10 Best Small-Space Veggies That Thrive in Containers For a Productive Kitchen Garden on Your Patio or Deck

You don’t need a big backyard to grow your own vegetables any more, because plant breeders have been busy creating small-space veggie varieties that not only thrive in containers but produce abundant crops. No matter how petite your patio or bijou your balcony, container gardening allows you to grow a huge range of veggies in pots to enjoy wholesome harvests of fresh produce. If you’ve been thinking about starting a veggie garden for a while, this is a great way to dip a toe in the water and see if you enjoy kitchen gardening, too.

There are many benefits to growing vegetables in pots besides saving space. For a start, raising your crops – literally! – in containers makes slug control far easier. Paving is a natural deterrent as 95% of slugs live underground. Add rings of conductive copper tape such as this from Amazon around your pots, and you have a second line of defence.

Growing vegetables in containers also means you can easily move them to give your plants exactly the right amount of sun and shade for optimum growth. That’s really handy with veggies because young plants often need plenty of sunlight to grow well in their early stages, but then a little more shade to stop them bolting (running to seed). Even a big container can be moved around easily if you stand it on a plant caddy with lockable wheels such as this dolly cart that holds pots up to 21" from Amazon.

Almost all of these tasty cultivars have been bred specifically to grow in containers, so they produce abundant crops in a small space, in record time. Many are attractive plants in their own right, too, adding aesthetic appeal as well as productive value. And some grow veggies that can be picked and eaten straight from the stem, for delicious patio snacks.

They can all be grown in all-purpose outdoor potting mix, such as this from Amazon, and I've chosen plants that mostly need similar-sized containers and the same plant food, so it's economical to grow a few together.

Which will you choose to grow this summer?

1. Tomato 'Veranda Red'

While many tomato cultivars have been bred to thrive in containers, ‘Veranda Red’ is a favorite for its small and sweet cherry tomatoes perfect for patio snacking. Despite this dwarf variety only growing to 20" high, it produces an abundant harvest, with one plant raising up to 75 tomatoes. And it’s hassle-free to grow: naturally forming a bushy shape, it doesn’t need staking, and there’s no need to pinch out the side shoots either.

Start seeds indoors as they need a temperature of 70–80°F for germination, or skip straight to the good bit with a young plant to pop straight into a 5-gallon pot such as these from Amazon (your dwarf plant will grow fine in a smaller pot but a bigger container means you need to water less often). Or use a self-watering pot such as this from Amazon to give your plant the even moisture it needs for optimum cropping. Feed regularly with a tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato!, available from Amazon, and expect fruit within two months.

2. Corn ‘On Deck’

This is the first sweetcorn cultivar purposefully bred for container gardening, producing 7-8" cobs of sweet-tasting bicolored kernels. For your very own mini corn patch, sow 12–18 seeds in a 20+ gallon container once temperatures are reliably above 55°F, in all zones. Fabric planter bags such as these 25-gallon grow bags from Amazon are a far cheaper alternative to rigid-sided pots, especially when you need a larger size.

While this corn variety has been bred to be self-pollinating, shaking the tassels will help pollination along to ensure dense kernels. You’ll get two or three cobs on each 4–5'-high plant in around two months.

3. Pepper ‘Snackabelle Red’

This mini pepper cultivar is a must for a patio kitchen garden, and adults and kids alike will love the sweet flavour of the petite 2" fruits. Sweet peppers can be a faff to start from seed and typically take 2½ months to start producing, so it’s best to buy a young plant.

You’ll need a 5-gallon pot such as this from Amazon, and plant after the last frost has passed in zones 3–9. Give your pepper plant a feed with a liquid tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato! which is available from Amazon, once a month. You can start harvesting the peppers when they’re green but, for the fullest, sweetest flavor, wait until they ripen to red.

4. Cucumber ‘Patio Snacker’

If you’ve never tasted a freshly picked cucumber before, harvest 'Patio Snacker' fruits while they’re still young and crisp and get ready to be surprised! This vine only grows to 2–3' tall but still produces plenty of 6–7" cucumbers. You can pick them early for a smaller, sweeter patio snack, too.

You’ll need a container of at least 5 gallon capacity such as these from Amazon. Though this is a super-short variety, you’ll still need some trellis to support the vine. Fashion your own from bamboo canes and string or push a container trellis such as these from Amazon into the pot. Make sure your trellis reaches to the bottom of the pot for sturdy support.

