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Ten great crops to grow in containers

Mark Ridsdill Smith 26 comments

When growing in small spaces, you want a lot from the crops you grow. You want them to give you plentyto eat, to taste amazing, and ideally to look great, too. After experimenting with over fifty differentvegetable crops, here are ten Ive found to be amongst the very best. (Herbs and fruits to follow anotherday).

What are yours? Id love to hear what your favourite veg to grow in containers are in the comments at the

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great crops to grow in containers http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/ten-great-crops-to-grow-in-containers/

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bottom.

No.10 Tromba Squash

Tromba squash tastes like courgettes / zucchini but climbs fantastically (great for small spaces!) and haseye catching almost phallic fruits. Grow these at the front of your home to catch the eye of passers by!

Tromba (or tromboncino) squash is a great alternative to courgettes in container as climber it takes up much less space.

No. 9 Nasturtiums

The queen of the edible flowers so bright and cheery in the container garden and adds flavour, zip andcolour to salads. The small leaves are edible, too and the round leaf shape adds pleasing variety to salads.


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Nasturtiums will brighten any home

No. 8 Chillies

If you like chillies and have a sunny space, chillies are a top choice. They look great and home grownchillies have an added taste dimension. One plant can give you 50 100 chillies so self sufficiency inchillies is a realistic proposition! Any you cant eat can easily be dried for eating over winter.


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A super productive and pretty crop as long as you have a sunny, warm spot.

No. 7 Oriental greens

Asian leaves are the almost perfect crop for small spaces. They grow super fast, dont need a lot of sun,and can be eaten in either salads or stir fries. Try Chinese cabbage (super fast growing), tatsoi (a variety ofpak choi), mizuna (prolific), mustard red giant, Chinese broccoli or choy sum. Or buy a mixed pack ofAsian leaves. Oh, yes, and you can grow them all year round, too.


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There ars so many fantastic fast growing, tasty oriental greens including pak

choi, mibuna, mizuna, Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli, serifon and mustardred giant (pictured).

Number 6: Runner beans

One of the most productive crops several kilos of beans can be grown in one pot. The orange or whiteflowers add beauty and the tall height of the plants add stature. For tender, tasty beans pick when small.Likes a constant water supply so grows best in a container with a water reservoir.


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Runners taste best if picked small and picking encourages them to produce

more.

Number 5: Cavelo nero (Tuscan kale)

With its plumes and rich green colour this is one of the most attractive container crops. Its so hardy it willsurvive the coldest of winters here in the UK. Sow in August for a supply of leaves over winter or springfor a summer harvest. The leaves can be cooked or eaten in salads and are full of taste and vitality!


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Theres lots of good reasons to grow crops in your pots over winter not least

that they look so much better than bare earth. Cavelo nero is a great choice.

Number 4: Bright lights chard (or rainbow chard)

With its mix of bright red, yellow and white stalks, this looks spectacular in a container. It grows all yearround, the small leaves look beautiful in salads, and the big leaves taste delicious cooked the stalks, inparticular, taste similar to asparagus. Underrated. In London I used to grow this above the front door tobrighten the street!


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Bright lights or rainbow chard keeping picking the outer leaves and you can

harvest one plant for months.

Number 3: pea and ful medame or broad bean shoots

You can grow 4 5 ($6 $8) worth of pea and bean shoots in one seed tray in just three weeks. Theytaste delicious and look beautiful as a garnish or even as the main ingredient of a salad or stir fry. Theycan be grown successfully in the tiniest space and only need an hours sun a day. Winner! Read how togrow them here.


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Pea shoots are fast and easy old fruit trays like this make the perfect

container.

Number 2: tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the most productive crops you can grow in containers 5kg (10 lbs) off one plant iscommon. Each plant crops for a long period, giving you fresh tomatoes over several months. And last butnot least, home grown tomatoes are a taste sensation! Do you have a favourite variety for containers?


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Few things taste as good as a home grown tomato. Grow them in good soil in a

good sized pot and they are hugely productive, too.

Number 1: mixed salads

Salads are the ultimate crop for small spaces: fast growing, productive and bursting with flavour. Popoutside and pick one five minutes before lunch it doesnt get fresher than that! You dont need muchspace (or even sun!) to be self sufficient in salads. I grew over 14 kg (30lb) -equivalent to 140supermarket packs in one year on my small balcony.


