# Container gardening (food)
Don’t contain your enthusiasm!
by Pauline Lloyd
It's possible to grow a surprising amount of your own vegan-organic food even if you don't have a garden or allotment. In my article entitled 'Windowsill gardening' (Growing Green International no 9 ) I described how to grow herbs and various salad greens such as sunflower or buckwheat greens on a well-lit windowsill indoors and how various seeds can be sprouted in jars, sprout bags, etc.
However, if you are also fortunate enough to have a balcony, outside window ledges, or a patio as well, then you have even more scope for growing interesting edible items on your own doorstep.
Containers
To make full use of your patio or balcony, you will first of all need to obtain some suitable containers. There are many kinds of containers available that are suitable for crop growing. Some have been developed especially for this purpose, such as strawberry planters, potato barrels, plastic tubs, window boxes and hanging baskets. These items can be rather expensive to purchase, but can be obtained from most garden centres. However, if possible, try to use recycled containers in order to reduce waste and keep costs low. When adapting containers for growing purposes, you may need to drill some drainage holes if the container doesn't have these already.
Compost
Obtaining vegan compost can still be somewhat difficult. The best easily-available vegan compost available at the moment seems to be the peat-free organic compost produced by B & Q; this can be improved by adding a little sharp sand and seaweed meal. Other composts are available through mail order.
Planting up containers
Now for the interesting bit – planting up your containers! Most mail order catalogues now offer a good selection of seeds that are suitable for container growing. For example, salad crops often grow well in containers, especially varieties of cut-and-come again salad leaves. Sow a variety of salad leaves to add interest and colour to your salads, cutting the leaves off with scissors just before use for peak freshness. (Beats supermarket bought salad any day!)
There are also quite a few varieties of small-sized tomatoes that do well in containers and hanging baskets (see list below). Peppers are best grown indoors on a sunny windowsill, but plants could be put outside on a balcony/patio in the summer months. Strawberries usually do well in containers too, and, of course, it's harder for the slugs to attack your plants if you have a first-floor balcony crop! By selecting your crop varieties carefully, it is also possible to grow cabbage, radishes, carrots, spinach, aubergines and beetroot without having a garden.
Be aware that crops grown in containers do tend to dry out much faster than those planted directly into the soil, so you will need to be more conscientious about watering. If your container plants need some additional feeding, try watering them with SM3 Seaweed Extract. Comfrey liquid is also animal-free and ideal for feeding tomatoes and peppers. (Both available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.) Container- grown plants are easily protected from extremes of weather. Save any large plastic bags for use as early or late season covers. Alternatively invest in some fleece. The Organic Gardening Catalogue also offers a selection of pop-up greenhouses that could be used on a patio or balcony, as well as plant cosies to cover individual plants.
Some varieties suitable for container growing:
Key to suppliers:
OGC – Organic Gardening Catalogue
T & M – Thompson and Morgan
SH - Suffolk Herbs
CS – Chiltern Seeds
TO – Tamar Organics
PLANT NAME PLANT TYPE SUPPLIER(S) GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
Red Egg Aubergine (red) T & M Good patio container plant
Mohican Aubergine (white) T & M Container, sunny position
Summer medley Runner bean T & M Container
Hestia Dwarf Runner Bean T & M/SH/TO/CS Container (has very decorative flowers)
Carrot Mini Finger Carrot T & M Container
Parmex Carrot T & M Windowboxes, containers
Firecracker Hot pepper T & M Windowsill
Hungarian Wax Semi-hot SH/TO Containers
Prairie Fire Hot pepper T & M Windowsill
Ziata Mustard OGC Tissue-lined container, indoors, eg punnet
Sprint Summer salad TO Tissue-lined container
Hot stuff Cress T & M Tissue-lined container, indoors
Niche leaves Salad leaves T & M Container
Corn Salad Vit Salad leaves SH/OGC/TO Container
Texel greens Salad leaves SH Pots/windowboxes
Land cress (American cress) Salad leaves SH/CS Pots/containers
Water Cress Salad leaves SH/OGC/TO/CS Large pot, containers (keep very moist)
Mizuna Salad leaves OGC/CS Pots, containers
Claytonia (Winter purslane) Salad leaves OGC/TO/CS Pots, containers
Oriental Saladini Salad leaves SH Pots, containers
Saladisi Salad leaves T & M Containers
Garlic chives Salad leaves CS Pot on windowsill
Chives Salad leaves CS Pot on windowsill
Baby Leaf Mix Cut & come again leaves TO Containers. Sow indoors in winter
Catalogna Cut & come again leaves OGC Containers
Mini Green Tennis ball-sized lettuce T & M Containers
Tom Thumb Small lettuce TO Pots/windowboxes
Blush small red-tinged lettuce T & M Containers
Rocket (Roquette) Salad leaves T & M/SH Pots, containers
Balconi Red Tomato T & M Container
Balconi Yellow Tomato T & M Container
Tiny Tim Tomato SH Pots, windowboxes
Tornado Tomato TO Pots/hanging baskets
Minibel Tomato CS Hanging baskets/windowboxes
Totem F1 Tomato OGC and T &M Pots, windowboxes
Gardenperle Tomato T & M/SH Pots, containers, hanging baskets
