Soil for vegetables

Not everyone has the possibility to grow vegetables in a garden. It is often quite difficult because of the available space especially if you have a balcony or terrace. Despite the lack of space it is possible to grow delicious vegetables, not in the open field, but in planters. Most vegetables and herbs grow well in a planter just like many perennials and shrubs.

Growing vegetables in planters yourself is fun. To be successful in growing vegetables you are dependent on the weather. The vegetables from your own planters are tastier, but often a bit smaller than you are used to from the store. Another advantage of growing your own vegetables is that it is cheaper than buying vegetables in the store.

To successfully grow vegetables in a planter you must follow some different rules. It depends highly on what kind of vegetable you want to grow. For example carrots, if you use clay or too much clay carrots create strange lateral roots. This does not count for peas and beans, which love a rich soil.

What planter to use

First of all, what kind of planter is suitable for growing vegetables? Well, you can use all kinds of planters, as long as there are holes in the bottom for drainage. The material can be wood, stone, terracotta, concrete, zinc or plastic. You can even use plastic buckets. Let your imagination run free! I have even seen a sink full of lettuce! Indeed, a drainage hole was, of course, no problem.

Which materials to use

Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages, mainly related to the moisture in the planter or pot. Soil for vegetables should actually remain constantly damp and should not dry out. An advantage of terracotta planters is that they stay relatively cool in the sun. A disadvantage of terracotta planters is that they dry out quickly because of the wind. Plastic is light and easy to move, but is getting hot easily.

For choosing the right material for you planter you have to take into account the location of the planter. Is the planter located in the sun for the whole day or just a part of the day, or do you have the time to water them regularly. All questions that you have to take into consideration.

Soil for the vegetable garden

Potting soil and fertilized garden soil are good choices to grow vegetables. During the growing season you must add sufficient nutrients to the plant to keep them healthy. There are vegetables that need heavily fertilized soil and vegetables that need a lighter fertilized or unfertilized soil. However, all vegetables need an airy soil structure. If you use soil that does not have an airy structure your crops will suffocate.

If the soil is too wet it contains too little oxygen resulting in the roots to die and rot. On the other hand the soil must hold sufficient water when it is sunny and warm.

The soil for vegetables mixture should contain sufficient water without getting muddy. If you have some soil in your hand just squeeze it a little bit. When you release the soil it must still have a open airy structure. If it is still sticking together, like mud, then your soil contains too much water.

Potting soil that is mainly composed of black peat (sometimes referred to as peat) will stay wet easily and thus get muddy resulting in the above mentioned problems. Compost also has this property, like garden soil. Using garden soil in planters is less suitable because of the intensive watering resulting in losing the airy structure of the soil.

A light and airy soil is a sandy soil. A heavy soil is somewhat clayey soil resulting in a soil that is not airy at all. Both can be improved by adding lots of compost to it. You can add compost with bentonite (clay flour) to increase the moisture-retaining capacity.

Soil mixture

With black peat you can compose a very good soil for you planters but you have to mix it with other components. The next mixture is great for leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables and leguminous crops. You start of with a cheap potting soil and mix it with:

  • 50% of the peat (black peat)
  • 15% rotted compost (for nutrition, this can be left out and replaced with a slow release fertilizer)
  • 10% coarse masonry sand (for the airy texture and drainage)
  • 25% coconut fiber or peat (for a bouncy, airy structure that simultaneously retains water well).
  • 1%-2% bentonite clay or clay flour is recommended. Bentonite is composed of clay minerals. They can hold plenty of water and nutrients.

Large planters

For large planters with deep-rooted vegetables you can still use garden soil, mixed with about 30% compost. Depending on the soil you can add 10 to 20% coarse sand. You can use the above explained mixture in large planters but the best thing you can do is adding garden soil to it covering half of the planter. This will be much cheaper, it gives a better structure to the soil and the problem of rapid dehydration does not have a big impact to the soil mixture in these large planters.

What do vegetables need

Most vegetables like a neutral soil to mildly alkaline (pH 7 – 7.5)
Vegetables that like a neutral or calcareous alkaline soil are for example carrots and beans. Vegetables that like an acid soil or peat grounding (pH 5-6) are potatoes and rhubarb.

Pole beans don’t like heavy fertilized soil.
Coal like heavy, well-fertilized calcareous soil.
Cucumber and tomato like a heavily fertilized soil.

Which plants or herbs to use

Which plants or herbs are the easiest to start with? Well, these are the seeded plants, which you can buy at your local garden center. You can put all kinds of different types of lettuce, tomatoes and various herbs into a planter. But you can also sow it yourself.
Suitable vegetables for planters are:

  • Garlic
  • Small cauliflowers
  • Parisian carrots
  • Beetroot
  • Rocket
  • Potatoes

How to sow

Spread the seeds in the pot is not too close together. The tubers need room to grow. If you want to harvest every week, you have to sow every week. Experiment with different flavors, from sweet to sharp.