How to Create a Container Garden

A container garden can be as simple or as complex as you wish. Once you learn how to choose your materials, what tools you need, and how to prepare your containers, you can get started.

Materials and Tools Needed

• Containers or pots
• Drill (if pot doesn’t contain drainage holes)
• Potting soil
• Trowel

Containers come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. You can purchase containers, repurpose old gardening pots, use 5-gallon buckets, or invest in lightweight grow bags.
The size and depth of the container you use will depend on what plants you grow in them. Shallow- rooted plants (e.g., lettuce and greens) can grow in a space as little as 6 inches deep, but larger vegetables (e.g., tomatoes) require larger, deeper containers such as a 5- or 10-gallon pot.

Preparing and Modifying Containers

Getting your container ready for planting can mean simply selecting the pot and filling it with soil. However, there are other steps you should take to ensure you get the healthiest vegetables and have a positive experience.

• Select your containers based on the vegetables you intend to plant. Take note of plant spacing and mature plant size to determine if multiple vegetables or herbs can grow in one pot.
• If you’re reusing gardening pots, wash them with a 10 percent bleach mixture to kill any pathogens remaining from a previous crop.
• Unless you’re using grow bags, ensure the pot contains  several  drainage  holes.  If  the  pot doesn’t have holes, drill several holes in the bottom. Beware of containers with self-contained drainage trays. During heavy rains, the water can fill the reservoir, and without the ability to drain, the saturated soil can kill your plants.
• For containers deeper than 18 inches, you can place a smaller inverted pot in the bottom. This saves money (you use less soil) and reduces the weight.
• Consider placing large containers on wheeled plant caddies, in case you ever need to change their location.

Filling Your Containers

For vegetables growing in containers, you need potting soil or potting mix. Garden soil (from your yard or in bags) should not be used because of its water-holding capacity and inability to drain well.
You can purchase bagged potting mix or mix your own. If you choose a bagged mix, keep in mind that many nonorganic mixes contain synthetic fertilizer. If you choose an organic potting soil, you can add a granular, slow-release fertilizer, following the dosage instructions on the bag.
When you’re ready to fill your container, leave only 1 to 2 inches of space at the top. The soil will compact, giving you more space for watering and mulch as the season progresses.
 

Growing Up: Stakes, Cages, Trellises, and More

Vegetables that climb, vine, or sprawl need some type of vertical support. The most commonly grown vegetables requiring support include tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, climbing peas, small melons, and winter squash.
Single stakes can be used to tie up tomatoes or for pole beans to vine around. Heavy-duty cages made from concrete reinforcing wire or livestock panels provide more stable options for large vining tomato varieties. A-frame trellises look beautiful in raised and in-ground beds and are perfect for pole beans, climbing peas, and cucumbers. Arch trellises, the sweethearts of vertical gardening, support cucumbers, small melons, climbing peas, winter squash, and pole beans.
Livestock panel is a versatile option. Using only T-posts to keep it upright, it offers enough structure for most vining plants. Trimmed with bolt cutters, it can be made into wire cages for tomato plants.
Another popular option is to bend it into an arch trellis, anchored with T-posts or secured between two raised beds.
But for those with simpler tastes, two sticks or poles placed in the ground or near your containers with twine woven between them is a perfect pea, bean, or cucumber support structure.
Bamboo works well for just about any vertical gardening project. A fun option for kids is to take pieces of bamboo and arrange them into a tepee shape. Grow pole beans around each pole and let the children play inside the “tepee.”
When choosing your vertical support, consider the sprawling or vining nature of the plant. Beans prefer vertical “poles” and will grow up them on their own. Peas and cucumbers enjoy horizontal support for their tendrils to latch on to. Winter squash and cucumbers need a bit of “training,” so as they grow, you may need to weave the growing stem around the nearest support. Tomatoes must be tied up or propped up, otherwise they will grow along the ground. Knowing these growth habits will help you choose the best option for incorporating vertical gardening into your plan.

What containers are best for vegetables? 

Terra-cotta clay pots may seem like an ideal choice, but they actually dry out faster because of their porous surface. Plastic pots and buckets retain moisture better and weigh less. With proper drainage, these can be excellent choices. Wood and metal containers are also options. Metal will last longer, but it will heat up. This can be good for heat-loving plants but detrimental to plants needing cooler soil conditions. And although wood may seem cumbersome because of its weight, it allows breathability and will last for years. Grow bags are portable, storable, and affordable. They allow drainage and air exchange critical to the health of plant roots, while retaining moisture like plastic pots do.

Resources

Find your average frost date

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates

Find your local cooperative extension service by zip code

Gardening Know How, https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/extension-search

Find soil-testing labs by state

Gardening Products Review, https://gardeningproductsreview.com/state-by-state-list-soil-testing-labscooperative-extension-offices

Garden tools

Gardener’s Supply Company, https://www.gardeners.com

Seed and plant suppliers

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, https://www.rareseeds.com

Seed Savers Exchange, https://www.seedsavers.org

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, https://southernexposure.com

Territorial Seed Company, https://territorialseed.com

References

Bradley, Fern Marshall, Barbara W. Ellis, and Deborah Martin. The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control. New York: Rodale, Inc., 2009.

Bradley, Fern Marshall, Barbara W. Ellis, and Ellen Phillips. Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. New York: Rodale, Inc., 2009.

Bradley, Fern Marshall, and Jane Courtier. Vegetable Gardening. White Plains, NY: Toucan Books, 2006.

Cool Springs Press. Gardening Complete. Minneapolis: Cool Springs Press, 2018.

Damrosch, Barbara. The Garden Primer . New York: Workman Publishing, Inc., 2008.

Harrington, J. F. “Soil Temperature Conditions for Vegetable Seed Germination.” University of California at Davis. Accessed October 18, 2019.

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/12281/soiltemps.pdf .

McCrate, Colin, and Brad Halm. High-Yield Vegetable Gardening . North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2015.

Reich, Lee. Weedless Gardening . New York: Workman Publishing Co., Inc., 2001.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (blog). “The Major Plant Families in a Vegetable Garden.” Accessed October 22, 2019. http://www.southernexposure.com/the-major-plant-families-in-a-vegetable-garden-ezp-190.html .