1. Growing Vegetables in Containers
Master Gardeners of Grays Harbor and Pacific County
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2. Why grow vegetables in a container?
Suitable garden space?
Easier weeding?
Concern over soil borne diseases?
Need your garden to be mobile?
Protect plants from Pests?
OR ?
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3. What vegetables grow best in containers?
Suited for containers:
Lettuce
Radishes
Tomatoes
Parsley
Peppers
Eggplant
Green onions Why? (think compact…)
OK, but need space for vines…
Pole beans
Cucumbers
Peas
Probably not:
Corn
Zucchini
Pumpkin
Rhubarb Why? (think about space for growth; up, down, and out)
Most vegetables that will grow in a typical backyard garden will do well as container-grown plant
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4. What to Plant?
Most varieties that grow well in (Northwest)yard gardens will do well in containers
For a list of varieties recommended for Pacific Northwest gardens see
OSU Recommended Vegetables 2011
Compact and bush varieties may work best
Peninsula gardening: Lots of wet, not so much Heat Units
Note: Days don't determine maturity; Degrees do…
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5. Our Fav’s…

6. Containers Almost anything!
Size: vary according to crop and available space.
6 to 10 inch pots = lettuce, radish, green onion, parsley and herbs.
1 to 2 gallon = chard and dwarf tomatoes.
5 gallon = most vegetable crops such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant
Construction:
Needs drainage hole(s). If the container is bigger than your head it needs more than one drainage hole.
No material that will leach toxic chemicals
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7. Containers…

8. Containers…

9. Containers…

10. Containers…
Good solution for plants with shallow roots such as lettuce and spinach.
Plans on the internet
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11. Container materials Advantages Disadvantages Unglazed clay
Inexpensive, abundant
Porous, dries quickly and heavy
Glazed clay
Attractive, nonporous
Cost and heavy
Plastic
Inexpensive, nonporous and lightweight
Damaged by UV and temperature
Wood
Porous, dries quickly
Paper
Inexpensive
Metal
Nonporous
Heats rapidly can burn roots and
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12. Container drainage Planting containers must have drainage holes
Containers placed on flat surfaces may need to be elevated
WSU does not recommend placing material at the bottom of containers for drainage
Nearly every book or web site on container gardening recommends placing coarse material at the bottom of containers for drainage.
Water does not move easily from layers of finer textured materials to layers of more coarse textured.
WSU does not recommend placing coarse material at the bottom of containers
Word to the Wise: “If the container is bigger than your head it needs more than one drainage hole!”
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13. Growing medium Must: Soil from the garden? Not recommended!
Provide water, nutrients, and physical support
Drain well.
Soil from the garden? Not recommended!
May have poor drainage or moisture retention
May contain disease- causing organisms
Most vegetables that will grow in a typical backyard garden will do well as container-grown plant
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14. Soil mixes: Buy or DIY? DIY: equal parts of Or just buy… Potting soil
1x sphagnum peat moss or compost
+ 1x pasteurized soil*
+ 1x Vermiculite or Perlite
= 3x mix
+ <1x composted (cow) manure
Or just buy… Potting soil
Pros: tends to hold water better than soil-less mixes.
* Pasteurized soil = soil sterilized (usually through heat) to destroy harmful organisms.
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15. Soil-less mixes
May be composed of sawdust, wood chips, peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite.
Pros:
free of disease and weed seeds
hold moisture and nutrients
drain well
lightweight
Commercial synthetic soil mixes:
Jiffy Mix®
Pro-mix®
Bacto®
Most vegetables that will grow in a typical backyard garden will do well as container-grown plant
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16. + + DIY: Soil-less mixes 1 bushel of Perlite or Vermiculite
1 bushel of peat moss, plus
10 tablespoons of garden lime (calcium carbonate)
5 tablespoons of (superphosphate)
1 cup of garden fertilizer (such as or )
Most vegetables that will grow in a typical backyard garden will do well as container-grown plant 10 + + 5
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17. So far …

18. Starts or Seeds? Buy seeds: Buy transplants:
For unique varieties that may not be available
To save money!
Plants that do not transplant well:
beans
peas
carrots
beets
radishes
Buy transplants:
If growing season not long-enough for seed starts
Plants that do transplant well:
tomatoes
onions
eggplant
peppers