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You can be self sufficient in salads with just a few pots like this. The secret is to

keep sowing them in seed trays so that you always have a supply of baby plantsto move into your containers when the old plants get tough or bitter.

If you enjoyed this article, get email updates (its free).

26 comments add one

Julie February 25, 2014, 1:21 pm

Hi Mark,Love all the info on your site glad to have found it!Ive a great little garden going the past two years on my balcony, but have NO luck growing

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tomatoes. The plants grow, product fruit, but then the fruit never fully ripens they turn into hardlittle red tomatoes with no taste and eventually fall off the vine and rot.The plants have plenty of sun and water, but seem to be missing something. I fertilize with biofertilizer, but wonder if I need to pep up the soil somehow or fertilize differently.Any ideas? I am already considering no tomatoes again this year; has been such a disaster and theytake up a lot of room.Thanks,Julie

Reply

Mark Ridsdill Smith March 6, 2014, 4:33 pm

Hi Julie, my apologies, I thought Id replied to your question a while ago but I think I musthave just been thinking about it! Its a tricky one and Im not a tomato expert but there are afew possibilities. Are you growing any other sun loving plants eg chillies or aubergines that are also doing well? I ask because my first thoughts when I read your comment is sun and tomatoes do like quite a lot, certainly more than most leafy and root veg. Do you knowhow many hours they get? They are hungry plants and therefore compost and fertiliser areimportant. You can grow them in old compost but I find its best to save old compost for othercrops and grow tomatoes in new compost. And Im not sure what is in your bio fertiliser butyou need a balanced feed that is high in K (potassium) a tomato feed is ideal. Anotherpossibility is that the variety you are growing is better adapted to commercial green housesthan outside Real Seeds have a nice selection of tomatoes that are well adapted to outdoorUK weather and are worth a try. Im not sure if this helps solve the problem but hopefully

Ive given you a few ideas. Id also check out Nick Chenhalls tomato growing website, thatsa great place to learn about tomatoes!

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Anna January 11, 2014, 10:17 am

Hi there, I dont seem to have a lot of success growing lettuces and courgettes/ squashes incontainers. What kind of soil/ compost do you use and how often do you feed? My lettuces eitherstay very small or become leggy, and my courgettes dont produce enough for the space they takeup. Thanks a million!

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Mark Ridsdill Smith January 12, 2014, 2:46 pm

Hi Anna, From the symptoms you describe, my first thought is that they may not be getting

enough sun. Do you know how many hours sun a day they get? If not, it would be worthobserving the space to find out.

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Anna January 14, 2014, 10:44 am

Sun is an issue alright Id say they get 3-5 hours a day, IF the sun is shining anddepending on the month. I always thought lettuces didnt need that much sun? Alsotheyre doing well in the raised beds, just not in the containers. As for the courgettes,Ive always found it hard to get them to produce enough. I found Buckingham prettygood for growing in containers but they stopped producing very early in the seasondespite sunny position and sufficient (organic) feed. Its a mystery.

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Mark Ridsdill Smith January 15, 2014, 10:28 am

Courgettes are sun loving beasts they may produce a few fruits in less sun butusually need at least half a day full sun to crop well. 3- 5 hours is marginal. Thelettuces are more of a riddle. Leggy seedlings is normally a sign that they are notgetting enough light. Are you growing other plants successfully in the sameplace? Is the sun they do get full and direct or is it for example dappled suncoming through trees? It does sound to me like a sun / light issue, but its possible

it could be one of several other things eg watering, feeding or the quality of thecompost. If you can give me more info in an email (including where you aregrowing, the compost you are using and how / if you are feeding your crops),together with a photo of the space if possible, I can try to help you get to thebottom of this.

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Carla January 10, 2014, 11:47 pm

Excellent article. For the first time in my gardening history Im completely limited to containers this

year. Im so glad to have found this space.

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Mark Ridsdill Smith January 12, 2014, 2:48 pm

So glad you found it useful, Carla. Very best of luck in your container adventures. Just drop

me a line if you have any questions. Mark

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Robert Dyson December 1, 2013, 4:23 pm

Just the ideas I needed. I will give feedback next year when I have some of these growing, What Ilike about these pages is the simplicity, the lack of spurious choice, just the right amount ofinformation to get one started. Excellent.

