Compact Crops I'm Growing This Year 🍅🪴 Perfect For Containers & Small Spaces!

[@DennisD-yv4ys]

Definitely doing alot more flowers this year! Hummingbirds liked my zinnias ☺️

[@TheRecklessGarden]

Those little apple trees are awesome! And you are going to love Tiny Tim Tomatoes - such a good variety!! :)

[@LindaLolaa]

I grew tiny Tim last year and it was fun! The seedlings are so cute. I noticed that they probably wanted more space than they are advertised. I put them in 8-10 inch containers and they did fine, but then struggled when starting to put out fruit and so I want to try them in 12 inch containers this year. I think interplanting them is a great idea!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you!! I’ll use 12” pots too. Did you start yours 10 weeks before last frost? That seems to early to me!

[@LindaLolaa]

@@ChicagoGardener I think that is too early! I started them with my other indeterminate cherry tomatoes around March 15th so around that 6-8 weeks before planting out. They had fruit on them by June.

[@TheFitGarden]

I can't wait to grow Tiny Tim this year! (for the first time)

[@Barbiegardener]

I grabbed two of the strawberry shortcake raspberries that you had mentioned last year! I’m so excited to have my own raspberries. I have them under grow light and are doing great! I grew KAJARI Melons from Baker Creek seeds last year. They are very tasty small melons. They are beautiful. They are orange, green and white striped and when they ripen, they turn a copper color and fall off the vine… and they fall off within days of turning ripe! It’s a no-brainer trying to figure out if it’s ripe or not they tell you! I love this. I’m gardening in a small space and maximizing every bit of sunlight and gardening I can! Loving in NW IN… close to the City! Happy growing! 🎉

[@ChicagoGardener]

Which part of IN? I’m grew up in Chesterton!

[@estreetangel]

I thoroughly agree about the Kajari Melons. I grew them last year and plan to do so this year. And I'm also in zone 6 in MA, a or b, I can never remember.

[@Barbiegardener]

@@ChicagoGardenerCedar Lake! I am also gonna try those yellow cherry tomatoes. I’m dying to plant something! I just seeded some panties, Johnny jump up, and some shallots! Going to experiment with them!

[@maoisn]

Figs are super easy to root cuttings and are available everywhere. Never pay more than say $10 to $20 for a cutting. $65 for one is insane! Figs do really well in containers.

[@sallygomez1044]

I grew tiny Tim's in small 1 gallon pots last year and they took forever to mature and the yield wasn't great. I'm going to try again this year in 5 gallon pots and see how they do.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Someone recommended a 12” diameter pot. I’m definitely going to be using a larger pot than I expected for them 😆

[@estreetangel]

I grew a Micro Tom tomato under grow lights in the house last winter. I started getting ripe tomatoes about Feb. and I put it outside in late May. That plant produced tomatoes at least into August. I love Slenderette bush beans! So very slender and tender. And I love the Royal Burgundy bush beans, too. It's so easy to see them among the leaves to easily pick them. One disappointment is that they turn green when cooked. I had looked forward to serving a colorful bowl of green, yellow, and purple beans. Bush Beans can be planted 9 to a 12 sq. inch space according to Square Foot Gardening principles, 3 rows of 3, so you can probably plant them even closer than you thought. I grew Sugar Baby Watermelons a couple of times. The first year I got 3 melons, the next year they didn't even grow. My seeds must've been too old. I can't wait to see how your melon plants grow this summer. I love your columnar apple trees! I'm not brave enough to try that yet so I will watch and see how yours do this year, how fast they grow and what yield you get. If you'd like inspiration on pretty container plantings of veggies and flowers, you might like this book, "Easy Container Combos: Vegetables & Flowers" by Pamela Crawford and Barbara Iderosa.

[@tmbrye2]

Thanks for the useful info! I'm very excited for you and can't wait to see your garage deck filled with vegetables!

[@ChicagoGardener]

I’m so excited to get planting!!

[@JoN.554]

This will be my 4th year growing Tiny Tim tomatoes. I do generally start under grow lights about 10 weeks ahead of planting out in my Greenstalk (tier) planter. It is not unusual to have some flowering and even setting fruit by the time they get outside. I try to hold out for night time temperatures approaching 50. They consistently produce 40 to 60 friuts per very compact plant, ripening from June through September here in NW Oregon.

[@TheeJoieDeVivreGarden]

Great video! Happy Gardening! 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you! Happy gardening to you too!

[@markg454]

Great episode. I too have gone to a larger volume of grow bags because of the rapid drying-out of 5 gallon bags. Cheers.

[@ChicagoGardener]

None of my plants seemed to enjoy the 5 gallon size!

[@flowerpixel]

Great idea for a video! I love zucchini and didn't know they made cute small ones

[@ChicagoGardener]

I love the little round ones so much!!

[@PuthyvanGarden]

Thank for sharing

[@tracyflowers2797]

You are going to love the yellow patio tomatoes. They will produce all summer and look lovely. The sugar cube cantaloupe is a winner as well. I’m in 6b, Michigan.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Aaah im so excited now!!!

[@yesidtac7863]

Muy buen video

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you!!

[@bakerwannabe4435]

Thank you for the information. I’m planting a small balcony garden in the desert Zone 9B.

[@ChicagoGardener]

I’m jealous of how long a growing season you have!

