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22 Stunning Container Vegetable Garden Design Ideas & Tips

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Container Vegetable Garden Design Ideas to maximize harvest and make your edible garden less boring.

Growing a vegetable garden doesn’t mean it has to be boring, dull, and less interesting. On the contrary, it can be very enjoyable and attractive. If you want to know how? Just follow the tips below!

Here are the best vegetables for containers

1. Grow Climbers and Vines

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Support climbing vegetables and vines and direct them upward with the help of a trellis or a cage or in any other way.

Such plants use vertical space and are abundant in production. Bitter melon (a unique tropical gourd known for its health benefits), gourds, cucumber, pole beans and other beans, Malabar spinach, vine tomatoes, squashes, peas, if you want to try– pumpkin and melons.

2. Choose Colorful Containers

You can brighten up your container vegetable garden by choosing colorful containers to grow your favorite vegetable and herbs.

3. Use Hanging Baskets

Image Credit: HGTV

Don’t cast out the idea of growing herbs and vegetables in hanging baskets. Tomatoes, strawberries, many other vegetables, and herbs can be grown in hanging baskets successfully. It also creates space!

Learn more about the best-hanging basket vegetables here

4. Start One Pot Vegetable Garden

This one-pot vegetable garden idea is perfect if you don’t have space to set up a container garden. It is also useful for those who have a small balcony or open window that receives full sun. We picked up this idea from the Sunset; read more there!

5. Try this Vertical Lettuce Planter Idea

We love this project done by Bonnie Plants, and why not? You can grow fresh herbs and greens easily in a limited space by following this idea. They have a step-by-step DIY article on this for you to look at, check out!

6. Grow Edible Flowers

To add some interest, color, and beauty, it’s a good idea to grow some edible flowers. You can use them in salads to garnish your meal or make sharbat.

Flowers like marigolds, calendula, viola, and nasturtiums can be tried. The list is long, and you can discover more names here.

7. Give Space to Herbs

Your container vegetable garden may look incomplete if you don’t grow some herbs. Fresh herbs can enhance the taste of your meal always, so it’s a great idea.

You don’t need to grow all the herbs. Consider adding 2-3 plants that you like most and suit your location: Parsley, thyme, mint, sage, oregano, cilantro, and much more to choose from. A window box, a few small containers, and hanging baskets can also be used.

8. Tomatoes are Must!

Tomatoes are a wonderful and the most important addition to a container vegetable garden. They look beautiful too. Choose 2-3 varieties and grow a few plants to get a bountiful harvest of homegrown tomatoes. Learn about the best tomato varieties for the container in this post.

9. Add Colorful Varieties

Vegetables and herbs with different textures, attractive foliage, and colors can be an excellent addition to your container vegetable garden; they can add visual interest to it.

Red hot pepper, red-stemmed swiss chard, round midnight basil, fine leaf rosemary with other herbs like lemongrass or thyme can make it look appealing. Here’s an interesting post on colorful vegetables for you to see!

10. Use Unique Planters

Use unique planters to provide virtual interest to your container vegetable garden. You can recycle and DIY your own planters or buy a few in unusual shapes and sizes. There are a lot of DIY ideas available on our website for help.

11. Play with the Height

If you don’t want your vegetable garden to look boring, play with the height. Don’t use planters of similar size and height. Instead, group large and small containers together; this will create a visual appeal.

Tip: Group plants according to their height to create a garden-like surrounding effect. To do this, place tall plants in the back and short and low-growing plants like herbs and greens in front.

12. Grow a Citrus Tree

Growing a lemon tree in a pot is not difficult and is probably an intelligent addition to your container vegetable garden. Here’s our step-by-step post on it!

13. Take the Help of Vertical Gardening

Lettuces in the window boxes in a balcony

The biggest challenge of limited space gardening is limited space itself. To beat this, take the help of Vertical Gardening. Use shoe racks, bookshelves, and plant holders to keep more pots.

If you’re a balcony gardener, railing planters and hanging planters are a must. Besides, there are many other unique vertical gardening ideas available here.

14. Start with the Productive and Easiest Container Vegetables

Try succession planting for continuous harvest and grow the most productive and easiest container vegetables for a successful harvest. Here’s our article on it.

