hmm I actually should have posted this in the "vegetable gardening" forum.. doh!

I do some container gardening, but for unusual scenarios, actually. I'm in zone 7 and for tender plants that need to overwinter inside, I use containers to bury so that I don't have to mess with carefully digging up things every year. I put them outside by burying the container, and I dig up the container and bring that inside.

Planting mints in containers does wonders for controlling this ambitious wanderer, too. Then there's the pseudo-bonsai tactic I use to stunt trees before planting them permanently outside, and there's container planting of heat-loving veggies so that in chilly springtime, the soil selectively warms up faster than the outside soil does, and plant them later after the soil is suitably warm for permanent planting.

Etc etc etc etc.

I successfully grew eggplant/tomatoes/blackberries/ cucumbers. You can plant potatoes (white and sweet)//broccoli, cauliflower, some squash. I think you can grow most veggies (I read about someone who even did corn!). However, you have to pay attention to how deep the roots need to go, and how to support a vine. All doable, but requiring deep thought, and creativity! Bright Blessings! greenwitch

I am a newbie, but I am planning many veggies for my balcony /container garden this year. It would be very helpful to have a forum just for us veggie container people!

Cheers,
Tasha

I agree! containers are my only gardening option right now, as i live in an apartment. I think a forum for container veggies is a great idea - let's include fruits etc. too. ...hmmm....would that make it container kitchen gardening?

seriously...shall we mention this to someone? is there enough demand for a container kitchen garden forum, you think?

I asked "them" directly about it, and they told me to post it to a question forum. It didn't sound like they were considering it.

I am trying a type of home made grow box for my tomatoes this spring. Only room for four plants but they have almost doubled in size in the three weeks since planting. My raised sq. ft. beds are producing table salad, cabage, carrots, bell and bananna peppers and garlic. Will move on to yellow wax beans soon.

I rent a house and plan on moving soon so all my veggies are in containers.
I have carrots, garlics and radishes, lettace and peppers, tomatoes and herbs and a few other things growing. Plus i hope to add more soon.
Michelle

I do all of my vegetable (and most of my flowers) in raised beds and containers. Our earth is rock hard and it was cheaper to go the container route than rent all of the equipment and buy all of the amendments to make it friable. Right now in containers I have horseradish, tomatoes, blackberries, blueberries, marigolds, begonias, peony, cucumbers, peppers, sunflowers, potatoes, sage, thunbergia, mirabilis, sedum, astilbe, snow on the mountain. In the raised beds I have lettuce, radish, strawberries, onions, garlic, borage, cilantro, garlic, kale, cabbage, beets, cucumbers, garlic, turnips, carrots, mustard, garlic, ranunculus, peas, green beans, Oh, and did I mention garlic? LOL - I LOVE GARLIC.

I think that a vegetable/edible container garden forum is a great idea. I've been looking for just that for some time. I currently have 40+ containers in sizes from 5 gal. to 25 gal. in which I raise all my veggies. Everything from beets to zuccini, even figs, strawberries and peaches. (I still don't have enough containers!) This year I'm going to plant 15 varities of heirloom tomatos.

John

I would be interested in this forum too - including herbs and fruits in a 'Kitchen container gardening' forum makes sense to me!

Hey, thanks for all the responses. I should have posted this in the suggestion forum. doh! I'm going to put a link to this thread in there.. but otherwise here is where responses to this thread should really go:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/suggest/

Yes!!! Count me in. I am going back and forth between all the various forums as well and feel I belong nowhere sometimes. I am in the process of setting up a rooftop veggie garden in NYC. Actually, I don't know how far into the "dirt" I will actually get this year as I still need to work out some logistics (like how to access the roof, lol). But I will get there, don't worry.
But although (or maybe especially because) I am still in the planning stage I would very much appreciate a forum dedicated to growing edibles in containers.

I think that a seperation in container gardening catagories is a good idea. True, we could just all keep going to container gardening but veggie/edible container gardening IS different. I have been doing container veggies and other things for a few years now. Edibles and flowers/plants are seperated elsewhere on the gardenweb, so why not container gardening?

I'd be interested in this, too. As a matter of fact, that's what I came here looking for.

This is a fine idea.

I am interested particularily in names of varieties that have done well for others in pots. Grow alot of veggies in containers in order to move into shade when gets too hot here in Texas. This is the only way have been able to get Brandywine to make 2 pound toms.

