Ideal Crops for a Patio or Container Garden

Part 2 in our patio gardening series. We are talking in this episode about picking ideal varieties and what makes a good crop for a patio or container garden.

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[PaleGhost]

If you can train them up the fence on the patio, cucumbers work really well in this setting. Plus they cut wind and create shade if your trellis is high enough. I grew a wall of cucumbers on my patio this year and it worked very well.

[joachimlunger]

I have to say my cucumbers had a really good yield. I grew them in a contsiner and forced them to grow upwards by swirling them around a twine that i fixed on my upstair neighbours balcony :)

[pjackson]

I have to respectfully disagree with you on vining plants not doing well in containers for patio gardens. I had great success this year planting cucumbers, cantelopes, and watermelons in grow bags, and using makeshift trellises and large tomato cages to grow them vertically. I think its all about making the most of your space. I chose not to do an in ground garden due to getting started gardening for the first time this year, and wanting the flexibility a patio garden offers. I really enjoyed myself, and your videos continue to inspire me to grow big or go home. :)

[tinamerrill]

I live in Maine. I have a fairly large deck, 16’ x 20’. I have great success in container gardening growing all kinds of different vegetable, including, watermelon, squash, cucumbers etc. Its all about knowing where the patio sits in the sun, how much sunlight your plants will be under. We use trellises as well as shade frames if necessary. Shade frames we make out of furring wood and lightweight row cover fabric. We put things like lettuce on the floor of the deck, being shaded from a bigger plant, like tomatoes. Squash grows great in a large container with the runners being trained along the deck rails. We use nylons to tie up the fruit. We also make sure we grow things like marigolds, nasturtium and daisys for bee pollination and pest control. We do find that we have to fertilize 2-3 extra times in the growing season. Planning what you want to grow and placing it in the right sunlight is really the hardest part about container gardening. Everything else is basic gardening requirement. I would encourage anybody to try it

[Donna_G]

I grew Early Girl tomatoes in containers last year. It can work; but, the tomato plant definitely needs to be staked. I've seen many YouTube videos where the grower was able to trellis those vining plants while still growing in a container on a deck or patio. Even watermelon or cantaloupe can be grown on a trellis. But, I'd recommend smaller, personal size watermelons, unless your container is large enough and you can create a sturdy trellis for it. My mom always said, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Don't let limited space stop you from experimenting.

[cynbdavis]

Hey Luke! Love your channel! This was my first year growing vegetables and I’m happy to report I did many of the things you suggested NOT to do. I just harvested my first sugar baby watermelon from my trellised pot....one is still growing. I have two honeydews growing that have survived on my deck, both trellised. And I’m doing the same with pole beans, kiwi, and butternut squash. Wind can be an annoying factor that you have to expect with the vines getting so long, but I’ve made adjustments moving my pots to a safer section of my deck. I’m very happy I made the attempt with direction from CaliKim and it’s working. So I would suggest to any gardener to try it and see how it works for you.

[gusiap]

My tip for outside containers is to have them be white if you are growing in full sun. The roots are less likely to get cooked. And a bit of mulch on top of the potting mix will help keep water from evaporating too fast.

[CeleciaFirestorm]

Working on my basement winter garden. Have a hydroponic tower, a bunch of pots, several patio pickers boxes, and grow lights. I think I'm officially addicted.

[hopeking]

I planted lettus, kale, and strawberries are a good patio garden one!

[jeaniemario]

Great video, thanks. All of my gardening has been in containers before I commit to raised beds. I have had success growing vertically, and being able to maximize yields. If someone really does want cucumbers, I am growing a bush variety cucumber, saladmore, and I get just enough cucumbers for summer cucumber and tomato salads. It gets about 2 feet tall and I have a small trellis for it to climb. I put two plants next to each other in separate pots to climb up the same trellis. You just have to stay up on watering and fertilizing.

[AliceMarieM]

Bush sugar baby watermelons do fine in containers provided you send them up a trellis. You can make hammocks out of old nylons to support the fruit while it matures. Also, in Washington DC Rosemary survives the winter just fine and does not have to be taken indoors.

[jenniferfurst]

Loving this series on patio gardening, thanks so much!! I make all kinds of mistakes, like growing artichokes and rhubarb in a container in NYC, but it's all so fascinating, I don't mind!! For me, even if I don't get any vegetables, it's all still the miracle of science and nature. That being said, my indeterminate tomatoes and lemon cukes (grown from MI gardener seeds, of course!) did great in my city patio garden!!

[stephenleaf]

Had a very large patio crop this year. 4 Pea plants in spring (got 6 more growing right now and about to harvest again!) 1 pepper plant (birds tore this up, did get a very nice pepper from it just recently. Strung yarn above it and not had issues since.) 2 tomato’s, 1 cherry tomato (Highly recommend the cherry tomatoes, I don’t think I’ll ever do a non-cherry tomato again, never had luck with them and thus far from 2 plants I’ve had 1 good tomato to harvest. Did get to play with rooting the suckers which I had never done before. But cherry tomatoes are where its at! 1 plant its taller than my wife and they taste superb.) Trying out pole beans, Beets and turnips (found out after I had started them beets and turnips do not pair well together, oops) Carrots which didn’t survive, they popped out right as bugs found my patio (used crushed eggs which I read works as a decent deterrent, seemed to work for me) had 2 harvests of Lettuce (1st one I started from the bottom of a store bought head, bolted quickly but got a ton of seeds from it.) 2 harvests of Spinach (think I need to increase the nitrogen as the leaves are pretty small?) Rosemary, Dill and Basil, also experimented with a cutting of this which is also growing great! And finally Radishes per my daughter’s request. Took a short plastic tote drilled some holes in the bottom and filled it with them, they seem to be doing amazing. Had so much fun this year doing all this from an apartment patio.

[j.b.]

I mainly do container gardening. Cucumbers do well in containers, especially if you go vertical. I use sturdy tomato cages and train the cucumbers up the cage. This year I had 4 marketmore plants in containers and had a nice harvest all summer long. The last remaining one still has a few cucumbers growing on it.

[kbjerke]

The information I have been looking for... Thank you!

[winginitwithirishcolleen]

Great information! 🇺🇸💚
My seeds showed up yesterday, SO excited!!

[ryanturner]

I planted 2 different radishes, 3 different carrots, 3 different spinach, swiss chard, beets, mixed lettuce, and 11 different herbs.

Everything is crushing right now. Although it has only been 10 days. Everything but the mint has sprouted.

[hopeking]

I planted sunflowers in containers on my patio! Zinnas, need them flowers to get the bees a coming ! Patunad too! And small flowers like allsylum

[hopeking]

I also planted orkra one year and baby egg plant.on my patio! I have did a lot on my patio in holland mich! The tulip city! Sadly I have not been successful with tulips! So I but them!

[helenalderson]

I just strategically shift stuff around into sun or into partial sun, depending on needs. All of my patio brassicas coming up😁