When we were full-on homesteading at our place on Whidbey Island, I would periodically get someone posting on Facebook or Instagram, “Must be nice to have land. Most people live in an (insert apartment, condo, no backyard, etc)”. The thing is, I have grown nearly every way there is – that is how deep my love of growing is. As a child, we grew in the ground, tilling every spring. When I left for college and lived in an old house, I put pots on my neighbor’s roof (covered in old tar paper) to grow a few tomato plants I brought home from work (I worked at a K-Mart, and weaseled my way into the garden department for deals). My first place with Kirk was an apartment with a hot south-facing deck, which was tiny. Yet, I had pots on it. It was only at our second house that I built my first homestead – and even then, most of our food was grown in raised beds I built with scavenged bricks and pavers. It wasn’t till our third house that I built massive in-ground gardens. I had land, so of course I was going to use it!
You use what you have in front of you. And if you have a deck that gets sun, use it like crazy.
At our place now, until the garden is built, I have a patio to put containers on. So I did. Last year, Kirk found a super deal on felt growing bags in the 10-gallon size. I feel that to grow well, use at least a 5 —to 10-gallon size, and go for wider versus tall. That applies to all pots—even small ones for flowers and herb plants. On that sale, we picked up multiple orders (it was a crazy deal for 12 bags at under $14). You can find a 6-pack for under $18, which is still great. It takes about 1.5 cubic feet of soil to fill a 10-gallon bag.
What Do I Grow?
You can grow a lot. One of the most essential things is hydration. As long as you water daily in the summer (unless it’s cold or rainy), you can grow so much in grow bags. The bigger the pot, the better the results, but if all you can get are old 5-gallon buckets, even that works fine. Just check every day.
The other is proper support—you will need tomato cages to encourage things to grow up, not out.
And yes, you will need to fertilize eventually. So do watch the pots.
Potatoes:
Throw six soft potatoes in the bottom, cover with soil, and wait. They may not get huge, like in the ground, but you will enjoy plenty of new potatoes in early summer. Plant a second crop in midsummer, harvesting right as fall slips in.
Harvest when the tops turn tawny and flop back. I knock out the containers into potting soil containers and pick through. I reuse the soil for potatoes a couple of times.
Kale:
Cut kale often, and it will keep the plants at a good size. Chop it finely, and it works great instead of spinach. Swiss Chard and bok choy (choi) are also good choices.
Lettuce:
Also, kale is tucked in with the lettuce in this pot. With lettuce, harvest often; romaine grows back easily.Use scissors to cut low.
Tomatoes:
I used 5-gallon buckets in this case, but I also have three more in grow bags. When you plant, be sure to add a cage. I go for bush varieties or cherry tomatoes, as they are often smaller in size. You can also grow dwarf cherry varieties if you don’t have much space.
Peppers:
I have small kale in with the pepper plants to keep it all growing nicely. The leaves protect the pepper plant. Just harvest the kale often. I do find the pepper plants grow better, as they have outside protection from the wind here.
Bush Peas:
Bush peas, especially dwarf varieties, work well in grow bags. Plant 4 weeks or so before the last frost. For early fall peas, they are planted in mid-summer.
Strawberries:
Need I say more? They do so well in containers, and you can keep them up higher so slugs don’t have an easy life.
Bush Beans:
Yes, you can have green beans (or yellow or purple).. Use bush seeds for a quick crop. For best results, use two or three bags. To have plenty, stage them two weeks apart for seeding and to eat for an extended period.
Garlic:
Garlic grows well in containers, particularly if you are spring planting. Keep an eye on the mositure level.
Onions:
Green onions will be your best bet, followed by smaller onion types. Of course, I ignored my advice and grew sweet onions. Harvest as you like. I usually overfill, then eat some young and let the rest mature.
Blueberry Bushes:
Blueberries? Yes. You have two choices: grow low varieties, which love containers, or grow standard high bush types till they get too big (three or four years in). Then, if you don’t have room, you can always gift the plant to be planted in the ground. Since I know I will plant in-ground blueberry plants here, I am letting them grow a year. I will plant them very early in the fall. It is buying me time and allowing the plant to grow and become stronger.
I like to tuck in Nasturium plants, giving me more green but also edible flowers. In the first year of growing a gallon-sized blueberry, you should remove all potential berries so that the plant puts its energy into growing the plant and roots.
Most Herbs:
Herbs like pots. Basil is a good one. Most annual ones do well in pots/bags. Rosemary and Sage will want to be potted up or in the ground after the first year. The first year, they can go into a one—to three-gallon container.
~Sarah