Brian Minter: Keys to success for container gardening

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One of the pure joys of a garden is to harvest and savour your own fresh fruits and vegetables. But those who are new to the growing process are often disappointed in the end result because they have not yet gained the knowledge and skills needed for success.

Container food gardening is the reality, whether through choice or necessity, in many homes today. With so many advancements in breeding over the years the productivity has increased dramatically, making it far more worthwhile.

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There are some important considerations which are key to success. The first is sunlight: all vegetables prefer direct sun for at least three to four hours a day, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you are getting less sun during this period, you may have to focus on leafy vegetables like lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach and the many Asian foliage vegetables available.

Size also matters when it comes to containers. With more extreme summer heat now, a critical mass of soil is essential for ensuring adequate water retention, and preventing the soil in the pots from overheating.

I would recommend rectangular planters for the highest efficiency on decks or patios, with minimum dimensions of 20 centimetres wide, by three metres or more and a depth of at least 20 cm. This will accommodate all vegetables and allow for stability at the same time. A trellis, at least one metre wide by two meters high, is a must have for all your climbing vegetables. This can increase your production area by at least three times as you can take advantage of wasted vertical space and capture much needed sunlight as well.

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Peas, climbing beans, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and even strawberries will all appreciate the increased production area. This is where our container gardens can match the production of traditional garden growing.

I love the fact that many folks are taking south- or west-facing walls on homes and garages and securing rectangular planters to them. In some cases, rows of eavestroughs are being attached and used to grow lettuces, leafy greens and strawberries. This is a creative way to take advantage of any sunny spots and otherwise wasted vertical growing opportunities.

Getting the right soil mix is huge: in containers, we should really be using a sterilized container blend of materials to which we can add well composted organic manures, and products like Sea Soil with its kelp and fish meal.

Nutrients are critical, especially in containers where we water frequently and consequently leach much of the goodness out of the soil. Today there are many organic fertilizers like Gaia Green, which has several well-balanced formulas. Organic fish and kelp formulas work well too, but I’d suggest an application of a good slow-release fertilizer in addition to these other alternatives to provide continuous feeding over the entire growing period.

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Proper watering is another critical factor for successful growing, and if you can attach a drip irrigation system you will directly target the root zones of your plants more efficiently and save water. It’s always best to water in the morning when the temperature is on the rise so all your food crops are moist during the heat of the day. Overwatering is worse than underwatering because it can cause the demise of the root systems, so the best philosophy is to give a good drink, then let plants dry slightly between waterings.

Always grow the edibles you enjoy the most and be less focused on the nice-to-have plants, especially if space is at a premium.

Tomatoes are still the most sought-after garden fruits and there are specific varieties available. The most popular are the sprawling forms of Tumbler, Tumbling Tom, and Tumbling Tom Yellow. Due to their leggy nature, Sweet 100, Sweet Million, grape varieties, and Rapunzel, which produces like crazy, are top choices. There is a growing trend to the ultra-sweet Sun Gold, Sun Sugar and Sweet Gold varieties, all of which are  amazing. They will all adapt nicely to trellis growing and are highly productive.

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Cucumbers are next on the hot list and are also well suited to trellising. The most popular are the Japanese burpless varieties like Tasty Green, a long English type. Perseus is a much more compact version which is now extremely popular, but I highly recommend the new Kitchen Mini variety, Quick Snack, which produces 8-cm-long, bite sized, crisp, sweet, burpless cukes.

Peppers, especially the hot varieties are in demand and they are all ideal container candidates. Jalapenos are the most sought after because of their delicious moderately hot flavour. Everyone has their favourites, but the new Kitchen Mini Series has moderately sized plants which overproduce. You might want to try Snackabelle Red, Pot-a-peno, and Ring of Fire, which have smaller but delicious sweet and hot peppers.

Eggplants like Patio Baby are bred especially for containers. Don’t overlook wonderful Marcotte beans, smaller sized brassicas, and the multi-headed broccolini, which is nice for a continuous harvest. We now have mini carrots and baby beets that are ideal for containers. All your leafy greens, blends like Simply Salad lettuces, and Storm kale, a multi-variety blend, are ideal for pots.

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Container gardening can be so much easier and fun than tending in-ground beds and is highly productive. Consider your options as our gardening season really gets underway.

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