Patio Gardening with Container Vegetables

Patio gardening is ideal if you do not have space for an in ground vegetable garden. What is patio gardening? Well it consists of a patio, balcony, windowsill, or a back doorstep that has enough space for a container vegetable garden. You can overcome problems of poor soil, soil-borne diseases, or nematodes just by changing over to a container garden.

For the best use of containers, we can grow vegetables that take up a small amount of space. Carrots, lettuce, radishes, peppers, and tomatoes are some of these crops. Miniature or dwarf will usually mature and bear fruit earlier that the regular size but will not produce as well. There has been an increased interest in patio vegetable gardening which has seed companies and plant breeders working on crops that will be bred specifically for container gardening. They are working on patio vegetable seeds and plants to get them to produce as well as the regular standard varieties if they are cared for in the right manner.

The amount of sun your patio garden receives will determine the crops that you can grow. For the most part the leaf crops and root crops can endure partial shade, but those vegetables that are grown for their 'fruits' will need full direct sun for at least 5 hours a day but will do even better with as much as eight to ten hours daily. You can increase their light by subjecting them to materials that are reflective such as white painted surfaces or aluminum foil.

You can develop a creative plantscape with container patio gardening. A boring patio or deck can come to life with the use of hanging baskets filled with herbs or tomatoes pouring over the sides. The balcony gardening of a condo or apartment can have large decorative containers equipped with trellises in order to create a shady area. Patio gardening ideas are virtually endless; it only ends when you run out of innovative creations.

A lack of yard space is not the only reason to decide to grow container vegetables on a patio garden. We can choose patio gardening because the kitchen is very accessible or it can be safer for the handicapped gardener or young children learning to grow vegetables. Choosing vegetable patio gardening, whatever the reason may be, can become a very attractive area on your patio, porch, or deck.  

The container vegetables will require additional attention from you the gardener. The root systems of the vegetables are restricted to the size of the container so they need to be well watered. The containers will dry out quicker in hot weather which could kill the plant or they will have a poor crop. It is a good idea to add mulch to the top layer of the vegetable container; this slows the evaporation rate and keeps the soil surface temperature much cooler. Plants such as tomatoes have small, fibrous roots; these will dry out and die if the soil is hot. Patio gardening vegetables may also need additional fertilization because the extra water that is needed for their survival washes away the nutrients in the soil quicker in containers.

Beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, and peas are excellent choices for a patio container garden. Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and all the herbs will also do quite well. Crops such as corn, potatoes, pumpkins, and the vine fruits will need much more room than a container can provide; but your container size will determine which vegetables you can grow. Some of your vine fruits can be grown in containers and the containers placed along your fence in order to create trellises for them. So you see patio gardening does not need to be on a patio but also in a limited space in your yard.