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Mark Ridsdill Smith December 9, 2013, 11:16 am

So glad to hear the ideas are useful for you, Robert. Much looking forward to your feedback.Very good luck with your project and do feel free to drop me a line if you have anyquestions.

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Edible Little Balcony September 17, 2013, 5:53 pm

Great posts! These are also some good suggestions for container gardensI have a balcony gardenon the 4th floor, and my chilies have just started to produce, so happy! I also had runner beans, butthey never flowered Im guessing it was just too windy for them? Radishes, peas, and onions also


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have worked out great for me! Keep up the cool site!

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Mark Ridsdill Smith September 18, 2013, 7:28 am

Congratulations on your chillies! And thanks for sharing your other successful crops. Notquite sure why your runner beans didnt flower, it may have been that they didnt like thewind. They can sometimes be a bit temperamental about setting fruit but theyre a greatcontainer crop when they do.

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sarah June 29, 2013, 9:38 pm

hi mark, just wondering if you have any advice on fruit, berries etc and if you can recommend anyfor pots tanks sarah

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Mark Ridsdill Smith June 30, 2013, 2:32 pm

Hi Sarah, Im working with the London Orchard Project on producing a fruit guide aimed at

container growers at the moment Hopefully itll be ready in the autumn. Two of myfavourite fruits for containers are strawberries (particularly the everlasting types) andblueberries. But many other fruits (eg figs, apples, plums) will do fine in (fairly large)containers although it may take a few years until they are productive. Id recommend goingto a specialist fruit nursery as its important to get a variety that is suitable for pots and

specialists will be best placed to advise you. Are you in the UK? If so, two mail order placesIve found very helpful are Cool Temperate and Ken Muir. Hope that helps.

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Anna June 8, 2013, 9:00 am

Hi Mark, I love your work. I used to container garden on a narrow roof in North London which hadwalls along the longer sides so the direct sun light levels were limited and they also make the spacea rather draughty tunnel but still it was my and various insects urban retreat . Runner beans didgreat, as did dwarf French purple beans, wall baskets tomatoes (I think they where the hundredsand thousands? , prolififc crop of tiny sweet fruit), nasturtiums, potatoes,herbs-sage, thyme,


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rosemary, Thai basil, dill, borage. I also had poached egg plants and various marigolds andcalendula. Broad beans and rocket werent very successful for me, the blackbirds always got therefirst. Apart from perennial herbs all were grown from seeds. What tasty memories I have from thatperiod :-). Looking forward to more news and tips from you and greetings to all vertical andhorizontal gardeners!

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Bex June 5, 2013, 3:49 pm

Thanks Mark, thats really useful! Keep up the good work.

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Bex June 3, 2013, 4:11 pm

Great blog Mark. I was wondering if the Tromba Squash need additional support? Ive put somestraight in the soil, but no green shoots yet. I was also wondering what crops youd recommend fora north facing balcony?

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Mark Ridsdill Smith June 5, 2013, 8:07 am

Hi Bex, the tromba will need something to climb up strings or a trellis or similar. Plants for anorth facing balcony depends really on how much sun it gets. But assuming its not verysunny Id start off with leafy veg kale, chard, rocket, lettuce and all the oriental leaves likepak choi and mizuna and see how they do. Also herbs like mint, chives, parsley, lovage will

do well. And perhaps try a few spring onions, carrots, snap peas and French or Runner beansin the sunniest bits.

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kathleen May 19, 2013, 4:48 pm

HI Mark,i have about 10 green boxes readt to plant into.I have aquired some compost from localauthority it looks full of lumps of twigs etc what should I add to it to grow toms ,squash etc in?

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Mark RS May 19, 2013, 8:58 pm

Hi Kathleen

Local authority compost varies quite a bit sometimes it is excellent and can even be usedneat without any additives. In other places it can either be too strong or can be unbalanced innutrients, resulting in poor growth. Unfortunately the only way to really find out is try it or tofind someone else locally who has grown in the same compost. If theres any chance thecompost came from North London, then you will probably be fine and can grow in it neat. Ifyou got it from elsewhere, then you could possibly try it neat in a couple of containers, andthen mix it 50:50 with a soil based compost (B&Q do a peat free one) or a multipurposecompost like New Horizon. You might also grow in neat New Horizon compost as a control inone box to see how it compares. One thing about council composts is that they are generallytoo rich and too lumpy for starting seeds. Does this help at all?

