1. Container Vegetable Gardening
Healthy Harvests from Small Spaces
Kent Phillips, Howard County MG

2. College of
Agriculture and
Natural Resources

3. Container Vegetable Gardening

4. Introduction No land HOA hassles Easy to get started
Why Container Gardening?
No land
HOA hassles
Easy to get started
Close to the kitchen
Deer are less of a problem

5. Topics Advantages Drawbacks Wonderful World of Containers
Growing Media
Fertilizing

6. Growing Advantages Perfect for everybody Can utilize small space
More control over media, water, light, nutrients, location, etc.
No heavy digging or tilling
Weed free
Inexpensive to start up
Plant protection
Season extension
Perfect for everyone - kids, people with physical limitations, novice gardeners, a gardener wanting to downsize and save time
Overcome in ground hassles - poor quality soil, soil-borne disease, pests

7. Possible Drawbacks You have more control 
Need to pay more attention to type of media plants are in
Water more frequently
More caution with fertilizer

8. Getting Started A little bit of room Sunlight Containers
Growing medium
Water
Nutrients
Tender loving care

9. Container Location Full sun preferable
Min hrs. sun for fruiting crops
Min. 6 hrs. sun for cool season crops
Means longer maturity time
Access to water - smaller containers will need water every day
Placed on any level space
Be careful of microclimates
The water that drains from containers can stain concrete and wood decking
Large containers are heavy
20-inch container = 100 pounds

10. Container Types Plastic Wood Clay Recycled Self Watering
Expensive/Inexpensive
Commercially produced
Containers can be temporary, practical, whimsical, artistic, expensive or free.
Commercially produced containers can be purchased at garden centers and through mail order catalogs.
Objects can be recycled or transformed into suitable containers – 5 gallon plastic buckets, truck tires, wooden crates, ½ whiskey barrels, nursery pots, kids’ wading pools, plastic trash bags, and plastic storage containers.
Avoid treated lumber products and be aware that plastics not made for outdoors use can become brittle from exposure to the elements.

11. Self-Watering Containers
“Self-watering” containers are a relatively new gardening concept. Instead of drainage holes in the bottom, these containers have an overflow hole on one side. The growing medium sits on a perforated platform directly above a water reservoir. In some containers, water is wicked up from the reservoir into the medium. In others, the roots grow into the water reservoir.
Self-watering containers conserve water and nutrients
Commercial self-watering containers can be expensive
You can make your own, I’ll show you.

12. Self-Watering 5 Gallon Bucket

13. Homemade Salad Table™ The Salad Table™ HGIC pub 601
Great for growing shallow rooted plants
Legs of any length, set it on saw horses or put wheels on it for mobility
Comfortable waist level gardening
Three compartments for succession gardening
Build it deeper (8” to 12”) for plants like beans, beets, kale

14. Average salad greens yield- 24 oz
Average salad greens yield- 24 oz. per cutting per table; Average snap bean yield- 7.5 lb. per table; Crop yields exceed those of in-ground gardens.
Multiple tables or locations necessary to maximize growth potential. Pepper, cucumber, squash, and tomato need frame depth >9 in.

15. What’s the “Dirt” on Growing Media?
Supports plant’s root system
Supplies nutrients
Permits drainage
Needs to be light and fluffy
Growing medium has three main functions:
Supply the roots with nutrients, air, and water
Allow for maximum root growth
Physically support the plant
Roots grow in the spaces between individual particles of soil. Air and water also travel through these pore spaces. Water is the medium that carries nutrients that plants need to fuel their growth. Air is needed for root growth and the health of soil microorganisms that help supply plants with nutrients.
Irrigation water moves through the pore spaces, pushing out the air. If excess water cannot drain away, fresh air cannot enter and roots will suffocate.
Select light and fluffy growing media for good aeration and root growth.
Discard/compost last season’s growing media. Nutrients depleted, particle size and pore spaces decreased, and diseases may be present.

16. Growing Media Commercial Soil-Less Mixes Excellent Lightweight
Drains well
Holds water and nutrients
Proper pH
Examples of soil-less mixes are: ProMix™, ReddiEarth™, Jiffy Mix™, and Sunshine Mix™
Soil-less mixes are peat moss, vermiculite and perlite
3.8 cu. ft. $40 = 7 cu. ft. expanded
2 cu. ft. bag $18
Garden Soil
Holds water and nutrients very well but can drown roots growing in a container
Diseases and weed seeds can be a problem
Heavy – an advantage if you are trying to anchor top-heavy plants and pots, but a disadvantage if you want to move pots
Commercial Soil-Less Mixes
Excellent choice for containers
Lightweight, drain well, hold water and nutrients, and are generally free of weeds, insects, and diseases
pH is about 6.2
Typically comprised of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and small amounts of lime and fertilizer
“Organic” soil-less mixes contain no chemical wetting agents and substitute organic for chemical fertilizers
Examples of soil-less mixes are: ProMix™, ReddiEarth™, Jiffy Mix™, and Sunshine Mix™

