• Blog
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Gardening Guide
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Sponsors
      • Sponsors: 2017 Garden Tour
      • Sponsors: 2018 WNC Gardening Symposium
  • Garden Helpline
  • Gardening Guide
  • 2019 School Garden Grants
Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

Container Gardens

The Basics of Vegetable Gardening in Containers

April 16, 2015

Yes, you can grow veggies in small places, on patios, on terraces, even on balconies in containers. There are multiple reasons to do so, but I see it as a convenience. One can place a container almost anywhere, and assuming there’s enough light, almost any veggie can be grown in it. The only negative about container veggies is that they will require more frequent watering than in-ground vegetables.Container-box-planting-

There are some fairly specific “rules” to follow when growing vegetables in containers.

The container, whether it is plastic, wood, or terra-cotta, must have good drainage. If purchased pots are being used, try to get ones with drainage holes around the sides rather than in the middle. If you create containers from 5 gallon buckets, drill the holes on the side of the bucket rather than in the bottom. Vegetable roots will drown in standing water.

Growing medium for your vegetables can be a packaged ready-made, soilless mix, a packaged potting soil, or your own mixture of equal amounts of peat moss, soil, vermiculite (or perlite) and manure. Whichever one you choose, fertilizer will be needed throughout the growing season. Slow-release fertilizer should be added as you prepare the mix. Through the growing season, water-soluble fertilizer may be the easiest way to provide the nutrients your veggies need to produce fruit.BarrelVeggie

Sow seeds in your container as you would into the ground. Transplants are done the same way. Tall vegetables and vining ones are going to need stakes or trellises. Growing vegetables in a large enough container is important. Roots need space. Five gallon buckets or equivalent size containers are ideal for larger veggies.

Most important, container vegetables must not be allowed to dry out. Consistent moisture is the key to success. Let your finger be the judge of moisture. During warm and windy days, watering twice may be necessary. If containers are allowed to dry out completely, feeder roots are damaged and fruit production is minimized. Using mulch on top of your container will aid in moisture retention; soilless mixes dry out faster than soil mixes. Moisture beads can be added to the mix before planting. Soil dries out faster in terra-cotta pots.DeckVeggies

After production has ceased, plant material and growing medium should be disposed of to prevent spread of disease. Containers should be disinfected with a 10% chlorine bleach solution before using for your next crop.

Online informational brochures are available for selecting products and plants for container vegetables. There is information on what size containers to use for each individual type vegetable, plant varieties to use for best results, and recipes for growing mediums, etc. These are provided by universities who have done research on what works best. Links for some are:

http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/container-vegetable-gardening.pdf

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/organic/files/2011/03/E-545_vegetable_gardening_containers.pdf

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/misc/containers.pdf

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html

http://www.columbusga.org/cooperative_extension/Master-Gardeners/files/veggie-gardening.pdf

Article written by Patsy McNatt, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Categories Container Gardens, Vegetables & Fruits Tags containers, vegetable gardens

Protect Your Potted Hardy Plants

January 4, 2014

Blog Post Borrowed (with permission) from Jason Reeves, Research Horticulturist at the University of Tennessee.

With the upcoming single digit temperatures predicted, you may want to think about protecting your outside potted plants.   I typically think of plants as being one full zone less hardy when in a pot as opposed to being planted in the ground.   Let’s take Loropetalum for example.   It is a zone 7 (0 to 10 ˚) plant.  If the temperatures drop between 10 – 20 ˚ (Zone 6) for any length of time, I would be concerned with it setting above ground.   A lot of hardiness has to do with the length of time that the temperature is held at such.   One night at 10˚ will likely do little to no harm but a few days at or below 10˚ could be the kiss of death.

Hardiness Zones are as below:

Zone 5 is -20 to -10˚;  Zone 6  is -10 to 0˚;  Zone 7 is 0 to 10 ˚;   Zone 8 is 10 – 20˚

There are several things you can do to help protect plants with questionable hardiness.  The most obvious is to move them indoors.   An enclosed garage usually does the trick.   You can bring them into a heated space, but it is best for them to remain dormant so don’t leave them in for more than a few days.   Other options include digging a hole in the ground and planting pot and all,  but that’s probably not an option today or tomorrow.   Raking leaves or pulling mulch around the pots is another option.   You can even pile leaves over the top for added protection.   If the plant is a conifer (needled evergreen), don’t leave the raked leaves over the foliage for an extended time (several weeks) or you stand a chance of causing damage to the foliage.

Typical Home Nursery
Typical Home Nursery

Any plant that is borderline hardy as well as plants that are considered hardy once established, but were fall planted (in the ground) would also benefit from some added protection of leaves and mulch.   Plants I would be most concerned with include loropetalums, crapemytles, gardenias, edgeworthias, less hardy cultivars of Encore azaleas, variegated chinaberry, ‘Florida Sunshine’ Illicium and purple muhly  grass.

Contrary to what many people think, most all plants, particularly those that hold their foliage during the winter need to be well watered before the soil freezes.   Once the soil freezes the plant cannot take up moisture but the foliage continues to need water and will desiccate in the winter wind.  Once the soil freezes the plant cannot take up moisture but the foliage continues to need water and will desiccate in the winter wind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that as temperatures begin to rise , the freeze/thaw cycles do damage to the root systems.   It is best if plants held in pots can be placed in a shaded location to temper the thawing process.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Categories Container Gardens, Seasonal Chores Tags containers, freeze, hardiness zone, potted plant, protection, zone

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2

NC Cooperative Extension; Empowering People, Providing Solutions

Blog edited and published by Debbie Green and Bob Wardwell, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to our blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,521 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • Garden Paths
  • Firewood: Garden Pest Carrier
  • Lecture: Living Soil, February 21
  • Saturday Seminar: Pruning Tools Workshop—What Tools to Use and Tool Sharpening, February 16
  • Vegetable Gardening: EarthBoxes®

Categories

  • Events
    • Extension in Buncombe County
    • Extension Master Gardener Info Table
    • Lectures & Seminars
    • School Garden Grants
  • Flowers
    • Bulbs
    • Perennials & Biennials
    • Roses
  • Gardening for Children
  • General Gardening
    • Installation & Planting
    • Mulch
    • Native Plants
    • Propagation
    • Seasonal Chores
    • Soils & Fertilizers
  • Houseplants
  • Landscaping
    • Landscape Design
    • Site Conditions
    • Water Management
  • Lawns
  • Pest Management
    • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    • Invasive Plants
    • Pesticides
    • Weeds
  • Plant Diseases
  • Plant Insects
    • Beneficial Insects
    • Insect Pests
  • Shrubs
  • Special Gardens
    • Container Gardens
    • Herb Gardens
    • Pollinator Gardens
    • Rain Gardens
    • Shade Gardens
  • Trees
  • Vegetables & Fruits
  • Wildlife

Contact Us

Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

Events

Keep up with our events by subscribing to the blog or checking our Events Calendar.

Explore the Archives

Back to Top

© 2019 Extension Master Gardeners of Buncombe County.