Urban Plant Gardening

Growing vegetables in pots suits city dwellers, people who move with difficulty and anyone stuck with bad ground. Pots let you shift plants around, reach them without stooping plus keep deer and rabbits away.

Pick the biggest pot you can handle. Big pots hold water for days - you water less often. Self-watering pots suit balconies but also patios because they store extra water and need refills only after many days. Check how deep the pot is - carrots as well as peppers need room for long roots. Bright cloth grow bags weigh little and add color to a tiny space.

Set each pot where the sun shines on it for six straight hours. Peppers or beans grow best when light hits them all day. Put the pots on wheels or use lightweight tubs so you can roll them to follow the sun. Wind dries leaves and snaps stems - set pots near a wall or fence or line tall plants in front of short ones to block the breeze also hold damp air close to the leaves. Tie trellises tight so gusts do not yank them down.

Fill the pot with bagged soilless mix, not dirt from the yard. The light blend holds water yet drains well. Stir in a handful of compost and a scoop of organic granules at planting time. Water on a schedule - letting the mix dry out next to then flood shocks the roots, curls leaves and cuts harvest size. Self-watering pots keep the mix evenly damp with little work.

Pots run out of food fast because water flushes nutrients away plus roots crowd the space. Add organic granules when you plant - give a dose of liquid plant food once every week.

Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, bush beans and most herbs grow well in pots. Group plants that need the same root depth but also water dose. Tomato and basil share a tub happily - beans as well as carrots also get along. Do not plant beans next to onions and keep dill away from carrots.