Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables for Your Organic Garden

Vegetable Gardening in Hot Climates

Those of us who garden in an effort to reduce pesticides in our diet attempt to garden year round. It is tough this year here in Florida where the heat index is already 110 F. All is not lost. Container gardening is a much more comfortable option for gardener and plant.

Many vegetables and herbs like the heat. Chili Peppers, Tomatoes, Basil, Yardlong Beans, Cucumbers, Okra, Pumpkins and Zucchini are just a few of the veggies to grow in the hottest months.

If you are growing in containers, here are a few tips to make your summer veggie garden successful:

Select compact or dwarf varieties.
Use extra large containers -- they retain more moisture and better insulate the roots of your plants.
Mulch
Place containers on a saucer of water.
Keep containers out of the rain -- at least in Florida. The alternating heat and afternoon showers create fungal issues and make irrigation a pain. I would rather use saucers of water so the plants can take up moisture as needed.
Place plants in a location that receives afternoon shade.
When placing plants, beware of surfaces that radiate heat. Plants on my concrete patio were completed wilted by the afternoon so I moved them over to the pool deck (painted concrete)-- no more wilting!
Barbara Barker,
Author, Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables for Your Organic Garden

Organic Vegetable Gardening in Containers

This blog is an effort to get more people gardening organically. I think there is a misconception that gardening is expensive. When comparing the price of organics at the store to home grown organics, you'll see that growing your own is not only healthier, but also less expensive.

For my garden this year, I spent about the equivalent of one week's grocery bill for my family of four. For that price, I now have cherry, apple, nectarine, and pear fruit trees that should produce for years to come; I also have strawberry plants, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, grape vines, lettuce and spinach seeds, and potatoes. In my next blog, I'll talk about food safety.

I'm growing the above mentioned plants because they are the plants with the highest pesticide residue according to USDA data. I researched this so much that I eventually wrote a book about it --
Container Gardening for Health: The 12 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Your Organic Garden by Barbara Barker
Check it out!