Vegetable Varieties for Containers

Vegetable Varieties for Containers

There are plenty of vegetable varieties for containers to garden with. The table below suggests just a few that are suitable. Again, take some time to consider what you want the container garden, as a whole to do. Plan a garden might be helpful in this.

Containers suitable for growing vegetables can be either porous or non-porous. A porous container is generally made from clay or terracotta. Non porous containers could be made from concrete, stone, metal or plastic.

The only reason you need to know that is because porous containers will lose moisture more quickly through their walls, so those plants will require more watering.

Garden centres have a wide variety of styles of containers available... some of them, quite beautiful. Or you can recycle a concrete laundry sink, bathtub or wheelbarrow. It's up to you and the effect you are trying to create with your garden.

If it is your intention to move the plants around in the space you have, put a ‘wheelie’ devise under the container. Once they are loaded up you can really hurt yourself hauling them around. Protect your back!

As a rule, most vegetable plants will require a container at least 6-8” (25cm) deep. The taller plants generally don’t do well, so search out compact varieties where they are available.

Here are a few vegetable varieties suitable for container gardening.

Vegetable	Variety	Container depth
Beans, Snap	Bush Romano, Tendercrop stringless, Bush Blue Lake	8-10” deep or 20-24cm
Beets	Baby Canning, Red Ace Hybrid, Burpee Golden	6-12” deep or 18-24cm
Cabbage	Baby Head, Minicole, Earliball, Hybrid Sugarloaf	12” deep or 25cm
Carrots	Gold Nugget, Little Finger, Thumbelina, Baby, Early Horn	10-12” deep or 25cm
Chinese Cabbage	Bok Choy, Wong Bok	20” deep or 45cm
Cucumber	Pot Luck, Patio Pik, Bush Champion, Fanfare	16” deep or 35cm
Eggplant	All types	16” deep or 35cm
Herbs	Most herbs	8-10” deep or 20cm
Lettuce	Cos, Mignonette, Buttercrunch, Salad Bowl, Tom Thumb	6-8” deep or 16-22cm
Onion	Bunching types work best like Spring Bunching, Shallot bunching, Japanese Bunching	10-12” deep or 25cm
Peas	Most varieties with support	12” deep or 25cm
Peppers	All Varieties	16” deep or 35cm
Radish	All types	6-8” deep or 20cm
Tomatoes	Patio Hybrid, Tiny Tim, Small Fry, Yellow Pear, Husky Red, Husky Gold, Red Cherry, Sundrop	18-24” or 45-60cm
Zucchini Marrow	Blackjack Hybrid, Greyzini Hybrid	18-24” or 45-60cm