots or windowboxes. The fresh green leaves with rich red patterning are highly ornamental. It’s reliably cut and come again, and you can use the tangy-flavoured leaves in salads, stir fries or soups, or served like spinach. It’s also a good choice for a shadier area. Grow from seed or get a division from a friend’s pot.
Rhubarb is not technically a vegetable, but it's a great grow-your-own choice for a large pot. This is a perennial and will die back over winter, with the lovely pink new growth returning the following spring. ‘Livingstone’ is one of the only varieties that will keep producing lovely edible stems from March right through to October.
Rhubarb foliage is also very attractive in its own right, making a lush display in amongst a collection of pots, but remember that only the stems are edible!
If you don’t want a glut of courgettes, grow them in a container which will limit their growth and productivity. One plant will do – they can look spectacular. They need a larger, deep pot, and you can also pick the flowers for cooking. Choose more unusual varieties, such as the yellow 'Burpees Golden Zucchini' – the colour of the ripening courgettes looks great both on the plant and the plate.
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