How to Grow Vegetables in Containers

There’s nothing quite like biting into fresh vegetables straight from the garden. You can get that same feeling from your own homegrown vegetables even if you don’t have the space for a large garden. Growing vegetables in containers at home offers variety, flexibility and convenience without the excessive weeding, heavy equipment and maintenance of a large garden. When growing vegetables in containers, you’re in complete control.

For more on container gardening, read How to Plant a Container Garden and Growing Herbs in Containers.

Successfully growing vegetables in a container starts with the right pot. Before you begin planting, consider the container you’ll use to plant your vegetables in. How much space do you have? Where will the containers go? What types of vegetables will you grow? These questions may factor into the type of container you choose. The best container depends on the type of vegetable you plan to grow. Generally, make sure the container is large enough to hold the plant as it grows.

There are many pots to choose from, but the basic setup and assembly is the same. Choose a pot with drainage holes in the bottom. Proper drainage is essential to keep the plant from getting waterlogged. Larger pots hold more soil, which hold more moisture and mean less watering. More porous containers — like ceramic, clay and terra cotta — lose moisture quicker than nonporous ones. Consider lining the inside walls of them with plastic to slow the moisture loss, but leave the bottom unlined so that water can properly drain.

If you plan to move your plants around frequently, use lightweight containers. Once the pot is filled with soil and water, they’re considerably heavier.

When choosing soil for your vegetable containers, don’t use soil from your yard. It’s too heavy and will compact and become waterlogged. Instead, use a loose potting mix that allows water to drain well and stay aerated. To avoid soil washing out of the container when you water the plant, add soil only up to about 2 inches under the rim of the container.

Vegetable plants need a lot of sun, at least six hours a day. Select a spot indoors or outdoors where the plants can get enough sunlight and be out of reach of plant-eating animals like rabbits or deer. Containers placed on pavement will heat up quickly and tend to need more water, so keep that in mind on sunny days.

Now that you have your container, soil and seedlings, you're ready to start planting.

Tomatoes are climbing vegetables (technically fruits) and need a sturdy support as the plant grows and becomes heavier. Install a tomato cage when you first plant the seedling to avoid damaging it later. Other vegetables — like squash, cucumbers and zucchini — can benefit from a tomato cage when planted in a container as well.