Choosing the right sized pot

If you’re planting up veggies in pots this season, be sure to choose a suitable pot depending on the crop. Here are our suggestions for a few of the more popular plants that customers choose to grow. (Please assume that pots are more or less equal in width and depth if not specified!)

If, for some reason, you need to choose smaller pots, then that’s totally fine, just try to use a liquid feed more often to give them plenty of nutrition.

– Tomatoes

Cordon tomatoes are easy to grow in grow bags or containers. Many gardeners will plant 3 tomato plants to a grow bag – we prefer to halve the bag, standing each end upright with one plant in each half. Alternatively, plant one tomato plant to a container, preferably 25-30cm deep.

Smaller bush varieties, like Tiny Tim, are ideal for a 15-20cm deep pot.

– Beans & Peas

Dwarf Beans: These smaller, shrub like bean plants are ideal for pots. Grow one plant to a 20cm deep pot.

Climbing Beans: We’d recommend a large, deep container approx 40cm wide and 30-35cm deep. Build a wigwam, using 5 bamboo stakes, and plant one plant at the base of each bamboo stake.

Peas (incl. mangetout/sugarsnap): Plant 10 plants to a 30x30cm pot. Again, building a wigwam is a good idea to give them something to scramble up, but try using hazel branches as they provide better grip for the pea tendrils!

– Cucumber

A 25cm pot for each plant. Be sure to put it in a sunny spot out of the wind if growing outside!

– Squash & Courgettes

Grow one to a deep 30cm pot. Bigger if you can (especially for pumpkins/squash). Feed regularly!

– Lettuces & Rocket

You can pack several plants in a single pot as lettuces and leaves don’t take up much root space. We like to go for a large, 20cm deep window box, giving 10-15cm between each plant. Treat them as cut & come again by harvesting the outer leaves regularly.

– Kale

Plant one  to a 25cm deep pot. Dwarf curly kale is suitable for smaller pots – you could plant two or three to a 30cm wide, 20cm deep pot quite happily.

– Spinach/Chard

You can probably pack 3 plants to a 30cm pot. Just remember to harvest regularly to keep the plants reasonably small and bushy.

 

– Some other more general advice:

Roots – choose a deep 30cm pot – and follow spacing from the growing guide (eg carrots and beetroot 10-20cm apart is fine, parsnips need more space)

Brassicas – as a general rule, we’d recommend planting brassicas in raised beds so that you can easily protect them from pests and  so that you can space them out. If you are growing in pots, choose a 25-30cm pot for each plant if you can.

Leeks & Onions – a 20cm deep window box works well for leeks, leaving 20cm between each plant – onions can be grown quite close together in shallow window boxes – eg 10cm apart, to a 15cm deep pot.