I would love to try to grow some of my own vegetables, but I live in an apartment. Any suggestions on how I can still grow some tomatoes? SR

This is a common situation, but just because you can’t dig up a yard or build raised beds in no way means you must suppress your desire to grow some vegetables. Let’s talk about how you can grow great tasting vegetables when you don’t have a place for a garden.

Whether you are trying to grow food in the ground or in a container, your first question should be “do I have a place that gets enough sun?” Most vegetables are going to need about 8 to 10 hours of sunlight each day. If you live in an apartment this can be challenging since your prime growing space is going to be on your deck or patio and sometimes the buildings are not lined up in a way that makes that happen. If you don’t have a good spot, you could always move to a different apartment complex or possibly move to a different apartment in the same complex that has better sun. It just depends on how important this is for you.

Assuming you do get enough sun, you’ll need to be careful where you place your containers. Be sure not to place them too close to walls since this will likely cause them to overheat since they would be getting both direct and reflected sun. This will be a bigger issue if your available space faces the west rather than the north, south, or east. The primary reason for this is the hot afternoon sun. If you do face the west, you might need to build some type of small screen that protects your plant from that late afternoon sun.

Now that you have your spot, you’ll need to decide what type of container you want to use. Just about anything can be an appropriate container for growing vegetables. If you don’t really care about aesthetics, you can purchase some of those plastic utility buckets you can find in hardware stores. Just be sure to drill some holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Without adequate drainage holes, your plant’s roots will likely fall victim to root rot.

Fabric pots also make a great container for growing vegetables. They are available in a variety of sizes and most come with handles making them easy to move under the balcony in case of a storm. One thing to keep in mind is that since fabric pots are porous, you’ll need to be diligent in your watering.

If you are wanting to go with a container that is perhaps a little more stylish, there are a variety of ceramic or plastic pots that are available. Whichever way you go, be mindful of the color of the containers. I love those dark blue and black ones but they will get warmer during the day due to heat absorption. Because of this, they’ll need a little more water than some of the lighter colored pots.

You can also mix it up a little bit by going with containers of various heights and sizes. Just remember to put the taller containers in the back and the shorter ones up front. They all want full access to the sun.

Next you are going to need to fill those containers with some garden soil. For container gardens, I would suggest just purchasing some of the bagged soil you can get at your favorite garden center. One thing to consider; try not to skimp on the garden soil since your plant’s growth will definitely be dependent on the quality of the soil and the nutrients you add. In other words, buy the best you can afford.

Now that you have all of that worked out, you are going to need to decide what you are going to grow. You mentioned tomatoes which work well in containers. There’s even a variety called Patio Tomato which you might want to consider.

Most tomatoes are going to need some sort of support so read the description of the plant to determine if you can get by with a smaller tomato cage or if you are going to need something larger.

Peppers and herbs also work well in containers. Personally, I like the idea of growing herbs on an apartment balcony since they will grow throughout the summer which allows you to walk outside and harvest something special to enhance your dinner almost every night.

Cucumbers are a great summer vegetable, but they can be a little more challenging in containers. However, growing cucumbers on a trellis is something that once you try it, you’ll likely always grow your cucumbers on trellises, even if you get an in-ground garden someday.

One thing you’ll need to keep in mind is that when growing vegetables in the ground or a raised bed, your plants can draw upon the surrounding area for their water and nutrient needs. With containers, you are dealing with a closed environment. You will be the one who needs to stay diligent in meeting their water and nutrient needs.

Vegetables (especially tomatoes) will let you know pretty quick when they need water by getting all sad and droopy looking. They will bounce back pretty quickly once they get a good drink. If they don’t bounce back, you might be overwatering since sad and droopy is also a symptom of overwatering.

Tomatoes will teach you how much and when to water. If you want some technical confirmation, water moisture meters are pretty cheap and will help take some of the guess work out of it. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram