The 6 Best Vegetables for Container Gardening

Provided you have a large enough container (more on that below), it's easy to grow vegetables in containers. Read on to learn a few tips (or check out our extensive guide to container gardening), as well as our very favorite vegetables to grow in pots.

You Can Grow Vegetables In Small Spaces

You may not have space for a sprawling vegetable garden, but perhaps you have a small yard, a balcony or even a roof deck. Bingo, you can grow a vegetable (or three) in in containers.

You Can Grow Vegetables Next to Your Kitchen

Even if you do have a sprawling veggie garden, it can be convenient to grow a few of your favorite vegetables right outside your kitchen door for easy snipping and cooking.

They're Great for Heat-Loving Veggies

Quite simply, the sun hits the sides of pots and warms up the soil more so than it does your garden bed. Therefore, if you live in a cooler climate with short summers, container garden is a great way to extend your growing season.

They Overcome Soil Issues

If you live somewhere with poor soil quality, such as in a city, containers allow you to plant your vegetables in rich, optimized material.

It helps to choose varieties specifically bred for small spaces. Look for variety names and descriptions including these words: bush, dwarf, patio, trailing, compact and miniature. This container is filled with Tumbling Tom tomato, a beautiful compact trailing variety that's ideally suited for containers.

Most vegetables need fairly large containers to grow well. The best containers for vegetables are 12-18 inches wide and 18-24 inches deep. As a rule of thumb: The bigger the eventual size of the plant, the bigger pot you need. This Roma tomato variety is called Little Napoli, and even though it's a compact plant, it still benefits from a deep container where roots can stretch out.

Lettuce is an exception to the size rule. Because it has shallow roots, lettuce grows well in nearly any container, including ones with as little depth as 6-8 inches. Lettuce grows best in cooler weather, so sow seeds in spring or fall. To grow in summer, keep lettuce in part shade.

Peppers, both hot and sweet, grow easily in containers. Try them on their own or surrounded by flowers in a larger pot.

Upright tomatoes will grow well in larger pots with a cage or stake, but you can also try small tumbling cherry varieties in hanging baskets or window boxes. This tumbler called Terenzo reaches only 16-20 inches tall and wide.

Strawberries grow so well in containers that they have their own pots. Specialized strawberry pots and planters have pockets on the sides where fruit can grow and cascade without touching the ground, which can cause berries to rot. As their name suggests, strawberry pots are ideal for growing strawberries.

Summer squash and zucchini will grow well in containers. These plants do get large but don't produce long vines like winter squash, which is better suited to growing in the ground or raised beds.