Tumbler Tomato T & M/OGC/TO/CS Hanging baskets, containers
Maxim Strawberry (Giant!) T & M Baskets, strawberry planters
Mignonette Alpine strawberry T & M Hanging basket/containers
Temptation Strawberry CS Hanging baskets
Golden Alexandria Strawberry CS/SH Patio
Sarian F1 Strawberry T & M Baskets/containers
Champion Moss Curled Parsley OGC pot/containers
Mitsuba Japanese Parsley SH Pot/containers
Beetroot Wodan Beetroot T & M Container (leaves can also be eaten like spinach)
Detroit 2-Tardel Beetroot T & M /CS Windowboxes/pots
Chinese Celery Wild celery SH/ OGC Suitable for indoor growing
Erbette Spinach CS Container
Perpetual spinach Spinach OGC Container
Radish Rougette Radish T & M Containers & windowboxes
Bush champion Cucumber TO Ideal for containers
Shelta cabbage T & M Container, growbag
Flowers
If possible, try to grow a few flowers in containers, too. Pots of poached egg plant, nasturtiums, French marigolds, pot marigolds, lavender and night-scented stocks will make an attractive display, also attracting bees and other pollinating insects to your patio.
Supplier details:
The Organic Gardening Catalogue , Riverdene, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4RG. t 0845 130 1304. e Show email address. w www.OrganicCatalogue.com
Thompson and Morgan (UK) Ltd , Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 3BU. t 01473 695225. w www.thompson-morgan.com
Suffolk Herbs , Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG. t 01376 572456. e Show email address. w www.suffolkherbs.com
Chiltern Seeds , Bortree Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7PB. t 01229 581137. e Show email address. w www.chilternseeds.co.uk
Tamar Organics , The Organic Garden Centre, Gulsworthy, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 8JE. t 01822 834887. e Show email address. w www.tamarorganics.co.uk
Further reading
· Window-box allotment: a beginner's guide to container gardening, by Penelope Bennett (Ebury Press, 2003). Available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue for £9.95.
This article is reproduced here with the kind permission of the V.O.N. .
The V.O.N. web-site is at www.veganorganic.net/
by Pauline Lloyd
It's possible to grow a surprising amount of your own vegan-organic food even if you don't have a garden or allotment. In my article entitled 'Windowsill gardening' (Growing Green International no 9 ) I described how to grow herbs and various salad greens such as sunflower or buckwheat greens on a well-lit windowsill indoors and how various seeds can be sprouted in jars, sprout bags, etc.
However, if you are also fortunate enough to have a balcony, outside window ledges, or a patio as well, then you have even more scope for growing interesting edible items on your own doorstep.
Containers
To make full use of your patio or balcony, you will first of all need to obtain some suitable containers. There are many kinds of containers available that are suitable for crop growing. Some have been developed especially for this purpose, such as strawberry planters, potato barrels, plastic tubs, window boxes and hanging baskets. These items can be rather expensive to purchase, but can be obtained from most garden centres. However, if possible, try to use recycled containers in order to reduce waste and keep costs low. When adapting containers for growing purposes, you may need to drill some drainage holes if the container doesn't have these already.
Compost
Obtaining vegan compost can still be somewhat difficult. The best easily-available vegan compost available at the moment seems to be the peat-free organic compost produced by B & Q; this can be improved by adding a little sharp sand and seaweed meal. Other composts are available through mail order.
Planting up containers
Now for the interesting bit – planting up your containers! Most mail order catalogues now offer a good selection of seeds that are suitable for container growing. For example, salad crops often grow well in containers, especially varieties of cut-and-come again salad leaves. Sow a variety of salad leaves to add interest and colour to your salads, cutting the leaves off with scissors just before use for peak freshness. (Beats supermarket bought salad any day!)
There are also quite a few varieties of small-sized tomatoes that do well in containers and hanging baskets (see list below). Peppers are best grown indoors on a sunny windowsill, but plants could be put outside on a balcony/patio in the summer months. Strawberries usually do well in containers too, and, of course, it's harder for the slugs to attack your plants if you have a first-floor balcony crop! By selecting your crop varieties carefully, it is also possible to grow cabbage, radishes, carrots, spinach, aubergines and beetroot without having a garden.
Be aware that crops grown in containers do tend to dry out much faster than those planted directly into the soil, so you will need to be more conscientious about watering. If your container plants need some additional feeding, try watering them with SM3 Seaweed Extract. Comfrey liquid is also animal-free and ideal for feeding tomatoes and peppers. (Both available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.) Container- grown plants are easily protected from extremes of weather. Save any large plastic bags for use as early or late season covers. Alternatively invest in some fleece. The Organic Gardening Catalogue also offers a selection of pop-up greenhouses that could be used on a patio or balcony, as well as plant cosies to cover individual plants.
