How to Tell Which Vegetables Work in Hanging Baskets
The rewards of growing your own vegetables include the delicious flavor of your crop and the satisfaction of providing your own healthful food. Perhaps you only have a small balcony in an apartment building. Or maybe your patio is the only area of your yard that receives full sun. In either case, it is still possible to grow vegetables in containers. To make the most of your limited space, consider hanging baskets as well as patio pots. A quick look at a plant's information can tell you if it is suitable for a hanging basket. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Learn which fruits and vegetables grow as vines. These plants will naturally cascade over the edge of the basket. Examples include tomatoes, squash, melons, kiwi, gooseberry, peas, and beans.
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Observe how certain plants grow. Although some plants do not grow as vines, they do grow low and have hanging fruit that makes those plants well-suited for hanging baskets. The best example of this is the strawberry. The leaves grow only a few inches high, but the fruit hangs low on separate stems and will hang over the side of a basket.
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Read plant tags and seed packets to find dwarf or miniature varieties of what you want to grow. The weight of the fruit of full-size tomatoes or melons can snap stems before the fruit matures. Growing smaller varieties such as cherry tomatoes or pattypan squash helps with this problem.
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Read container-vegetable gardening books such as "The Bountiful Container" to learn which varieties of vegetables and fruits are best-suited for containers. Some plants have been specifically bred to grow in containers. These plants have smaller root systems and grow more compactly than plants intended for growing in the ground.
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Experiment with your plants. There is no rule that says a plant must cascade over the edge of a hanging basket. As long as the plant is suited for container growth, try it in a hanging basket. A basket full of peppers makes an attractive addition to your patio. Just remember, you need to have a way to reach your crop to harvest it.
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Tips & Warnings
Provide support for heavier crops by using old pantyhose or mesh bags.
Make sure you can reach your basket to water it, and care for your plant.
Low hanging baskets are a good place to grow leaf crops, radishes, and miniature carrots.
Any plant suitable for a container will work in a hanging basket. The above steps are intended for high hanging baskets.
Consider the full weight of your basket when mounting its bracket. This includes the basket, soil, water, and plant when fully mature and laden with fruit.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
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Comments
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it might be of interest that I read recently of using portions of tights or pop socks about 6" long tied in the middle with string checking the length it needs to be without stressing the fruit or plant and pop the fruit or veg into the pocket created and tie it in to either the basket or trellis - I'm planning to try out melons/cucumber/courgettes and plum tomatoes this year.
