[johnnyboy74]

Hello everyone,

I have just moved to an apartment with a reasonable sized terrace area, 20ft x 15ft. I have never grown anything before in my life. However, I would like to try to grow some of my own vegetables in containers. could anyone please advise me as to whether there are any containers designed for just such a purpose and what variaties of veg would suit this for of growing.

Thanks in advance

Johnny

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

I'm going to move your post over to the Grow Your Own board, as it's about growing your own!

Feel free to pop into the Welcome board for a proper Hello.

http://www.allotment-garden.org/book/small-space-growing.php is a book written by the owner of the site which provides a lot of info ... 

The main things to bear in mind are drainage and size.  Too small and there will be insufficient root run and they will dry out too quickly.

Enjoy 

[isis]

i grow most of my veggies in containers.
i do have two raised beds but most of my veggies are in pots, troughs, growbags.
tomatoes i grow in growbags. ive also put one of my courgettes in a growbag. That courgette actually was my best one compared to the others in pots..
the secret really is the bigger the pot the better. ive even put 3 runner bean plants on one big pot.
ive used mostly my carrots, parsnips on a trough..
cut and come lettuce, rocket, cucumber, aubergine, peppers on a big pot
also make sure you water them regularly, with the veggies being in pots they easily dry up.

[hamstergbert]

Cheapest and easiest to start with is a stack of the black plastic flower tubs that supermarkets usually either sell cheaply or even give away (Morrisons about 10 for 99p).
About 11" high, 10" top diameter, just melt or drill a few drainiage holes and you're good to go.  I reckon about 90% of the people on this site swear by them.

Very easy for cut and come again style salad leaves, tomatoes, peppers, runner beans, carrots, radishes, leeks etc etc.  A few pots, bag of multi purpose and some plant feed and the world is your lobster, Johnny-boy.

[shokkyy]

This year I've grown cucumbers and peppers in gro bags, plus chillis, sweet pepper, courgette, cucumber, aubergine, basil, parsley, sage, bay and loads of tomatoes in pots (10" and 12" except the herbs, which can make do with little pots), plus tomatoes in hanging baskets.

And if you've got room for a reusable Sainsbury carrier bag, then you've got room to grow new spuds as well

[kermit]

Best in pots for me have been cut and come again salad (shallow trough), potatoes (large pots), hanging basket toms (with water retaining crystals), carrots (deep pots), herbs (any size of pots).  Tried other things but not worth the hassle & watering (courgettes, strawbs, beans, peas etc). Oh, chills on a sunny windowsill are a must too!

[joyfull]

I have Johns book on growing in containers (have to have veg in containers as my chickens raided my veg plot last year  ) and can highly recommend it 

[Lottie Mary]

Hi Johnny - welcome!

I have only just got an allotment, so the majority of my veg I grew in pots this year with fantastic results.  I would have to say my biggest crop was actually cucumbers - who seemed to love their large pots and position on my garden table (a greater distance for slugs to travel!) - we got loads and loads, gave away loads, and still have more leftover!

Obviously, tomatoes grow really well in containers, as do peppers and chillis.  I grew all of our lettuce this summer in pots and that was absolutely fantastic - never bought a lettuce this summer!  Grew radishes, mangetout, runnerbeans, courgettes and strawberries all in pots though these didn't perform as well as the cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers.  As the others have said - the bigger the pots the better.  I found some really good pots at Wilkos quite cheap - but any container will do.  My spuds were grown in heavy duty bin bags!

[johnnyboy74]

thank to everyone who has replied its given me a lot to think about, I didnt realise how many vegetables can be grown in pots! only hope I will have room to walk in between them all may take up the whole terrace! lol