Growing alot of lettuce in this heat under a passionflower overhead trellis and they are doing swell in bowl type containers sitting on a table. Don't have to bend over to harvest either :>)

sandy

I'm very interested in this as well, as that's all I do. Container edibles. I have a balcony in New Orleans, and have several balcony-rail-planter-basket thingies and pots all over the place. Would love forum to discuss container veggies/fruits/herbs etc. :)

This is an interesting forum. For ages I have wanted to do some container gardening in the winter. Those nasty tasteless tomatoes drive me crazy. Right now, I am fighting white fly on some of my container tomatoes. They are terrible and I would surely hate to have that in the house someway. I have a small attached greenhouse, which we heat with heatlamps surrounded by insulated stuff like they insulate houses with. What kind of containers do you use? Couldn't manage anything very heavy--and what kind of vegetables? There must be certain kinds that are suitable for the shorter growing season. I also have a covered raised bed which, of course, has no heat, and an unheated greenhouse. - Barb

im am all for it ... my herb garden is in pots and i think its creating its own micro climate

Thats why am here, interested in doing some winter container gardening. How did you make out? Are they going to do it?
Thank you
Sky

I am starting from scratch a vegetable garden on my balcony. I live in LA, facing the north and I am 16 floors up.

This gardening stuff is all new for me. I am having trouble finding information about veggie container gardens. I am also going all organic.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to find information and tips for a beginner in this category?

My garden is a combination of containers and raised beds. The containers were the best solution I found for making use of the sunniest area of the yard, where there is a concrete patio. I am growing some fruit trees in 20- and 30- gal plastic drums, industrial type in bright colors. Also blueberries, tomatoes and peppers in 15-gal and 10-gal drums. And some ornamentals.

In the other sunny region of the yard, I have the raised beds but also several plastic storage bins used for planting. We drilled drainage holes and filled them with soil, and they currently hold squash, cukes, tomatoes, basil and melons.

We container veg growers are working with very special conditions: different watering and fertilizing needs, winter protection of trees, and more.
-O

YES! Great forum idea! We have poor soil & need room to plow snow in the winter but also the area with the most sun, so containers were the answer for me. I found instructions on how to make self watering totes in the container forum & have had great sucess. I put together a dozen along with other containers & have herbs, tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, peas, cukes, corn and even pumpkin! Next year I'm going to try the giant pumpkin variety! Cool hu? I'll tell my Grandbabies that the Garden Ferries brought them :0)

There is no, must I repeat, NO WEEDING, Yipeee! Don't have to get down on my hands and knees, & less watering. And the amount of produce has been more than I anticipated.

Yep, I'd join the forum :0)

I do all my gardening in containers as the previous owners have the sunny part of the yard surroundd by railroad ties and i question the quality of the soil.I grow peppers, tomatoes, herbs, beans,cucumbers,strawberrys,and blueberries.The most important thing in container gardening is to be sure the container is large enough,the bigger the better.I grow my tomatoes upside down in 5 gallon buckets hanging from a strong part of the house overhang and the peppers in what i believe is probably 4 gallon pots just be sure to use light colored pots.When I switched from black to gray pots I had a much bigger yield of everything.For my strawberrys and blueberrys in the winter I set the pots in a protected area and surround them with my full of dirt pots from the peppers and beans and cover them with fallen leaves,so far I have had good luck,but once again the bigger the pot the better good luck

I think container gardening is a mind set: I'll explain.
I gardened many years in my home and produced hundreds of pounds of veggies in my garden. After a divorce I moved to a condo for a few years. During that time I could not grow a thing! Not in a container nor in the small space they finally let us have a few years before I left. I missed my gardeing so much I had to buy a home again. Now my gardeing is bigger and better but I still cannot garden in containers. I will never give up!!

I do some of my veggie gardening in containers, in case my main garden gets hit with blight, bugs, etc. I'd like an edible container gardening forum to get more precise info on what works and what doesn't.

I see this thread has been around for 4 years, but I just found it and wanted to add my support for an edible container gardening forum.

It's the only way i can get anything to survive a whole season here.

I found this site by doing a search on growing container tomatoes. I am all for a special section for container gardening!

There is a Container Gardening forum here. You will find the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening

Thanks lime coke :)

Here is a link that might be useful: vegetable garden containers