17. Adding Compost to Media
Highly recommended
Adds additional slow release nutrients
Increases water and nutrient holding capacity of media
May have to add perlite to lighten mix
Compost is available at Alpha Ridge landfill
If you don’t have compost, LeafGro™ is the next best commercially available product
Like Howard County, Montgomery County tests its leaf compost
Compost is the dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling product of organic matter decomposition.
Leaves, grass clippings, wood waste, and farm animal manures are some of the common ingredients that are combined with water in piles or windrows and digested by huge
populations of oxygen loving microorganisms.
Compost contains all the major and minor nutrients that plants need for good growth. This makes it an excellent substitute for sphagnum peat moss, which has very few nutrients (although it does hold water better than compost).
Vegetables, herbs and flower plants can be successfully grown in 100% compost or leaf mold with the addition of perlite to lighten the soil. Baltimore City community gardeners have been doing this for decades!

18. Media Mixtures Some good media mixtures for container vegetables are:
• 90% compost or LeafGro + 10% course perlite
• 100% soil-less mix
• 50% soil-less mix + 50% compost
Keep in mind that all mixes but the 100% soil-less mix will need to have some perlite added to lighten the mix and increase its drainage (porosity)

19. Stay Away From Garden Soil
Heavy
Brings in weed seeds and soil diseases
Doesn’t drain well in containers
Top soil
Planting soil
Planting mix
Potting soil
Mixes
containing sedge peat, wood mulch or bark fines
that are heavy or gritty
have very fine particles
May not drain well
Other types of commercial mixes are designated as “top soil,” “planting soil,” “planting mix,” or “potting soil.” They vary widely in composition and quality.
Avoid mixes that contain sedge peat, feel heavy or gritty, have very fine particles, or appear clumped.
Sharp Sand - use only coarse builder sand, not play sand. Sand increases porosity because of the large particles. It is relatively inexpensive and heavy.
Bark Fines and Wood Mulch - these are high in carbon and low in nutrients and are not recommended

20. Happy Roots Watering needs vary depending on
container size
ambient temperature
wind
sunlight
humidity
type of plant and its size
Media in container should be kept moist at all times but not soggy. Finger test
Most containers will need to be watered daily in the summer
Use a water breaker or watering can for soft flow
The limited volume of growing medium available to container vegetable plants makes it critical to keep the root system moist at all times.
Watering needs will vary depending on container size, ambient temperature, wind, sunlight, and humidity.
Count on watering most container vegetable plants daily during the summer months. The growing media should always be moist, but not soggy. Add water slowly until you see it drain out the bottom (except for some “self watering” types.)
Use a watering can or nozzle on the end of a hose that produces a soft stream of water. Be careful not to use hot water! It can burn leaves and young roots.

21. Fertilizers Containers require regular fertilization
Water soluble, balanced fertilizers are excellent
Good rule of thumb is every two weeks for water soluble fertilizers
Immediately available to plants
Organic varieties are ready available
Slow-release fertilizer
Inorganic such as Osmocote
Organic – blood meal, worm castings, etc.
Always follow label instructions
Use half strength
Excess fertilizer can harm and stunt plants
Regardless of the growing medium used you will need to fertilize plants regularly.
Nitrogen in soil-less mix is easily lost in the water that drains from the bottom of your containers.
University of Maryland researchers doubled pepper production by using slow-release fertilizer with 100% compost in 5-gallon containers.
“How much” and “how often” to fertilize depends on many factors: type of fertilizer, plant needs, type of container, etc.
Even “quick” crops like leaf lettuce or broccoli raab that mature in days may need to be fertilized several times.
Long-season crops like tomato, cucumber, eggplant, and pepper may need to be lightly fertilized every 2 weeks or so, to produce a continuous harvest.
Dry fertilizers can be mixed into growing medium at planting and re-applied as needed by scratching into the soil surface and watering in.
Examples of dry organic fertilizers: Blood meal, composted chicken manure, nitrate of soda, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, worm castings
Dry non-organic fertilizers are usually pelletized slow-release fertilizers that are relatively expensive but can provide nutrients for 2-4 months.
Always follow fertilizer label instructions.
NOTE: never add lime, wood ashes, or gypsum to any commercial growing media or compost. Lime is already added to commercial soil-less mixes.
Compost, either commercial or backyard, has a pH of (a soil pH of is a good range for most vegetable plants.)

22. What Can I Grow Just about any vegetable or herb!
Popular, easy container crops: salad greens, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, beans, chard, beets, radish, squash and cucumbers.
More challenging crops include melons, corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Large plants require large containers (20-30 gallon)
Look for “bush” or “dwarf” varieties , esp. tomatoes, cucumbers, squash.
The key is to experiment.

