CAN YOU GROW VEGETABLES IN POTS?

I get asked alot whether it is possible to grow vegetables in pots. The answer is YES! Of course you can!

With the cost of living increases that we are all feeling the pinch from it is no wonder people are starting to think about what they can grow at home.

Not everyone has a large garden or allotment to be able to grow their own vegetables and salads but most people will hopefully have at least a tiny area or balcony space where they can place a pot full of compost and grow something edible and amazing!

If you only have space for one or two pots then it is so important that you grow things that you love but also things that are either quick to grow or that don’t take up too much space.

So, if you fancy having a go at ‘growing your own’ then here are some things that will grow well in pots!

Tomatoes

Tomatoes do really well in pots as long as you give them plenty of food and water. You can either grow indeterminate or determinate types. Indeterminate types will grow tall and vine (these will need supporting). Determinate types are bush varieties which won’t require as much support. Bush varieties are more ideally suited to container growing but indeterminate types will work too.

Peas and Beans

Peas and beans do really well in pots. You can sow your peas now and harvest as pea shoots for some lovely spring salads. Alternatively you can let the seedlings grow into full sized pea plants. With a few supports in the pot, they will do really well. You could also grow some climbing beans if you add a stake to your pot for the beans to climb up or even just dwarf french beans. Our barlotto di fuoco is a lovely variety and doesn’t require much in the way of support. You can even sow our Carouby de Maussanne variety outdoors from March which is a delicious Mange Tout type.

Salad Onions

As you can imagine salad onions take up minimal space. They tend to be grown quite close together so these lend themselves well to container growing. It doesn’t have to be just salad onions though. You can also grow standard onion seeds such as our onion ‘Sturon’ to harvest as spring onions rather than letting them bulb up and go to full size which would take up precious space in your pot.

If you tend to struggle for time then why not try our Ishikura onion which is a perennial salad onion. This variety divides in the autumn and the spring so as long as you don’t harvest in one go, you can expect this variety to keep on giving!

Cucumbers

I have actually had great success growing cucumbers in pots though, like beans, they will need supports. Our Cucumber ‘Marketmore’ is a fantastic outdoor variety. Nothing tastes quite as lovely as a homegrown cucumber!

Kale

I much prefer the Cavolo Nero (Nero di Toscana) for pot growing as it looks a little bit palm like. Plus, if you harvest all of the leaves from the bottom first, the plant will continue to grow taller. This will allow you to underplant with something else such as salads or herbs.

Chillies

OK so chillies do have a longer growing season but they make up for it by not taking up too much room! You can grow a taller yet very productive variety like Cayenna or we also love our Ring of Fire chillies which take even less room and grow bush like – they are equally productive once and would probably be my favourite for visual appeal which is a must when growing in a pot!

Spinach and Salads

Spinach and salad leaves will be ready for harvest in a matter of weeks when the weather starts to warm up. No pot of homegrown goodies should be without some delicious salad leaves! We have a great selection of tasty oriental salad leaves and our little gem and lollo rosso salad varieties (coming soon) will also be productive.  

Courgettes

Courgettes will do well in a pot provided they have lots of food and water. They can grow quite big though so if you do want to grow courgettes then you won’t be able to grow anything else in the same pot! What they take up in space though, they will repay you in production as the season gets going!

Potatoes

As with courgettes, potatoes will take up a lot of room but they do grow really well in pots and it makes them a lot easier to harvest than having to dig them out of the ground. There are even special potato grow pots such as these which make harvesting them even easier.

Herbs

What edible container garden would be complete without some delicious herbs? You could include Calendula for the beautiful edible petals, parsley, basil, coriander…the list is endless. I love to grow mint in pots to make some refreshing homegrown mint tea and our  Egyptian mint is an amazing variety if you are looking for something a bit more subtle than the normal peppermint.

Carrots

Carrots do really well in pots and will often come out straighter than if you grow them in the ground! The only downside is that they take a little while to grow.

Radishes

For a quick crop, try growing some radishes. They can be harvested in a few weeks ready for the next item on your list or even try growing radishes with your salad leaves. The radish leaves are also edible.

Beetroot

You could even grow some beetroot seeds if you have large pots. I love our beetroot ‘Bulls Blood’ which taste incredible if harvested young. This is a variety often grown for the tasty leaves. It also produces small, incredibly flavourful bulbs which are highly sought after amongst beetroot connoisseurs!

The Possibilities are endless!

As you can see there is a huge list of possibilities when it comes to growing vegetables in pots! Ideally you will want to grow something organic…because you can!

In the Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2023 it said that 8 out of 10 shoppers buy organic but many are cutting their spend due to price constraints. This is a worrying, yet understandable fact of life with the price of everything going up and up. By growing your own, it enables so many more people to add even just one organic item to their diet.

Organic composts are also a thing now. It might surprise you to know that my favourite Organic Peat Free Multipurpose compost from Sylvagrow is actually exactly the same price in the garden centre than the non-organic compost! In that situation it really is a no brainer to buy the organic compost and be sure that it contains no nasty chemicals.

As a company we are really proud to be certified Organic with the Soil Association. Every single packet of our seeds are organic.

So why not have a think about the things that you love to eat and have a go at growing them organically!

Happy Sowing!