15. Try this One Pot Herb Garden Idea

Image Credit: Southern Living

Growing herbs is easy to grow along with other vegetables you’re growing. We found this One-pot herb garden idea on Southern Living fascinating for urban gardeners. See the full post here!

16. Stake ’em Up!

Staking and caging are also good ways to grow vegetables like tomatoes easily in containers in a compact spot. You can train the plant to grow vertically, saving a lot of space.

If you have a sunny balcony, patio, or rooftop, all you need is a large container to grow multiple plants together and enjoy a fresh, homegrown harvest.

17. Make a Salad Table Garden

gardeners

A Salad Table is an ingenious way to grow plants like spinach and lettuce. Just find a sunny spot and keep the table there, simple! You can easily get them ready-made from the market or make one for yourself at home.

Check out some impressive Salad Table ideas here

18. Try Raised Beds

Instead of growing veggies on the ground, you can grow them in raised beds instead. They are easy to maintain this way, compared to a traditional garden–If you have a back problem, want to control the quality of the soil, or looking to improve the drainage.

Here’s everything you need to know about making Raised Beds

19. Go the Hydroponic Way

Want to grow vegetables hydroponically? Check out some of the best DIYs here. You can also use PVC pipes for this purpose. One similar DIY is here to watch on YouTube.

View these hydroponic vertical garden ideas here

20. Grow Exotic Vegetables

Finding fresh, exotic veggies like Black tomatoes, Romanesco Broccoli, Mexican Sour Gherkin, Dragon Carrot, Red Perilla, and Thai Basil can be a tough job at the supermarket–so why not grow them at your home?

21.

Make a Movable Garden

If your garden doesn’t get all the sunlight it needs, DIY a movable garden, which is basically a raised bed on wheels. This way, you can grow vegetables and move them around accordingly, where they get the right sun exposure to thrive well.

Check out some amazing movable garden ideas here

22. Save Space by Making a Herb Tower

Yes! You read that right! You can grow not just herbs but some leafy greens as well in a tower form to save space and plant multiple of them together.

Have a look at some impressive herb tower ideas here

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Container Vegetable Gardening - Designing Your Container Vegetable Garden

If you do not have adequate space for a vegetable garden, consider growing these crops in containers. Let’s take a look at growing vegetables in containers.

Container Gardening Vegetables

Almost any vegetable that can be grown in a garden will work well as a container-grown plant. Vegetables normally suited for growing in containers include:

Most vine crops, such as squash and cucumbers, also do well in containers. Generally, compact varieties are the better choices for growing in containers. Bush beans, for example, thrive well in this type of environment and look quite attractive when arranged with other container crops.

Containers for Vegetable Gardening

Nearly any type of container can be used for growing vegetable plants. Old wash tubs, wooden boxes or crates, gallon-sized (4 L.) coffee cans, and even five-gallon buckets (19 L.) can be implemented for growing crops as long as they provide adequate drainage.

Regardless of the type or size of your container, drainage is vital for successful growth and the overall health of vegetables. If the container you have chosen does not provide any outlets for drainage, you can easily drill a few holes in the bottom or lower sides. Placing gravel or small stones in the bottom of the container will help improve drainage as well. You may also consider raising the container an inch or two (2.5-5 cm.) off the ground with blocks.

Depending on the crops you selected, the size of the container will vary. Most plants require containers that allow at least 6 to 8-inch (15-20.5 cm.) depths for adequate rooting.

The spacing requirements for most vegetables are usually found on the seed packet or you can find them in gardening resource books. Once the seeds have sprouted, you can thin the plants to the desired number suitable to the container.

Fill containers with peat moss and a suitable potting mix. Compost or manure should be worked in to achieve healthier plant growth. Do not add more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer; however, doing so can burn the plants.

Where to Put Your Container Vegetable Garden

Once you have taken care of the basics, you’ll have to decide where to place your container garden. You want to situate the containers in an area that is close to a water source with sufficient sunlight, usually at least five hours. Excessive wind can quickly dry container plants out, so you should consider this factor as well when choosing a site.

Set the larger pots furthest back or in the center, if your design permits, with the medium-sized containers placed in front or around the larger ones. Always place the smallest containers in the very front.

With containers, there is also the option of growing vegetables in windowsills or hanging baskets that can be placed right on the porch or balcony. Ornamental peppers and cherry tomatoes look good in hanging baskets, as do trailing plants such as the sweet potato vine. Keep them watered daily; however, since hanging baskets are more prone to drying out, especially during hot spells.

