Starting your Container Garden: Tips for Urban Dummies

Don’t frown urbanites.

Even if you don’t have grass in your city property limits, you can still grow your own food this season.

I started planting seeds for the first harvest of my container garden last week.  Obviously I didn’t inherit my dad’s gardening skills regardless of my DNA, so it has taken some experimentation over the past 2 years.  (I was an Urban Dummy just a short time ago!)  Here’s the basics if you’re considering to plant this season.

What do you need to start?

• Large Containers – Remember to put a hole or two on the bottom to allow water to drain. Also, figure out the appropriate size based on veggie you want to grow.
• Potting Soil – Invest in the “potting” variety from a garden store as containers have different conditions than the ground.
• Seeds or tiny plants
• Watering Can
• Gardening Shovel
• Mini Gardening Rake

Here’s what I’d recommend planting (based on my experience thus far):

• Herbs – Basil, rosemary, dill, etc. all grow well in Philly seasons.  Also, you can get a shorter/longer container and put a few plants in each container.

• Tomatoes: I’d recommend a ‘medium’ size tomato variety, one container each.
• Jalapeños – I literally harvested 50-60 from my container garden last season.
• Lettuce: Plant lettuce seeds now in your container as they bloom in late spring/early summer. Once you’ve harvested (and the Philly temps rise more than our March heat wave), they tend to die off where you can use the same container for a pepper/tomato plant instead).

I haven’t personally had luck with cucumbers or green peppers in a container garden, but if you want to try there’s experts like Mike from the Urban Organic Gardener blog that can give solid advice.  According to one of the nice farmers from the Philly Farm & Food Fest, peas grow nicely in container gardens as well.

Readers, any advice you’d like to share?  Have success with a different veggie or fruit than me? Share in the comments!