19. Ideas: what to plant from Seed?

20. Ready to Plant…

21. What about Fertilizer? Container plants Three key nutrients:
Disconnected from natural cycles that provide nutrients
Need more fertilizer because frequent watering leaches away fertilizer minerals
Three key nutrients:
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Secondary nutrients
Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium
Micronutrients
Boron, Chlorine, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Molybdenum
Solid fertilizer is pelletized and added at time of planting and time-released
Liquid fertilizer is prepared by adding water-soluble fertilizers are added to water and used when plants begin to grow actively
There are many good commercial liquid fertilizers
Miracle Gro etc.
Always follow the application directions on the label.
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22. Fertilizers Fertilizer = solid or liquid forms
Specialty blends (e.g., tomato food) more expensive, not necessarily better!
Common blend for vegetables:
OSU recommends sulfur for western (wetter) region ( )
Solid fertilizer is pelletized and added at time of planting and time-released
Liquid fertilizer is prepared by adding water-soluble fertilizers are added to water and used when plants begin to grow actively
There are many good commercial liquid fertilizers
Miracle Gro etc.
Always follow the application directions on the label.
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23. Organic or Processed? Processed Organic
Refined from natural ingredients for more concentration and/or to be more “available” to plants
Organic
Little or no processing; release nutrients through natural processes (decomposition and mineral breakdown)
Tradeoffs: Cost, Convenience, Impact
Organic: typically, lower concentration of nutrients, with longer-lasting effects
Processed: convenient, but acknowledge higher environmental/energy costs to manufacture

24. DIY: Homemade Nutrient Solution
You can make a nutrient solution by dissolving 2 cups of a complete fertilizer such as , , or in 1 gallon of warm tap water.
This mixture = highly concentrated and must be diluted before it can be used to fertilize the plants.
To make the final water/fertilizing solution, mix 2 tablespoons of the concentrated solution in 1 gallon water.
Solid fertilizer is pelletized and added at time of planting and time-released
Liquid fertilizer is prepared by adding water-soluble fertilizers are added to water and used when plants begin to grow actively
There are many good commercial liquid fertilizers
Miracle Gro etc.
Always follow the application directions on the label. + + = 2 2
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25. When and How to Apply Water/Nutrients…
Once the plants emerge, begin using nutrient solution
Use the nutrient solution for each (daily) watering
Recommend:
Once a week, leach unused fertilizer out of the soil mix by over-watering with tap water. Add enough water to the container to cause free drainage from the bottom.
Occasionally water with a nutrient solution containing minor elements such as
iron, zinc, boron and manganese
Follow the label directions carefully.
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26. Watering Proper watering is essential for successful container garden
Check daily to judge need for water
Don’t wait until you see wilt!
If the vegetable produces a lot of foliage, check twice a day!
Avoid wetting the foliage of plants (Wet leaves = opportunity for diseases)

27. Water retention
Water-holding gels incorporated in the soil mix before planting
Slowly release water into the soil as it dries
Mulches can also be placed on top of the soil mix to reduce water loss
Examples: compost, straw, pine needles, grass clippings, shredded bark, and moss

28. Sunlight Nearly all vegetable plants grow better in full sun
Fruiting plants require the most
At least 6 hours of sunlight
Leafy vegetables can tolerate more shade
3-4 hours of sunlight
Root crops require more sunlight

29. Sunlight Southern exposure Western exposure (afternoon sun)
Most
Western exposure (afternoon sun)
Eastern exposure (morning sun)
Northern exposure
Least
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30. Wind Top-heavy pots can blow over (esp. tomatoes or trellised vines)
Can (quickly) dry out pots

31. Common problems in container gardening

32. Common problems in container gardening

33. Resources…
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34. Flower/ Plant Choices
Native plants - plants that occur naturally in your region.
Examples: yarrow, lupine, deer fern, salal, ocean spray
Non-native plants - called "exotic / introduced plants".
Example: English holly is not native to WA (it is native to England).
Occasionally they can become a problem, spreads aggressively & damages habitat. Called “invasive.”
Examples: Yellow Flag Iris, Japanese Knotweed, European Dune Grass, English Ivy

35. Why Use Native Plants / Flowers
Attract native animals that benefit them (such as pollinating and seed-dispersing insects and birds).
Repel or survive native organisms that harm them (such as plant viruses and munching insects).
Attract wider variety of native animals than exotic plants.
Adapted to growing in your region's soils and climate.
Generally require less maintenance (such as watering) than do non-natives.

36. Good Native Plants

37. Invasive Plants

38. Off to the Garden!

40. Strawberry pots
Increase water and nutrient distribution by adding a watering tube
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41. Self watering containers
Many commercial varieties available
Can be made
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