Watering Container Gardening Vegetables

Generally, you should water container plants every few days unless it is quite hot; more frequent watering will then be required. Check containers at least once a day and feel the soil to determine whether or not it is damp. You also might consider sitting containers on trays or lids. Doing so will help retain moisture by holding excess water and allowing the roots to slowly pull it up as needed.

Check these plants often to make sure that they are not continually sitting in water. If sitting water becomes a problem, fill the trays with some type of mulching material, such as chips, to help soak it up.

Apply water with a watering can or sprayer attachment on a garden hose. Also, check that the water is reasonably cool beforehand, as hot water may cause damage to root development. During the hottest part of the day or when severe weather is expected, you can move the containers for additional protection.

Garden planning: how to do it right

What is about? A well-thought-out plan will help you effectively use the potential of your site and ensure that you get the most out of every vegetable crop.

What to pay attention to ? To properly plan your garden, you must first determine how much space you will have for growing each type of plant. Then, when you calculate the area, you can outline the size of the beds and their shape.

The article describes:

  1. Choosing a place for a vegetable garden
  2. How to plan a garden for beds
  3. Features of the location of the beds in the garden
  4. Calculation of the number of beds
  5. Zoning when planning orchards and berries
  6. Features of garden planning
  7. How to organize a vegetable garden in a small area
  8. Crop rotation procedure

Choosing a place for a vegetable garden

All gardeners know that almost all plants love sunlight, which they need for normal growth and reproduction. If you plan to arrange a garden in your summer cottage, then be sure to consider this circumstance.

A site that receives a sufficient amount of sunlight is especially important for areas located in the middle lane and in the northern regions of our country. Proper planning of the garden not only allows you to make your site attractive in appearance, but also creates a favorable environment for a good harvest.

Before you plan a place for your yet future vegetable garden, pay attention to what kind of shade there is on your site during the day. It appears not only because of the buildings, but from a solid fence, trees and bushes. The area of ​​your territory can be illuminated throughout the day, until noon, shade for the whole day.


If you live in a northern area with a cool climate, then choose a place for the garden where the sun shines all day. If you are a resident of the south, then a site where there is sunlight only in the morning hours is suitable for you, and in the afternoon your plants are in partial shade. In shaded areas, only those plantings that do not like light can be planted. There are few such garden crops, but for a flower bed this is ideal, since there are many shade-loving flowers or decorative crops.

How to plan a garden for beds

There is more than one system for dividing the soil into beds. It depends on the width, length of your planting and row spacing. The garden will bear fruit regularly if you use the following layouts.

This means beds 45 cm wide, and the distance between them should be no less than 90 cm. Why is this necessary? If your plants are located on a regular bed, then the extreme ones are usually stronger and larger than the others, as they receive more light. Therefore, the bed is made 45 cm wide, and only two rows of plants are planted on it. This allows the gardener to have a higher yield, especially in the northern regions and in the middle lane, since even plants that love sunlight will ripen in this way.

But here you can also note a big drawback: if you make the aisles wide, then you have a smaller working part of the garden, and the areas between the rows must be often weeded so that they do not overgrow with weeds.

These are normal beds that gardeners make most often. Their width: 50 - 90 cm, and sometimes up to 1 meter. Row spacing in width: 40 - 60 cm. The beds can be flush with the soil or raised, that is, not have walls, but at the same time, the place for sowing should be higher than the row spacing area. The height can be adjusted by adding soil purchased or taken from other parts of your site.

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You can make walls from any material at hand: boards, slate, etc. Pour humus, a layer of soil into the resulting box. These beds are convenient in that they warm up well with sunlight and do not suffer from flooding during rains or autumn floods. They are easy to care for, as they are easy to handle, no need to lean down much. But to arrange them, you will spend a lot of time.

Their difference from the tall ones is in the “stuffing” of branches, foliage, which are laid out in a box, mixed with humus and earth, where plants are planted later. They are up to 1 meter wide. On the positive side, the foliage inside rots, which warms the ground, and this makes it possible to plant your plants earlier. This is more relevant if you live in the north, and is not very important in the southern areas, but it gives excellent results, since your plants grow quickly in the prepared land.