Growing your own vegetables is a rewarding experience, but if you’re short on space, you may feel limited with what you can grow. We have dozens of varieties of vegetables that are suited for small spaces and containers. Below are a few of our favorites to help you get started.
Eggplant ‘Patio Baby’
A perfect compact selection to add to any container or vegetable garden; early to produce and high yielding; deep purple, egg shaped fruit, produced season long; best harvested when they reach 3 inches; mild flavor, perfect for roasting, dips and salads
Tomato ‘Patio’
A popular dwarf variety for growing in pots, containers or hanging baskets. Produces delicious 4 oz. fruit on 2 ft. tall plants. Determinate.
Tomato ‘Sweet n Neat’
A beautiful, extra compact variety, producing clusters of scarlet cherry tomatoes; sweet and flavorful, perfect for snacking, salads and roasting; superb performance in patio containers, window sills and hanging baskets
Cucumber ‘Pick A Bushel’
A beautiful early maturing, compact bush variety; producing high yields of bright green cucumbers with a lovely sweet and crisp flavor; best tasting when harvested at 6″ or smaller; suitable for small gardens and patio containers.
Okra ‘Green Fingers’
This compact bushy variety reaches only 3 feet in height, which makes it ideal for containers. Upright and well branched plants produce tender and spineless 4″ ribbed pods. Mild and crunchy, great in strews, soups, preserves and pickled.
Squash ‘Eight Ball’
This is the first round zucchini with deep, intense dark green color. The uniform 3″-4″ fruits are shiny, speckled, and grow on vigorous, bushy plants that top out at 30″ tall and wide, which make these much smaller than most summer squash plants.
Great Small Space Combos
Here are some great combinations for container gardening.
Better Bush tomato, Sweet Basil, Onion or Bell pepper – Pizza
Roma tomato, Sweet Basil, and Red onion – Bruschetta
Better Bush or Roma tomato, Cilantro, and Hot Pepper (Jalapeno or Serrano) – Salsa
Lettuce with herbs that have the same water requirements
Eggplant and Green beans
Spinach, Swiss Chard, and Onions
Cucumber and lettuce
Tomato, Basil, and Carrots
Thyme, Sage, and Rosemary
Tarragon, Basil and cilantro
Creeping Thyme, Lavender, and Marjoram or Sage
Lavender, Oregano, and Rosemary
Potatoes, Summer Squash, Pole Beans, and Peppers can also be grown in separate containers.
Combinations for 5 Gallon Containers, 12″ soil depth
Squash, 1 plant
Pepper, 1-2 plants
Eggplant, 1 plant
Tomato, 1 plant
Turnip, 5 plants
Beets, 5 plants
Combinations for 1 Gallon Containers
If space is limited on your deck, patio, or balcony, here are a few veggies that can be planted in containers as small as a gallon.
Spinach, 2 plants, 5” depth pot
Parsley, 3 plants, 5” depth pot
Radish, 3 plants, 5” depth pot
Lettuce, 3 plants, 5” depth pot
Carrot, 3 plants, pot 2” deeper than carrot length
Cucumber, 1 plant
Small Space Veggie Gardening
We offer dozens of vegetable varieties that are perfect for small spaces. Learn how to use containers to accommodate small spaces and grow a range of vegetables all season long. We’ll talk about container sizes, the best types of plants to use and how to care for them as well as examples of great combinations.
Naperville // Saturday, May 20 // 11am & 1pm
Aurora // Sunday, May 21 // 11am & 1pm
