SoS: Growing Fruit and Vegetables in Containers in May

For this week’s Six on Saturday, I focus on some of the fruit and vegetables we grow in pots with varying degrees of success.

Growing fruit and vegetables or indeed any plants in containers, creates various challenges, which include:

Too much water or not enough: I use a moisture meter because often the top couple of inches of soil dries out in the sun but probe a little deeper and you can see the plant has plenty of water. I ordered this gizmo on line. Tip: buy one with a long probe.

but on this tomato plant, the leaves are curling, so maybe it’s something else?

Nutrients? Which type of nutrient does a plant need? Is the pH level correct, or are the roots compacted? The leaves talk to us, telling us what they need, but I struggle.

Then we have the bugs and diseases to contend with. Sigh …

Growing Physalis in a Pot

This Physalis self-seeded. I decided to leave it and see what happened. It seems happy enough to me and the soil in the pot is spent from a crop of tomatoes last summer.

Growing Cucumbers in Pots

My cucumber plants were doing well, but as usual, the leaves have turned yellow with brown dry patches. Tomorrow, I will buy some more seedling plugs and start again.

Growing Aubergines in Pots

Aubergines grow really well in pots. I hope to harvest my first aubergine from this crop by the end of June. Watch this space!

Growing Tomatoes in Pots

So far, the black tomatoes have been doing well. The first flowers have set, and I’ve started feeding them with tomato fertiliser. The seeds were saved from last year. I’m not sure why the leaves are curling because they have plenty of water.

The cherry tomato plugs I bought at Rogil Market in March have just started to produce tomatoes. They are probably the scrawniest specimens I have ever grown. I used good-quality compost and tomato fertilizer; they get at least eight hours of full sun daily.

Growing Courgettes (Zuchinni) in Pots

I decided not to grow zucchini this year as the baby zucchini usually succumb to blossom end rot so they don’t mature. As you can see I gave in. I have so many zucchini recipes I just had to give it another shot.

Growing Lettuce in Containers

One crop I can grow is lettuce. I grow them in crates and cover them with trays to stop the birds from pecking for worms and provide some shade in the heat of the day. Lettuce is a year-round crop.

For more Six on Saturday, bloggers check out Jims’ blog

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SoS: Vegetables in May