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It is easy to grow vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and even fruits in containers. Adding edible plants to your landscape is a great way to put a unique twist in your outdoor living space. Not only are they pretty, you can also eat them!
The Right Pot
Choose a pot at least 48” in diameter. Choosing a pot that is too small will crowd your plants, leading to a top heavy container or choking the roots of your plant. A 48” container will allow you to plant at least one tomato plant along with some herbs or smaller plants. Don’t forget about drainage!! Find a pot that will allow excess water to drain out.
The Right Soil
Using the right soil is critical to the success of your container garden. Top soil may be too heavy and does not provide the right mix of nutrients. In order to make sure your plants get enough water & nutrients we recommend you use a potting soil specific to vegetables.
At The Barn, we recommend Baccto Veggie Mix. Baccto Veggie Mix features a natural organic fertilizer in a blend of natural dark, rich sedge peat and fibrous sphagnum peat moss. This mix does not include any inorganic additives. It’s natural water holding capacity allows for reduced watering without additional chemicals and provides all natural nutrient supply for up to 6 weeks.
The Right Nutrients
You need to fertilize more often when growing plants in containers vs. in a garden. Nutrients are water soluble, so every time you water your container the nutrients are dissolved and leach out the bottom of the pot. You can replace those nutrients by fertilizing with Garden-Tone (for vegetables) or Holly-Tone (for berries) every 3-4 weeks. ALSO, potting mixes tend to lack beneficial micro-organisms, Garden-Tone AND Holly-Tone both contain these beneficial organisms for better soil quality and uptake of nutrients.
The Right Location
Now where to put the pot? The most important necessity is sunlight. Choose a sunny spot that provides at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. The perfect spot would also include some protection so that summer storms and wind gusts won’t knock over your planter and damage the plants or fruit.
The Right Plants
The Right Plants
Our Favorite Container Tomatoes
Tomato Sweet’n’neat
- Super compact habit suitable for smaller containers.
- Abundant ¾-1 oz. bright red fruit
Tomato Sweet’n’neat Yellow
- Super compact habit suitable for smaller containers.
- Abundant ¾-1 oz. golden yellow fruit
Tomato Tumbling Tiger
- Compact and gently trailing habit suitable for hanging baskets or window boxes.
- Plum shaped striped fruit
Tomato Tumbling Tom Red
- Compact and gently trailing habit suitable for hanging baskets or window boxes.
- Bright red cherry tomatoes
Tomato Tumbling Tom Yellow
- Compact and gently trailing habit suitable for hanging baskets or window boxes.
- Golden yellow cherry tomatoes
Tomato Better Bush
- Compact grower
- Great disease resistance
- Produces an abundance of 4-5” juicy red fruit
Tomato San Marzano
- Preferred by gourmet chefs around the world!
- THE most famous paste/sauce tomato.
- Elongated fruit
Sweet Pepper Pompeii
- Very compact grower to just 8-10 inches.
- 5 inch peppers that start light green and mature to orange - red.
Chili Pepper Chenzo
- Compact plant with arching stems.
- TONS of hot peppers that start green, turn black, then bright red. All 3 colors at the same time, looks like an ornamental.
Greens
Root Veggies
To start root vegetables like carrots and radishes: fill a 10-12" pot with Baccto Veggie Soil leaving 2" at the top of the pot, wet the soil and tamp lightly. Sprinkle seeds in the soil, then cover with 1/8" of soil and spray with a water bottle to moisten. Cover the pot with cling wrap to create a "greenhouse". Pull back cling wrap and water with a spray bottle twice a day to keep seeds moist, replace cling wrap after each watering. When seedling grow tall enough to touch the cling wrap, remove the plastic permanantly and thin to 1.5-2" apart.
Beans & Peas
Our Favorite Container Fruits
Blueberry Jelly Bean
- Dwarf and rounded habit makes it great for containers
- Abundant fruit with powerful flavor
- Great red fall color
Everbearing Strawberry
- Produces berries all season long.
- Great in hanging baskets or window boxes.
- Choose disease resistant varieties like Seascape or Albion.
Strawberry Jar
Raspberry Shortcake
- Dwarf and rounded habit makes it great for containers – no staking required!
- Abundant fruit with extremely sweet flavor
- Thornless!!!!