[@bakerwannabe4435]

@ Don’t be. Our summer is long and very hot 🤣🥵

[@user-rosesroses]

Like your gardening. Good info.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Thank you!!

[@amyp6387]

I did tiny tims last year and they were great! I ignored spacing and put 4 in a window box ! I also put 2 in larger containers, and honestly the window box ones got nearly as big (maybe 85%?)

[@Marw123]

Love the thought if "random mishmash". That's fun to do. Haven't seen the entire video, but im going to say it was great anyway :)

[@ChicagoGardener]

Mishmash is the only category I can fit the rest into 😆

[@susannewlove2115]

Are you familiar with the Love In A Puff vine? Each little puff that dries in the fall contains 3 little round black seeds with a cream colored heart pattern. So cute. They don’t produce a beautiful showy flower but the puffs are fun! Google images will show you more examples❤️

[@ChicagoGardener]

I’ve seen it but never grown it but I need to bc it’s adorable!

[@GardenInspiredLiving]

I’d love to try the columnar apples, I had an espalier w/4 types of grafted apples on 1 tree but it got unruly w lots of pests and rotten apples, so I had to get rid of it but a columnar seems more manageable and easier to prune if necessary and maintain! Thanks for the video!

[@ChicagoGardener]

Columnars have been easy so far!

[@NormaMiller-fe8rl]

I've had problems growing larger tomatoes in containers too. I was reminded that cucumbers and tomatoes need to be at least 3 feet apart, which is hard for small gardens. But even at 3 ft apart, the larger tomatoes still didn't produce well. So I did the same and switched to cherry size tomatoes since I enjoy eating those as much as any other size, especially since I can get a number of great heirloom varieties of larger sized tomatoes at the farmers market. For cucumbers, I love growing the "snacker" size from Proven Winners (delish!). It seems the smaller versions yield more veg / fruit for me, even when planted only 3 ft apart (about my max for where I can or want to plant veg).

[@ChicagoGardener]

I’ll have to try the snackers!

[@NormaMiller-fe8rl]

@ChicagoGardener I think you will really like them! I found the bush type of cucumbers to have a bitter skin, but the snackers are like the small Persian cucumbers you buy in the store but even more tasty when grown yourself! I can easily eat several in a day just as a snack. Lol

[@lorrainewallace-du7sb]

Love your videos and you inspire me to grow more. Question: would you like the brand of grow bags you use?

[@ChicagoGardener]

The most durable ones I’ve used are bootstrap farmer. I also like the color options they come in!

[@Wellbaby94]

My patio choice yellow tomatoes did great last year, but they got far bigger than the package stated.

[@ChicagoGardener]

That seems to be the experience for everyone! I thought I was going to be able to put this in small pots 😆

[@carollewinson1555]

Good choices! I’m going to try the cute round zucchini vs the traditional this year. Do you ever have issues with squash vine borers? I unfortunately had trouble for the first time last season. My Chicago Hardy Fig’s tag says it thrives in zone 5-10….. Hardy to 10 degrees F. It’s in my garage now but I wonder if I could keep it in a protected corner on my deck in a greenhouse that I fill with straw to insulate it. It grew a lot last season and feel it’s second year will make it difficult to move.

[@donbirkholz6842]

You might want to try the dwarf fig varieties (Fignomenal or Little Ruby). The Fignomenal fig is a dwarf mutation of the Chicago Hardy. Hardy Chicago is not supposed to have a Breba crop (on last year's wood, but mine had some this year.) The Little Ruby (Starks) has a good Breba crop and the main crop may also ripen in Chicago. Hardy Chicago's main crop might also ripen in Chicago. Burpee has an "On Deck Hybrid" sweet corn for containers. You might look for a pear that is self fertile and budded on Quince (dwarfing). Half the pear varieties are not compatible on Quince.

[@ChicagoGardener]

I have to get a Fignominal! Where do you get yours from?

[@donbirkholz6842]

@@ChicagoGardener I will probably get one from Burpee's.

[@DawnRK3204]

I love patio choice yellow, but mine grew to almost 3 ft.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Omg!! Do you remember how wide it got?

[@DawnRK3204]

@@ChicagoGardener about 2 ft. Mine was in a container, so totally doable. I love this tomato.

[@LittleIowa]

Could you tell us what type of pot that you use when leaving fruit trees outdoors? I had a dwarf cherry tree that was in a frost resistant pot and it still died on me.

[@ChicagoGardener]

Right now, mine are in the garage in their nursery pots bc I didn’t get around to planting them up. I’m thinking of using resin pots though so I can’t still (hopefully) move them around. I plan to move my fruit trees up against the brick wall and put some sort of insulation around the pots.

[@LittleIowa]

@ChicagoGardener Thank you

[@newt52864]

You may have answered this ...where do you pick up your grow bags ? May try those this year :)

[@ChicagoGardener]

My favorite ones are from bootstrap farmer!

[@newt52864]

@@ChicagoGardener thanks :)

[@modelno2004]

No peppers?? I thought you had a few jalapeños last year, not interested this season?

[@ChicagoGardener]

My peppers I get as starts from the garden center bc I don’t want to take the time to start them from seed when I only grow a few 😆

[@modelno2004]

@ ohhhh that’s right!

[@ilonagardens]

❤💚🪴💚❤

[@carmajo2500]

😊🎉❤