20 Plants to Grow in Your Container Garden

photo credit: jwalsh

The recent interest in living more naturally and sustainably, not to mention the recent financial pressures of the recession, have many interested in growing their own food. An organic garden is nice, providing a way for you to grow food without having to make a trip to the grocery store. But what if you don’t have the space for a garden?

The answer is to grow a container garden. It is possible to grow a number of plants in a container garden. Growing container gardens  by a sunny, warm window is best, or you can keep them out on a balcony or in a small backyard. And you might be surprised at the amazing variety of plants you can grow in a container garden.

What to Plant in Container Garden?

1. Apples: Use a technique called espaliering to keep them a little more compact — but still provide fruit.
2. Blueberries: You may need to be careful about the pH in the soil, but my husband has successfully grown blueberries in a container.
3. Citrus fruits: You can grow a number of citrus fruits in containers, including oranges, lemons and limes. We have an orange tree that produces. We keep it in the house, by a window that gets plenty of afternoon sun, since we live in a fairly cool climate.
4. Hops: If you want to take up brewing, you can easily grow hops in a container.
5. Strawberries: Make sure they get plenty of sun.
6. Herbal tea varieties: You can grow chamomile, mint, and lemon balm for use in teas.
7. Tomatoes: It helps to have some sort of wire structure for them to climb on.
8. Peppers: You can grow hot peppers or sweet peppers.
9. Cucumbers: A longer container might work, or you can take off blossoms or small developments to cultivate just a few.
10. Squash: You will need at least a five gallon container for many squashes, but they can be great. Acorn, pumpkin and summer varieties can all be grown in containers. And you can always grow zucchini anywhere.
11. Melons: Small melons, including Jenny Lind, Golden Midget watermelon and cantaloupe, can be grown in containers.
12. Herbs: Most herbs can be grown in containers. You can make your own herb garden consisting of thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, chives and sage in a single container if you like. We grow basil in the house, for use year round.
13. Leafy greens: Lettuce, kale, spinach, chard and collard greens can all be grown in containers.
14. Potatoes: Yes, you can grow potatoes in a container, even a fairly shallow one.
15. Carrots: You might need a slightly deeper container to accommodate carrots, and you want the soil to be a little sandier.
16. Sugar snap peas: Something for the peas to climb might be a good idea.
17. Pole beans: Put a pole in the container for the beans.
18. Mushrooms: Look for edible varieties that you can enjoy in cooking, and you don’t need a lot of sun.
19. Sprouts: You can grow these healthy, green foods at home and use them on sandwiches and in other dishes.
20. Aloe: You can grow aloe, which is used in skin care products, to help you with dry skin or even with sunburn.

When you plant container garden, make sure you have good drainage out of the pot, and air flow. You can put gravel in the bottom of the container, to help with airflow, and put a plate or some sort of water catch underneath to catch draining water.