What do you do if you want to grow fruits and veggies but don't have the space for garden beds or even raised beds?
Grow them in containers! And with that in mind, here are 12 fruits and vegetables that will thrive in containers.
No messing, no fluff, just the list of plants you came here to see.
1. Courgettes
If you want abundance in a small space, then grow courgettes. If you have ever grown them, you will already know how many courgettes you can get off a single plant.
If you haven't, then give them a go. Trust me, you will be surprised at how productive they are.
I recommend sticking with one per container. You will get plenty of courgettes anyway and this way you don't risk overdoing it.
With courgettes, watering is the only thing you need to be aware of when growing them in pots.
They are thirsty plants and will need regular watering in the height of summer.
2. Tomatoes
Tomatoes grow well in pots and make great plants to grow on sunny patios and balconies.
If you have a sunny, walled patio, then this can make the perfect spot, as the heat trap effect will benefit these plants.
Grow a single plant per pot.
Cherry varieties are more suited to being grown in pots than larger types. They can even be grown in hanging baskets or suspended upside down from buckets!
3. Peppers
Again like the tomatoes above, peppers will really love a lovely sunny patio.
To get a successful harvest from a container grown better, consider growing something with smaller fruit than a bell pepper.
This doesn't mean you have to go spicy, there are plenty of smaller sweet peppers available.
Lemon dream is one variety I love to grow, and it makes the perfect container pepper.
4. Carrots
If you want perfect straight carrots, then try growing them in containers.
Just make sure you don't make the soil too good, this can lead to disfigured roots.
So add plenty of topsoil, sand and grit to your compost mix.
5. Potatoes
Potatoes grow well in bags and are a great veg to start growing in containers.
Fill you chosen container a third full with compost, then place your seed potatoes on top.
Cover the potatoes by a couple of centimetres and then leave them, don't fill the rest of the container yet.
Instead, you will fill it as the green growth appears, covering it up bit by bit.
This allows you to mound up container-grown potatoes just as you would for those growing in the ground.
6. Kale
For a healthy backyard plant, why not try growing kale?
This brassica member is very easy to grow and well-suited to cold weather.
Grow it in your backyard and come out and snip a few leaves here and there whenever you want some to use in the kitchen.
7. Sprouting Broccoli
I love growing sprouting broccoli, partly because it is very productive and partly because it is very easy to grow.
Because it is so easy to grow, it is well suited to growing in a container. Add a few plants to a pot and have a cut and come again harvest whenever you need it.
Just snip off the small broccoli heads whenever you want a harvest and new shoots will grow to take their place.
8. Peas
There is nothing quite like fresh, homegrown peas. They taste so different to supermarket-bought ones.
They are incredibly sweet when picked fresh from the plant.
This is both a blessing and a curse, as the peas never make it home to be used in a meal!
So why not try container patios in your backyard or garden?
Then whenever you have a meal idea that needs peas, you can simply nip out the back and harvest a few pods.
9. Runner Beans
As you could guess from the photo above, runner beans absolutely thrive in pots.
An added benefit is that the orange flowers look great, so you get gorgeous flowers and a tasty crop! What's not to love?
Add a few canes and form them into a wigwam to give your runner beans something to climb up.
10. Strawberries
Who wouldn't love to be able to nip outside and harvest some fresh strawberries?
Well, I'm telling you now that you can! Strawberries are not demanding plants, and they can actually grow in quite small spaces.
This makes them ideally suited to growing in containers.
I actually grow lots of strawberries in hanging baskets, as this helps keep the slugs away.
Just make sure to pick them regularly, so you get them instead of the birds!
11. Blueberries
Another fruit that really grows well in pots is blueberries.
You will need quite large pots for these fruit bushes so don't be too stingy on size.
If you have the budget, then get decorative pots as these will be on your patio for years to come.
Fill with ericaceous compost and give them a fertilise every year for blueberry abundance.
12. Salad Leaves
Finally, let's round the list off with one of the most productive container crops you can grow, salad leaves.
Mix and match a few different plants in a container for a natural salad bag in your back garden!
If you aren't sure which seeds to buy, then get a pre-mixed bag and scatter-sow them in your pot.
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