Mark

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Jennifer May 14, 2013, 10:50 am

Hi Mark this is a timely find as I was just thinking about planting food in my pots, which get a

lot of sunlight all year round.However, I have been neglecting te soil and feel that i should top up the nutriants. Is there a generalfood that I can use for all the plants?My second question is can I link some of your blogs to my website I have a section on Healthand a section on Home. The work I do is helping people to live an authentic life. This all fits in wellwith my philosophy.Well done with what you are doing

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Mark RS May 14, 2013, 12:06 pm

Hi Jennifer, the best general food for plants I know is worm compost its rich in the majornutrients and contains many trace elements, too. However, it does take 6 12 months tomake if starting from scratch. In the meantime, you could get a general purpose organicfertiliser with balanced NPK and mix some of that in. Liquid seaweed is a also good generalpurpose feed, rich in trace elements but only limited supplies of NPK. One product Imcurrently trying is Sea Mungus this is a mix of chicken manure, worm compost and

seaweed so it sounds like it should be quite well balanced. Quickcrop sell it in the UK if youwant to give it a go.And yes, please feel free to link from your website. Many thanks! Mark (PS NPK, if youhavent heard of it stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium the essential elements


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that plants need to grow).

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Claire May 8, 2013, 4:40 pm

Hello Mark! Fantastic post! I never realised many of these crops could be grown in pots Whatwould be a fantastic addition to this post would be what container sizes are required for the abovecrops? I imagine courgette needs a decent sized container but I might be wrong. I love sourcingcontainers from what I find around so if you can offer suggestions from terracotta pots to winecrates etc this would be wonderful.Thanks, Claire

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Mark RS May 8, 2013, 7:55 pm

Hi Claire, great question! The crops that will most benefit from big pots (30 50 litre) on thelist are the squash, tomatoes and runner beans. These all need lots of food and water to cropwell and this is easier to give in big containers. Chard, cavelo nero and chillies will do fine inmedium sized pots (15 20 litres). The Asian leaves and salad leaves will mostly crop fine in

your average window box sized trough (around six inches deep), and pea and bean shootsonly need a seed tray. Hope that helps?Mark

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Sarah May 3, 2013, 8:47 pm

Something Ive found very easy to grow is rucola/rocket. You can just leave them alone and theywill grow and grow, produce seeds, sow themselves out, and then grow some more.

I have another question: my outside salads arent doing too well. They are not growing very strong,and the leaves just tend to lie down and then decompose. I have one inside which is doing muchbetter, unfortunately its also a lot less tasty. Now my balcony is very windy, I guess that doesnthelp, but maybe I also water them too much/little? I try to water the soil without wetting the plantstoo much, but when they lie on the ground thats not really feasible. Or do they need morenutrition? They do get a lot of light, so I think I can rule that one out.

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Mark RS May 7, 2013, 9:11 am

Hi Sarah, it could be one of several reasons most of which I think youve identified. As you

guessed, most plants do not like wind and it has been unusually windy (in Newcastle at least)these past few weeks The salads Ive protected from the wind with improvised cloches(hoops covered in plastic) have grown about four times as fast as those that are not protected.So trying some sort of cloche could be interesting to see what affect it has (take it off on hot,sunny days, though, as plants can fry inside). Or it could be about nutrition are you usingnew compost? If youre using old compost, you need to add fertiliser before using it again.Chicken manure pellets are high in nitrogen which is needed for leaf growth so these are agood fertiliser for salads. To find out if youre are overwatering put your finger into the soil acouple of inches it should feel damp like a rung out flannel, not soggy. Another sign ofoverwartering is green algae on top of the soil round the plants. Plants do drink more water in

wind so underwatering is indeed another possibility but if they are in reasonable size potsand you are watering on most days this shouldnt be a problem. Again, feel the soil with yourfinger a few inches down and if it feels dry this could be the problem. Hopefully this info willhelp you get the bottom of whats going on?

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