Containers are very useful if you have limited outside space. It is amazing how much can be grown in a few pots or even a couple of growbags! Make sure your containers are large enough for plants to grow and choose a spot which gets plenty of natural light and has good drainage. Also position containers away from play areas and ensure they are heavy enough not to get knocked over.

What Can You Grow?

Almost anything! Strawberries, potatoes, broad beans, carrots, leeks, onion, radish, runner beans, salad leaves, herbs, tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers to mention just a few. Check out our Know Your Veg pages for suitable planting times. Decide what you are going to grow and then work out which containers would be most suitable.

Getting Started

Seeds can be started off in trays before moving into their permanent containers. When planting up, supplies of labels, gloves, a watering can , hand forks and trowels are essential. Tall growing plants which need a lot of support will need stakes while runner beans grow well up a cone obelisk.

Tip for Growing Strawberries

A strawberry barrel is ideal for growing strawberries. Fill it with compost mixed with water retaining gel and plant the strawberries through the holes in the pot. The strawberries will be encouraged to grow downwards, making picking easier.

Tip for Growing Potatoes

For potatoes why not try a spud tub. Lightweight yet solid, you slot it together and fill with soil. If using for potatoes, fill half way with compost then add the tubers. As the tubers grow, earth them up by adding more compost until the top is reached. The tub can be used for other deep rooted crops such as carrots.

Tips for Growing Other Vegetables

Long Tom pots are ideal for runner beans, salad leaves, herbs and tomatoes whilst a growbag is great for planting tomatoes too as well as peppers or cucumbers.

Growbags need special attention before planting. Give them a good shake before using to plump up the compost. They can get dry very quickly - add water retaining gel. Use grow bag watering pots or watering spikes to provide a water reservoir. Ring pots will be useful when growing tomatoes as they allow accurate watering and feeding. An extra bonus is the fact that they discourage slugs from eating young plants. Copper tape stretched round pots is another good deterrent.

Protect the Crops!

Cover pots with fleece plant jackets if frost is forecast to prevent the plants being killed. A cloche will provide cover for several low growing plants. Use biological pest controls to deal with problems of slugs, white fly and other pests. A ladybird log tower slipped in among the pots will encourage natural predators to deal with greenfly.

Creating Wonderful Compost

Don't forget to put food scraps into a kitchen caddy for composting. This will make wonderful compost that can be added onto the containers for extra nutrition and mulching.