Heat is needed for germination so start seeds indoors using a heated seed mat such as this from Amazon, or wait until late May to sow outdoors. Grow it as an annual in a sunny, sheltered spot in zones 2–11 for cucumbers in two months.

5. Okra ‘Baby Bubba’

This dwarf okra variety is only half the height of most others yet still produces full-sized pods. It’s a stunning plant for a patio as it boasts pale yellow hibiscus-like flowers before growing up to 50 erect pods which are an architectural delight in their own right! This cultivar reaches 3–4' high so you’ll need a big pot with a capacity of at least 10 gallons. Fabric pots such as these from Amazon are a really cost-effective option when buying sizeable containers, and okra grows well in them, appreciating the excellent aeration and drainage.

Start from seed outdoors in early May and you’ll have pods in two months. Keep picking and your plant will keep producing till the first frost.

6. Eggplant ‘Patio Baby’

This little aubergine bush reaches just 16–20" and wide but produces plenty of 2–3"-long deep purple fruits. The pale lavender blooms are just as pretty as the mini eggplants, too. Start from seed indoors – they need a minimum of 70°F to germinate so use a heat mat such as this from Amazon – or buy a young plant to put straight into a pot after your last frost date has passed. It’s suitable for all zones as a summer annual but does best in a warm climate so, if you live in a colder state, be sure to give it your sunniest, most sheltered patio spot.

While you can grow eggplant ‘Patio Baby’ in a smaller container, it’s best to give it a 5 gallon pot such as these from Amazon as it’ll be far easier to maintain the consistent moisture this plant likes. This a hungry plant, too, so feed regularly with a liquid tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato!, available from Amazon. It takes around 1½ months to start producing fruit in warm temperatures and up to three months in a cooler climate.

7. Summer Squash ‘Rise and Shine’

This revolutionary variety grows vertically, bringing abundant 4–8"-long squashes. The plant needs a big container and staking – or just use a tomato planter with a sturdy cage such as this metal-trellised container from Amazon. Plants grow to 4' high with huge shapely leaves and bright yellow squashes, so it makes an exciting central feature for a patio kitchen garden.

Sow seeds outdoors after your last frost date in zones 3–9, and your first squash will be ready around 55 days after germination.

8. Carrot ‘Tonga di Parigi’

These little orange delights are round instead of the usual long roots so they’re perfect for a container. The carrots aren’t any less flavorful than their bigger brothers, and are sweet and tender. This variety is an exception to our list of new cultivars as it’s been around since the 19th century, so you know those roots taste good enough to keep growing!

You can start these tough-cookie seeds off before your last frost date in all zones. Seeds can take 2–3 weeks to germinate but don’t worry and keep the compost just-moist and they’ll soon pop up. They’re fast to mature, however, and will be ready to pull in 50–70 days when the roots are 1–2" in diameter. Grow them in a container that’s at least 5 gallons in capacity, like these from Amazon, so it’s easy to keep the potting soil evenly moist, and plant a few seeds every three weeks for a continuous harvest.

9. Bush Bean ‘Porch Pick’

As their name suggests, bush beans don’t need supporting, and this variety only grows to a petite 18" high and wide so is ideal for a patio pot. You can fit four plants into a 5 gallon container (such as these from Amazon) and seeds germinate readily so start them off outdoors once your last frost date has passed. If it’s warm, you’ll see them sprout within a few days, but don’t worry if it takes up to two weeks to see growth.

Because these plants produce all their beans at once – and they do grow plenty of tender 5" green beans – if you want a steady harvest it’s best to succession-sow. This simply means sowing a couple of new seeds every 2–3 weeks.

10. Radish ‘Easter Egg’

The peppery flavor of these bright pink and white radishes varies along with the color so they’re just as much fun to eat as they are to grow. Suitable for zones 3–10, they’re super-fast to germinate and mature, and you’ll be pulling radishes around a month after sowing. They don’t appreciate the midsummer heat, though, so are best for spring and fall crops.

Sow in a container with a capacity of at least 5 gallons such as these from Amazon. Keep the potting soil consistently moist, and sow a few more seeds every 2 weeks for a long harvest.

Because these are so shallow rooted and quick to mature, you can also grow them around the pot perimeter of a bigger, slower-growing plant such as okra or corn.