How to Grow a Patio Vegetable Garden
Love homegrown vegetables but hate the digging? Want to have your own vegetable garden but lack the space in your yard? Learn how to grow a patio vegetable garden, and you can have all the fresh vegetables you want grown in containers on your patio, perfect for apartment dwellers and those who might otherwise want to avoid digging in their yard. A patio vegetable is inexpensive to start, easy to maintain and results in plenty of fresh, delicious vegetables. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plants
- Pots with drainage holes
- High-quality potting soil
- Water
- Fertilizer
- Small shovel
Instructions
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Analyze the light that your patio receives by checking the sun level every two hours for one full day. If your patio receives sunlight all day, look for full-sun plants. If your patio receives sunlight for part of the day, look for partial-sun plants. If your patio receives little or no sun, look for shade-loving plants.
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Increase the amount of sun that your patio receives. If you have a shade cover to your patio, remove it in order to give your plants a fighting chance. Move any large objects that might be casting shade on the patio space. Anything you can do to increase sunlight will help your plants thrive.
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Write a list of five essential plants for your patio vegetable garden.
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Research each of the five plants you listed as essential to determine their growing needs. For instance, tomatoes need a deep planting container (2 to 3 feet is ideal) and lots of sun. Lettuce prefers partial sun and can thrive in a shallow container (6 inches will be fine).
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Look for dwarf varieties of larger vegetables. For instance, dwarf cucumber plants require less space and produce smaller vegetables. You will have the most success with container gardening if you look for plants labeled "dwarf," "miniature," "bush" and "compact."
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Plant your new container plants using the highest-quality potting soil you can afford and a small shovel. Don't skimp on the soil for your patio vegetable garden because container plants need more nutrients from the soil than plants in your garden.
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Water your patio vegetable garden at least once every morning with just enough water per plant to moisten the entire surface of the soil. Stick a finger 2 inches deep into the soil and if it still feels damp, add more water. Never water during the hottest part of the day. If your plants are drooping by evening, water again.
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Add fertilizer in the recommended amount once a month. Container gardens need fertilizer more often than regular gardens because the nutrients get washed away more easily. Use a fertilizer specifically designed for container vegetables for the best results and resist the urge to over fertilize or you may kill your plants.
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Tips & Warnings
If you will be out of town for a weekend, find a friend or neighbor to water your patio garden.
