I want to start a cantainer vegetable garden

I'm in Solana Beach, a coastal town in Southern California.  I want to grow some vegetables on my patio...Corn, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce and probably some flowers.  How do I start?  I'm a beginner and need the, how to, what kind of containers, seeds or plants, soil mix and how to handle the bugs. 

Most vegetables will require at least a half day of sun. Corn is not a good container vegetable. The other plants have potential. Check out seed packets to see how far apart you should space the plants. Most packet spacing is designed for garden rows however. A good book with charts for grid spacing which would be more applicable to pots, if it is still in print, is How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons. (ISBN 0898154154) I would recommend that you get an idea what size pots you will be using to help determine what to plant. If you grow tomatoes, I would recommend starting with plants not seed. A good bagged potting soil should get you started. Other than that, what you grow is both a matter of taste and trial and error.

Thanks, I'll check out the book and give it try.

I like these "Agro-towers". They seem to work well for strawberries. But I think that you will need to add fertilizer throughout the year. Something like Osmicote.



Also these "self-watering" pots that they used to sell at Wal*Mart work well. You can order them from "Gardener's Supply Company".




I live north of you in Leucadia, and I've had more luck making my own potting mix -- of orchid bark, perlite, peat moss, and worm castings -- than either "Supersoil" or "MiracleGro" potting mix.

The main reason for trying to grow some tomatoes is taste.  I'd like to find a taste I remember as a kid in Ohio. Salvialady suggests Celebrity or San Diego for a first try because of taste and they grow well here.  I'd like to star with either one. I'm thinking I may have to start with seeds with tlc and trasplant the plants into a larger container.  In any case where can I find the seeds or plants and when should Istart?

Thanks for the pix. I'm going to look for the towers and the self watering pots. I'm going to have to rely on store bought soil mix. wfb