Mini Veg?

[pansy]

Hi, I don't have a lottie, so I planted brussels sprouts, 2 sorts of lettuce, and carrot seeds; and sweetcorn and tomato plants in pots and trays. Wish I'd staggered the sowing though  ::). They're coming up really well, so can I thin them out and grow on in pots? Will I have to settle for 'mini veg' or not? Or is mini veg ok? I don't want to plant them in my main beds as I have 2 cats and a dog.  Sorry lots of (mundane) questions but am new to this. Thanks all.

[pansy]

[wardy]

Carrots and lettuce will be ok in containers but sweetcorn and sprouts may be too large for that so I'd plant them in the garden.  I have a dog as well and I have to try and keep him off the veg which isn't easy.  He has just jumped on a tray of tomatoes I had hardening off outside  :(   I keep the cats off my veg by using thorny stems around them from plants like roses or pyracantha etc  :)

I like mini veg and would rather eat small and tender veg than massive and woody.  Courgettes are good in containers as are tomatoes.  I'm growing spuds in tubs and sacks as well.  I grow herbs too in pots all over the place.  This year I'm adding aubergine and cucumbers to my veg in pots list

Happy gardening  :)

[pansy]

Thanks for that, wardy. I'll clear some of my 'natural (gone) wild area' and pop them in, and think of a barrier of some sort.  Hope you can rescue your tomatoes.  :)

[Mrs Ava]

Bet you could do sprouts in pots, but they would have to be big heavy pots as sprout plants grow tall and heavy, and it would have to be one plant per pot.  Same with corn I guess  :-\.  As for other veg, you could do all your salads in pots and you can buy special mini veg seed so why not indeedy!

[wardy]

Mini veg are dead dear in the shops.  £1.85 for four finger size courgettes.  Carrot thinnings the same - honestly that's how titchy they were  :)

[moonbells]

Just bear in mind if anyone *is* growing mini-veg that mini sweetcorn (eg minipop) only has mini-cobs - the plant is still 6' tall!

moonbells

[tim]

You saw the 'mini leeks' the other day. These are the 'mini parsnips'.

From a raised bed.

[wardy]

I like small veg - it tastes sweeter and is usually more tender than when its fully grown  :)

[jennym]

I used to grow vegetables in pots when I lived in a flat. The ones that worked best for me were:
Spring onions - can sow quite thickly in quite a shallow pan, seed tray and leave them in it with no problem.
Lettuce - red salad bowl mixed, grown as a cut and come again in a pot about 6" diameter about 6" high
Potatoes - grown in a pot about 15" diameter about 24" high.
Sprouting mung beans - in a tupperware box, change water daily
Early nantes carrots - sown thickly, grown in one of those plastic carry-all boxes that you store things in the garage in
Chilli peppers - one plant grown in a pot about 6" diameter and about 9" high

[tim]

Encouraging!