When I became a Master Gardener in 2004, presenting classes on container gardening was my major interest. I would tell others that if you had limited space, planting in containers was a solution for time-crunched, space-challenged green thumbs.  Since then, the demand by consumers for compact plants suitable for containers has expanded. I have grown “Little Prince’ eggplant, ‘Garden Babies Butter head’ lettuce, ‘Sweetie Baby Romaine’ and Baby Pak Choi named ‘Green Fortune’.  Add to this baby leaf spinach called ‘Catalina’, Dutch beets ‘Baby Ball’, and round carrots, all by Renee’s Garden Seeds.  I have found these pint sized veggies to be easy to grow, simple to harvest and very tasty. 

Along with veggies in containers small flowers also perform extremely well. Last summer I grew container sunflowers called ‘Junior’ that exceeded my expectations. Their stalks are only 2-2 ½ feet tall with 4-5 inch yellow faces with dark brown centers. They are multi- branching and long lasting. This year I will plant them in the flower beds knowing they will not grow tall enough to “raise the roof”. Being a lover of sweet peas, I was elated to find sweet pea seeds for containers. You can find these fragrant, happy flowered plants in a bush form or as a small, short climber type.

Did you know there are dwarf avocados trees? It’s not unusual for a standard avocado tree to reach 50 to 65 feet.  In nurseries you can find dwarf plants of many varieties including annuals and perennials.  If you do not have enough time and your garden area is limited, growing smaller variety vegetables in pots is something you can easily do. It’s possible to be self-sufficient growing “small” in containers.