23. Container Depth Matters
Match container depth to plant size
4-6 inches: greens, small herbs
8-12 inches: beans, beets, large herbs
1-3 gallons: green onions, chard
4-5 gallons: cucumber, eggplant, beans, broccoli, patio tomato, pepper, cauliflower
20 gallon full size tomato
Recommended media depth:
4-6 inches: salad greens, Asian greens, mustards, garlic, radish, basil, cilantro, thyme, mint, marjoram. (Salad greens and some herbs have shallow, fibrous root systems and are well suited to shallow containers with a large surface area).
8-12 inches: beans, beets, chard, carrots, chard, cabbage, pepper, eggplant, tomato, squash, rosemary, parsley, lavender, fennel.
Required pot volume:
1-3 gallons: herbs, green onions, radishes, onion, chard, pepper, dwarf tomato or cucumber, basil.
4-5 gallons: full-size tomato, cucumber, eggplant, beans, peas, cabbage, and broccoli.

24. Planting Time
No pebbles, gravel, or rocks unless you need the weight to prevent tipping.
Cover drainage holes with fiberglass screen or other material
Thoroughly work water into the growing medium
Fill container to inch or so of top of container.
Don’t compact media
Follow seed packet directions for planting, spacing, and care.
Plant seedlings (except tomatoes) at same level as they were growing in pot or six-pack.
Tomatoes can be planted deeper, for stronger root growth. Roots will grow from stem.
Planting calendars are on the GIEI website

25. Make Attractive Containers
Mix herbs and annual flowers in with the vegetable plants.
Herbs such as lavender, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and chives require a loose growing medium, and dry conditions. Add perlite
Keep containers together to increase humidity and water retention

26. Keep those plants growing!
Succession plant – spring – lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower – summer - pepper, beans, eggplant, tomatoes or cucumbers – fall -kale, lettuce or broccoli raab to finish out the season. Don’t forget to continue to fertilize each crop!
Trellis tall or climbing plants
indeterminate tomatoes
pole beans
cucumbers
Move plants around if containers are portable to maximize sunlight (for heat-loving crops) and shade (for summer-grown salad greens).
Three-season planting (a.k.a. “succession planting”): When spring lettuce or radishes are spent, re-plant the container in late May with pepper plants, beans or cucumber seed. In early fall you can plant kale, lettuce or broccoli raab to finish out the season. Don’t forget to fertilize after each crop!
Give them support. Cucumbers, pole beans, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant will all benefit from some type of vertical support.
Move plants around if containers are portable to maximize sunlight (for heat-loving crops) and shade (for summer-grown salad greens).

27. Diagnosing Plant Problems
Container grown plants are subject to the same insect and disease problems as garden grown plants, but container gardeners tend to have fewer soil related problems.
The biggest causes of plant problems are lack of water and nutrients, and overcrowding. Plants can also suffer root rot from too much water, especially if the growing mix does not drain well.
Go to additional help in diagnosing vegetable problems or

28. Season’s End Compost the undiseased plant and soil from the pot.
Can reuse the same soil for a second season
Infected plants may spread disease into the second season unless it is properly composted
Properly composted planting media can be reused.
Store pots to prevent freeze damage

29. Container Gardening Resources
Related MCE Fact Sheets
- Click on “Information Library” tab, click on “Publications” tab and click on “Food Gardening”
HG #16- Planting Dates for Vegetable Crops in Maryland
HG #70- Recommended Vegetable Cultivars for Maryland Home Gardens
HG#600- Container Vegetable Gardening
HG#601- Grow Your Own Greens with Salad Tables™ & Salad Boxes™
Books
“The Edible Container Garden”- Michael Guerra; 2000; Fireside; 159 pp.
“The Bountiful Container”- Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey; 2002; Workman Publishing Co., Inc.; 432 pp.
“Container Gardening for Dummies”- Bill Marken; 1998; IDG Books; 334 pp.
“The Contained Garden”- Kenneth Beckett, David Carr, and David Stevens; 1992; Penguin Books; 168 pp.
“Movable Harvests”- Chuck Crandall & Barbara Crandall; 1995; Chapters Publishing; 128 pp.
“Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers”, 2006; Edwin C. Smith; Storey Pub.; 254 pp.

30. Container Gardening Resources
Websites
Container Gardens: The City Dwellers Guide to Fresh and Healthy Home Grown Food – (interesting plans for wading pool gardens)
The Growing Connection -
A world youth gardening program run by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN that uses the EarthBox.
Supplies
Home Harvest Garden Supply Inc. -
Windowbox.com -
Gardener’s Supply Company -
EarthBox™ -
Seeds for container gardening-
DripWorks -

31. Resources Grow it! Eat it!- www.extension.umd.edu/growit
Search for classes and events
Links to
Youtube video presentations
Blog
Facebook and Twitter
Home and Garden Information Center
Links to great fact sheets and publications
Can answer your personal gardening questions…
Send an question 24/7 through the web site.

32. and modified for this presentation by
This program was developed Maryland Master Gardener Program University of Maryland Extension Baltimore County
and modified for this presentation by
Kent Phillips