With a few containers and some sunlight, you can grow a variety of vegetables right outside your door or on your balcony or patio. Many vegetables don’t require large plots of land to flourish. Some plants, such as tomatoes or peppers, thrive better in pots where nutrients can be more easily controlled to help them have a larger and healthier crop.
As long as your space gets up to eight hours of direct sunlight per day, you can successfully grow a wide range of crops. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or a beginner, here are three easy-to-grow vegetables you can plant now in pots that will be ready to harvest by July, just in time for fresh, homemade summer meals.
1. Courgette
Courgettes can “grow vigorously, so even sowing in late April (perhaps in a pot on a sunny windowsill) or direct outside in May when there is no chance of a late frost, will allow ample time to enjoy a bumper harvest from July onwards,” reported garden experts at Allotmentbook.
Courgettes are big plants with a spread of about 1 metre, and they require plenty of water while setting fruit. However, dwarf varieties are available for those growing in pots. These plants are thirsty, so they need plenty of space for their roots.
The experts recommend a 45-50cm wide pot as a good starting place for a courgette plant or bush winter squash variety, with just one plant per pot. If you’re using a grow bag, only two courgette plants per bag.
2. Squash
Summer squash can be grown in large containers. Garden experts at RHS recommend planting “one or two per growing bag or one in a container at least 45cm wide, filled with peat-free multi-purpose or soil-based compost.”
It is important to begin growing indoors three to four weeks before the last frost date. “Seeds should germinate within seven to ten days if the weather is warm enough,” according to Urban Farmer.
Summer squash grown in pots can take around 45 to 70 days from seed to harvest. Varieties of squash, such as zucchini and yellow squash, can be harvested when they are young.
You can also wait until they reach full maturity, which is generally six to eight inches long. “Zucchini will have a healthy sheen to its green skin.”
3. Peppers
Peppers thrive in pots and only take a few months to harvest. According to the experts at Urban Farmers, “Sweet varieties can be ready for harvest in as little as 60 days, whereas the hot peppers take longer to grow, up to 150 days.
“Plant pepper seeds 1/4 inch deep by laying the seeds on top of the soil and gently poking them below. If planting hot pepper seeds, be sure to wear gloves during the process.”
When planting peppers in a seedling tray indoors, add a plastic lid to encourage warm and moist soil, which quickens the germination process. Peppers adapt well when transplanted and thrive both in garden beds and in containers or pots.
Choose a spot that receives full sun to ensure healthy growth and a good harvest. As the plants begin to produce fruit, they can become top-heavy and may need extra support, such as a tomato cage or stake, to keep them upright. While peppers do need consistent watering, be careful not to overdo it; the soil should be kept moist but not waterlogged.