Planting Depth Revealed – You Can Successfully Grow Herbs and Vegetables in a 4″ Pot

Container vegetable gardening can be rewarding and challenging. If you want to be successful and get good harvests you need to take watering requirements and light exposure into account. The other big thing you need to know is planting depth – how much soil does each crop needs to succeed. No more guessing with these guidelines!

planting depth 4 inch — This container is 4 inches deep and 12 inches wide

There are certain guidelines to follow when planting in a 4 inch deep container. Whether you are using raised beds, standard pots, or found items, each crop needs a certain amount of soil to give you a good harvest. Soil is the key to your healthy plants. As long as the soil is well aerated, roots will colonize the entire container. So make sure you have plenty of organic matter in your soil to help the process along.

I’m Rooting for You

It might seem simple but, you need to think about the root system of the crop you want to grow. Not all plants will succeed in a 4 inch pot. Only certain types of carrots will work and tomatoes will not work at all!

How do you know what a plant’s root system will become? If you’ve grown it in a conventional garden then you probably have a good idea. You are looking for plants that have a shallow root system and ones that spread instead of grow with a taproot. The Sustainable Farmer is providing a link to Root Development of Vegetable Crops by Weaver and Bruner. This was originally published in 1927 and has fantastic information. Otherwise -Google root depth and look to see that the universities are saying.

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Growing on the Wide Side

Plant roots like to be able to spread out. They don’t appreciate being crowded. If you have ever purchased a root bound plant in a 4 inch pot, you know what I’m talking about. There is only so much growing a plant will do in one of those 4×4 nursery pots. Your plants will benefit from some container width while growing.

I recently planted a salad bowl container that is 4 inches deep and 12 inches wide. It will provide the depth and width I need to grow one crop of mustard greens, leaf lettuce and spinach.

Be adventurous with your gardening style this year, push the boundaries! Plant something in a 4 inch container. Here are our suggestions for growing herbs and container vegetable gardening in 4 inch pots -Happy Growing!