The Benefits of Container Gardening

These days, more and more people are enjoying the benefits of food gardening. According to a five-year study of gardening trends in the U.S. by the National Gardening Association (NGA), more than one in three Americans currently grows their own food. Over the five years of the study, NGA found a 17% increase in food gardening – the highest in decades.

Why is there so much interest in homegrown fruits and vegetables? First, it can help you save money on groceries. According to the NGA report, 54% of food gardeners grow their own food to reduce their grocery bills. Money reports that even a small garden can save a household up to $600 per year.

Second, over half (58%) of food growers cite better-tasting food as a top reason for growing their own food. Homegrown food tastes better because it's natural and fresh from the earth, not shipped from halfway around the world or genetically modified to produce high-yield while sacrificing taste. If you've ever eaten a fresh tomato from a farmer's market as opposed to the kind you buy in your local grocery store, you can attest to this.

Finally, 51% of Americans cite better quality as a top reason for growing their own food. Research shows a steady decline of up to 40% of the nutritional quality of our produce from 1940 to today. Industrialized farming relies on methods that increase yields while sacrificing nutritional quality, such as the use of chemical fertilizers and genetic modification.

Moreover, most commercial produce is grown with the use of pesticides, which are both toxic and known to have significant health effects. If you're concerned about pesticides in your food, the Environmental Working Group has a downloadable list of the "Dirty Dozen," the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables. These may be some you want to consider growing yourself.

What if you like the idea of growing your food, but you don't have a yard to do it in? Container gardening is the perfect solution. Here's what you need to know to get started.

The Benefits of Container Gardening

Container gardening means growing fruits and vegetables in containers instead of in the ground. According to the NGA report, 46% of food gardens include containers, and many do so successfully. The report found a 28% increase in urban gardens during the course of their five-year study, and most of these were container gardens.

I've been growing food in containers for years and have successfully provided plenty of delicious tomatoes, peppers, and herbs for my family's meals from plants grown in pots.

If you have a desire to grow some of your own food, there's no need to feel limited by your space. In fact, container gardening offers several benefits over gardening in the ground:

• Since you'll be using potting soil, you won't have to worry about prepping your soil before getting started.
• You'll have far fewer issues with weeds if you have any at all, which means gardening will take up less of your time.
• It's easier to protect container plants from threats such as animals or frost damage.
• You can move containers around to take the best advantage of available sunlight, which can increase your yield.
• You can start a container garden almost anywhere: on your patio, deck, rooftop, or even kitchen counter.

The Best Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs for Container Gardening

Lots of food-producing plants grow well in containers. Pretty much anything you can grow in the ground can grow in a container as long as it's big enough – even large crops you might never imagine, such as corn. But if you're looking for the easiest way to start with food gardening, here are the vegetables, fruits, and herbs that do the best in containers.

Vegetables

According to Better Homes & Gardens (BH&G), the top vegetables to grow in containers include:

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Green beans
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Peas
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Summer squash
• Swiss chard
• Tomatoes
• Winter squash

Fruits

Many fruits grow well in containers, including dwarf tree varieties such as apples and lemons. Gardeners' World says that the 10 best fruits to grow in containers are:

• Apples
• Blackcurrants
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Figs
• Gooseberries
• Peaches and nectarines
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Herbs

Herbs do especially well in containers and represent perhaps the biggest money savings for container gardeners. When you consider that a bundle of herbs from the grocery store can cost anywhere from $1 to $4, it's clear that investing $2 in a starter plant or a packet of seeds that will produce year after year can save you a lot of money over the long run.

Moreover, because many herb varieties can grow well in small containers, they're easy to bring indoors in the winter so that you can continue to enjoy adding them to your family's meals year-round.

According to BH&G, the top herbs to consider growing in containers are:

• Basil
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Tarragon
• Lavender
• Lemon balm
• Lemon verbena
• Marjoram
• Mint
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

Final Word

Food gardening, whether done in the ground or containers, can bring many rewards. Growing your own food not only puts fresh and delicious produce at your fingertips, but it's also enjoyable. There's just something about food you've grown yourself that makes mealtime extra special.

And if you're growing food for your family, your kids can get in on the action too. Research on school gardens shows that kids are more apt to try a variety of fruits and vegetables when they helped to grow them. And according to Cornell University, gardening can benefit children by improving environmental and nutritional awareness and promoting healthy eating. I can attest that my son is far more interested in vegetables he helped grow himself than in anything I grab from the freezer.

That said, it's easy to get excited about all the possibilities of growing your own food, but just as with buying produce at the grocery store, you should make sure to plant only those things that you and your family actually like and will eat. Otherwise, you'll not only negate any savings, but much of your harvest will go to waste.

As with any endeavor, start small at first. Plant a few containers to get a feel for how much your plants will produce and whether you actually consume and enjoy your yield. You'll gradually learn which plants grow best in your containers, the best ways to care for them, and if gardening is something you truly enjoy. Then, as you gain experience, you can keep expanding your garden.

Are you planning to grow any vegetables, fruits, or herbs in containers this year? What are you most excited about enjoying from your own container garden? let's see How To Grow a Container Garden!