[mrspodington]

Hello again I'm back for my 2nd year after having an ok first year I just wondered if anyone could give me some advice, I have a small garden and everything has to be grown in large pots and containers.

I need some advice regarding sprouts dont even know where to start do I plant them straight out? and can I do this now? or should I start them in trays indoors?

Last years peppers were very dissapointing didnt grow very big at all I had sweet yellow banana peppers we didn't even get to eat them    so any advice regarding peppers is very welcome.

Also last years cucumbers were also a bit of a dissapointment although we had plenty and they were very tasty they just wouldn't grow over 5 inches does snybody know what I did wrong.

And finally I'm trying courgettes this year for the first time again no idea were to start so all advice and tips welcome.
Is there anything else I could try thats reasonably easy to grow?

All that said and dispite some of the dissapointments it hasn't put me off and I enjoyed what I did get to pick and eat so giving it another go ( I wont be beaten ) thanks.

[compostqueen]

courgettes are easy to grow, try and stop em  

Maybe your cucumbers were a mini variety  

You can start sprouts off in trays indoors and then plant out.  They like firm soil

You need to sow peppers early as they need a long time to get to the fruiting stage. Somer varieties seem to fare better than others.  My Friar's Hats didn't fruit either, but the plants looked great, so I've overwintered them in the greenhouse and will repot and plant them out again on the plot. That's if they survive cos they look a bit poorly at the mo :roll:

[noshed]

You're always on the back foot with containers because of the limited space for nutrients and water. Give the peppers plenty of feed and water, also your growing season might not have been long enough. Get them started quick (under cover if necessary) to give them as much time as possible to ripen.
The first year I grew peppers they weren't much good but last year they were better with an early start and loads of food (comfrey tea) and water.

[yorky]

You say you have limited space and everything has to be grown in pots and containers. I do not think that sprouts would be very successful under these conditions. They need a lot of space and are usually planted two feet apart in the ground. If I were you I would concentrate on salad crops, Herbs or even potatoes which can all be very successful in containers.
Brian.

[CJ]

I grow veg in containers - the courgettes (Defender) were very successful.  You need a large container as they have huge leaves and spread about a lot.  The flowers were very pretty - they can be stuffed and eaten as well.  They did get a bit of mildew towards the end of the season with all the rain, so I just cut off the leaves, the courgette was unaffected.

[Trillium]

MrsP I too suspect you had a pot variety of cuke last year. Cute, but they're not really croppers. Go for a regular variety like Defender as suggested.
Courgettes should do well provided they're alone in the pot to hog nutrients.
You could do some toms in pots, again, large enough pots. Feed every 2 weeks with some sort of compost or manure tea to replace used nutrients, and water regularly.
Potatoes could grow in a wheely bin with holes drilled in the bottom.
And a lot of people lost their peppers last year due to rain and blight. They too are greedy feeders and thirsty.
With some supports, you could grow a few pole beans as well.