Patio Gardening Your Vegetables
Patio gardening is a good solution for a gardener that does not have room for an in-ground garden of vegetables. Patio gardening is actually gardening for a balcony, patio, windowsill or a back deck that has space enough for your container vegetable garden. It gives you the opportunity to prevail over some problems such as soil-borne diseases or poor ground soil.
In order to benefit from the use container growing you can plant vegetables that will not take up a large amount of space. Some of the crops include radishes, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and lettuce. The miniature and dwarf size plant will generally mature faster and bear fruit sooner than regular sized crops but will not give you as much produce. Many of the plant breeders and seed companies are devoting much of their time developing crops that are specially intended for container gardening because so many more gardeners perfer patio vegetable gardening.
What they are actually working on is to get them to perform as well as standard varieties and the proper care that is needed to do so.
If you are wondering what vegetables to plant in your patio garden, the amount of sun it receives will help you make that decision. Generally speaking root crops and leaf crops can handle partial shade, but the vegetables that bear ‘fruit’ need to have direct sun at least five hours during the day but will have even better results with 8 to 10 hours a day. It is possible to give them more sunlight by using materials that are reflective such as aluminum foil or anything that has a white painted surface.
A container patio gardening area can come to life with interesting plantscapes. Spruce up a deck or backporch with some hanging baskets that have tomatoes draping over the sides or filled with fragrant herbs. You can use large colorful containers for balcony gardening of your condo or apartment. You can place trellises inside these containers to create an area of shade. Patio gardening ideas can become endless; let your imagination carry you to innovative places.
A lack of garden space in your yard is only one reason for growing container vegetables. A patio garden can be very convenient to your kitchen, it is probably safer for a gardener who is handicapped or you want to teach young children the benefits of growing their own vegetables. Vegetable container gardening can make a porch, deck or a patio a very welcoming and attractive area of your backyard.
All your container vegetables will need a little more attention than an in-ground vegetable garden. The vegetables root systems are now restricted to the size of your container so additional watering will be needed. The containers have a tendency to dry out faster in warmer weather which might kill the plant or they could end up with a poor crop. It is always best to add mulch to the top portion of container; this will slow down the rate of evaporation and will keep the temperature cooler on the surface of the soil. Tomato plants have tiny, fiberous roots that will dry out and possibly die if the soil gets too hot. Patio gardening vegetables will also require more fertilization because of the fact that the extra water that they need to thrive will wash the nutrients in the soil away.
Some of the crops you can use in patio gardening include beans, peas, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, beets, tomatoes, and carrots along with cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower and the majority of your herbs. Such crops as potatoes, corn, pumpkins, and vine fruits will need a lot more room than a patio container can provide; the size of the container determines which vegetables you will be able to plant. Some vine fruits can grow in containers and you can place those containers along side a fence so it will work as a trellis. Patio gardening is not limited to a patio or balcony but can be done in any small area of your backyard.
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