growing veg in pots

[wtftodo]

We are sorting our garden out this year and I can't wait to get started growing veg with my toddler who I think will love it. But I want to grow in pots. Is there anything I can/should be starting this month? Am in London, south East facing garden. Disclaimer: total novice, can't even keep herbs or houseplants alive usually

I grew tomatoes in pots this year and had loads. Runner beans, peas. You need things that grow upwards not along wards. Potatoes in bags are good. They might need chitting now

Do you not have a patch of ground where you can plant stuff out?

A favourite of ours is courgette; it spreads out very large, with quite large leaves, but the actual fruiting part of the plant is not too big, so I guess maybe it could be grown in a really large pot, on a patio or deck or similar. We eat courgettes from July to October!

Aubergines aren't known as easy but I've successfully grown in pots and seeds need to be sown now. Small specific broad beans can be bought for pots which were very successful for me last year- again to sow now. Finally I always grow my first and second earliest in pots- it endures no rogue potatoes are left behind in cropping and I can just pull one put a fortnight for potatoes all through summer. Though I do have twelve 'potato' pots - potatoes can be started for chitting now.

For later sowing- courgettes grow wonderfully in pots as do tomatoes- I've grown carrots in large 35-50ltr pots very successfully. And leeks. You can grow baby corn in a large pot- a 35ltr pot will offer five plants a home and each plant has eight to ten corn. And all salads, and beet root. Ive failed with brassicas- my only real ground is reserved for them and runner beans, then later pumpkins.

Good luck - needless to say I had a concrete garden for a very long time and had to grow in pots or not at all. It can be done

If you are a complete novice by all means have a go at seeds but there is always the option of buying starter plants a bit later on. Seed packets will have more seeds than you can use, so if they all germinate you will have to get rid of the ones you can't use and if you are normal you may feel it's a bit like giving away your children.