growing veg in pots

can i grow most veg inpots as i am restricted with space as my wife likes flowers veg such as turnips carrots cabbage

You can plant most veggies in pots, given that the pot is big enough! You might want to check out http://www.zipharvest.com - my favorite site, as it gives you the info you need regarding how much room each plant needs. They do have some container gardens, I think.

I grow veggies almost exclusively in normal pots using potting soil and following organic practices (no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides). I have grown heirloom and cherry tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, lettuce of all kinds, cabbage and kale, celery, radishes, basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, carrots, beets, onions, green onions, bush green beans, bush lima beans and zucchini. Although I will buy tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in flats to fill niches, I grow almost everything from seed, and for most plants, I save seed from year to year.

I stopped growing brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, etc...) after the first year because they were more trouble than they were worth. In season, they are very cheap in the stores, the taste improvement was not stellar, and they are pest prone. I figured I could use the time and space better elsewhere. For similar reasons, I don't plant potatoes.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I think watermelons, pumpkins and their large relatives are a bit too big for pots. Even in my biggest pots (about 14" diameter and 14" high) did not get bumper crops of the really big tomatoes, like beefsteak, so I do not grow them anymore. (Although I do grow brandywine.) Zucchini is a beast. My pots could not handle it. Too much plant. Now I grow it in a raised bed.

Other than that, everything thrived. Pay special attention to plants that will grow well in half height pots, like radishes, most lettuce, and basil. The shorter pots half the cost and half the work. Make sure the half height pots have built in saucers though, or you will have to water them multiple times per day in hot weather. What am I thinking? I grew up in Shields. You don't get any hot weather. ;))

I successfully grew Beefsteak tomatoes, yellow crookneck squash and
bell peppers in 12 gallon tubs last year. The Kermit-the-frog green tubs
were $5.99 at the local supermarket and with holes drilled in the bottom
were just wonderful. I found some more this year and will be planting
everything in them.

We get very high winds here and I need depth in the planters to keep
them from blowing over.

the pot I have my tators growing in... is 19 inches deep... and 22 inches square... I don't want big tators, was told to use smaller pot for finger tators.... can I put a cherry tomato plant to grow upright in the middle??

Sizewize, you are fine. However, it is not a good idea to plant tomatoes and potatoes near each other. They are both susceptible to early and late blight and they can infect each other. A better choice would be bush beans.

Look at http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html for a good guide to co-planting.

Ed

I grow zucchini, tomatoes, long yard beans, peppers, muskmelons, bush sugar baby watermelon, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, onions, carrots, squash, okra and herbs in containers. Mainly because it was more convenient to garden that way when the pumpkins were younger with successful and tasty yields.

Nice link on companion planting, Ed. Thanks!!
Kelly

YES...that's so much... I have two more pots like the one I have tators in, I'll put the tomatos in one at the other end of the landscape bed.

Time to get dirt!!!

Think I'll transplant my sons carrots to the third pot, they are in the ground right now.

Dirtygirl, if you transplant carrots, be prepared for them to be distorted when mature. They'll probably taste just as good, though :)

Due to the plants needing a full day's worth of sun, Im considering container gardening for several types of veggies. I've just joined here and have to log off for son's baseball game, but will be back to glean more knowledge from all of you!

Thanks from a garden beginner :)

they are all still really little...only two outta a hundred have any color below the green tops..just a lil start of light orange/red. mostly just long roots. I have a million seeds of them, gonna toss in another sprinkle of them today. at least we'll have them in various stages of pretty greens to look at *LOL* also gonna toss in some chives with the carrots.

QUESTION: I just tossed in another 40# bag of dirt on the tators..greenery was above the line by 2 inches.. I have enuff room for maybe another 40# bag after it pokes thru again, ..after it's FULL of dirt, how long do I let the tators grow before pulling them out?? I don't want baked tator size...just the lil fingerlin' sizes...

Johnnie . . .you might want to look at grow bags as well as pots. They're less expensive, come in sizes from anything from herbs to trees and easier to store.

lirv - I registered for the zip garden. they sell garden kits.
wonderful marketing idea but
- Ive already got the container and plant/seeds . . .

thanks for sharing anyway!