Some varieties suitable for container growing:
Key to suppliers:
OGC – Organic Gardening Catalogue
T & M – Thompson and Morgan
SH - Suffolk Herbs
CS – Chiltern Seeds
TO – Tamar Organics
PLANT NAME PLANT TYPE SUPPLIER(S) GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
Red Egg Aubergine (red) T & M Good patio container plant
Mohican Aubergine (white) T & M Container, sunny position
Summer medley Runner bean T & M Container
Hestia Dwarf Runner Bean T & M/SH/TO/CS Container (has very decorative flowers)
Carrot Mini Finger Carrot T & M Container
Parmex Carrot T & M Windowboxes, containers
Firecracker Hot pepper T & M Windowsill
Hungarian Wax Semi-hot SH/TO Containers
Prairie Fire Hot pepper T & M Windowsill
Ziata Mustard OGC Tissue-lined container, indoors, eg punnet
Sprint Summer salad TO Tissue-lined container
Hot stuff Cress T & M Tissue-lined container, indoors
Niche leaves Salad leaves T & M Container
Corn Salad Vit Salad leaves SH/OGC/TO Container
Texel greens Salad leaves SH Pots/windowboxes
Land cress (American cress) Salad leaves SH/CS Pots/containers
Water Cress Salad leaves SH/OGC/TO/CS Large pot, containers (keep very moist)
Mizuna Salad leaves OGC/CS Pots, containers
Claytonia (Winter purslane) Salad leaves OGC/TO/CS Pots, containers
Oriental Saladini Salad leaves SH Pots, containers
Saladisi Salad leaves T & M Containers
Garlic chives Salad leaves CS Pot on windowsill
Chives Salad leaves CS Pot on windowsill
Baby Leaf Mix Cut & come again leaves TO Containers. Sow indoors in winter
Catalogna Cut & come again leaves OGC Containers
Mini Green Tennis ball-sized lettuce T & M Containers
Tom Thumb Small lettuce TO Pots/windowboxes
Blush small red-tinged lettuce T & M Containers
Rocket (Roquette) Salad leaves T & M/SH Pots, containers
Balconi Red Tomato T & M Container
Balconi Yellow Tomato T & M Container
Tiny Tim Tomato SH Pots, windowboxes
Tornado Tomato TO Pots/hanging baskets
Minibel Tomato CS Hanging baskets/windowboxes
Totem F1 Tomato OGC and T &M Pots, windowboxes
Gardenperle Tomato T & M/SH Pots, containers, hanging baskets
Tumbler Tomato T & M/OGC/TO/CS Hanging baskets, containers
Maxim Strawberry (Giant!) T & M Baskets, strawberry planters
Mignonette Alpine strawberry T & M Hanging basket/containers
Temptation Strawberry CS Hanging baskets
Golden Alexandria Strawberry CS/SH Patio
Sarian F1 Strawberry T & M Baskets/containers
Champion Moss Curled Parsley OGC pot/containers
Mitsuba Japanese Parsley SH Pot/containers
Beetroot Wodan Beetroot T & M Container (leaves can also be eaten like spinach)
Detroit 2-Tardel Beetroot T & M /CS Windowboxes/pots
Chinese Celery Wild celery SH/ OGC Suitable for indoor growing
Erbette Spinach CS Container
Perpetual spinach Spinach OGC Container
Radish Rougette Radish T & M Containers & windowboxes
Bush champion Cucumber TO Ideal for containers
Shelta cabbage T & M Container, growbag
Flowers
If possible, try to grow a few flowers in containers, too. Pots of poached egg plant, nasturtiums, French marigolds, pot marigolds, lavender and night-scented stocks will make an attractive display, also attracting bees and other pollinating insects to your patio.
Supplier details:
The Organic Gardening Catalogue , Riverdene, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4RG. t 0845 130 1304. e Show email address. w www.OrganicCatalogue.com
Thompson and Morgan (UK) Ltd , Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 3BU. t 01473 695225. w www.thompson-morgan.com
Suffolk Herbs , Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG. t 01376 572456. e Show email address. w www.suffolkherbs.com
Chiltern Seeds , Bortree Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7PB. t 01229 581137. e Show email address. w www.chilternseeds.co.uk
Tamar Organics , The Organic Garden Centre, Gulsworthy, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 8JE. t 01822 834887. e Show email address. w www.tamarorganics.co.uk
Further reading
· Window-box allotment: a beginner's guide to container gardening, by Penelope Bennett (Ebury Press, 2003). Available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue for £9.95.
This article is reproduced here with the kind permission of the V.O.N. .
The V.O.N. web-site is at www.veganorganic.net/