Growing Vegetables in pots

The only help my mom ever asked me was to get vegetables or curry patta from our garden. And I used to run outside with a colander and fill it with fresh vegetables. I don’t know why but picking fresh vegetables always gives me a sense of deep satisfaction.

 I always wished I had a garden like the one back home. When we moved to our rented apartment in Vasant Kunj, My father-in-law helped me turn my extended Balcony into a beautiful garden. That's when I started experimenting and got to know that even vegetables can be grown on pots. Here’s how you do it.

Preparing the pot – Put a few stones at the base of the container and then fill it with soil. The soil should be porous and not water retentive. For each pot, I put one fistful of sand and one of manure. I also add 2 spoons of Vermicompost for a healthy growth.

Dig a 1/2 inch hole and plant the seeds and water them at least twice a day.  The vegetables that I have grown on pots are Spinach, Lady’s finger, Broccoli, Karela, Beans, tomato, Methi saag, laal saag, hara saag, coriander and chillies. The saplings come out within 7-10 days and have to be transplanted.

Karela/Bitter Gourd Sapling

Once transplanted, the creeper needs to be given a support.
It's best to grow this near a wall
where the creeper can take a rope's support to climb

Bhindi/Lady's finger Sapling. I transplanted them after a week

Flowers of a Lady's finger/Bhindi. 

Lady's finger - 7 plants give a good enough yield every week for a family of two - three

Spinach and Coriander - I used a plastic basket, to grow these.
 Ensure you drill a hole at the bottom  of the tub/basket

Laal Saag

Chillies

Beans 

Broccoli

Name of vegetable	Approx. Sowing time	Method of Planting
Karela/Bitter Gourd	March-April	Transplant within 5-7 weeks
Lady’s Finger/Bhindi	March - April	Transplant within 5-7 weeks
Spinach	Throughout the year	No Transplanting
Laal Saag	Throughout the year	No Transplanting
Coriander	Throughout the year	No Transplanting
Chilly	Throughout the year	Transplant within 5-7 weeks
Beans	Sep-Oct	Transplant within 5-7 weeks
Broccoli	Sep-Oct	Transplant within 5-7 weeks

I hope you also enjoy growing vegetables in pots. For a family of two-three, depending on the type of vegetable, it is advisable to have at least 4-7 plants of each type. You can sow two plants of beans in a single pot, that ways you can have 6 plants in 3 pots. Two plants of karela are good enough while 7-8 plants of bhindi is good enough to make bhindi sabji once a week. 

If you too have experimented growing vegetables in pots, do share your suggestions and experiences.