Hi all. I'm a total newbie to all things green, I live in a house with no real garden, just a lovely stone patio and varanda. I'd like to try planting some easy vegetables and herbs (I'm thinking kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some herbs, things like that), but I'm not sure where to even start!

Would pots on a table be an okay way to do it? Or should I look at building a raised bed to give more soil space? Do I need to worry about drainage? Will I have water running through the pots and then leaking out all over my patio?

My initial plan is to buy a big table to put on the patio, a whole bunch of pots of varying sizes, and a few bags of soil and fertiliser, plus seeds. Am I missing anything obvious?

Thanks in advance!!! Oh, and if anyone knows of a website that explains all this stuff in a simple way for beginners, please let me know! I've looked things up but often get overwhelmed by terms I don't know.

You can google 'instructions on growing in pots for beginner vegetable gardeners' lots of informative sites come up that you can look at for information.

I grow tomatoes in pots every year using large pots right on the patio. The pots I use would be way to heavy for a table and the plants get fairly tall. I use a tomato cage that will fit in my pots to keep the plants upright.

I would not start with seeds your first year as they should have been started already under plant lights. Go to a garden center and start with just a few plants to gain a bit of experience, like a patio tomato which will stay on the smaller side. Ask the garden center which plants would work well in pots as there are other veggies that were bred to be smaller to work in pots. Herbs would work in pots although that is something I do not have experience growing. Would not worry much about some water draining on your patio as the sun and breezes will dry it up in no time, anyway when it rains your patio gets wet.

Welcome to NGA it is a fun place to ask questions. Please add to your profile which state and zone you are located this will make it easier to answer questions.

It might help to know where you live (city/state/country, climate, sun exposure of the patio, prevailing winds are sometimes a factor,
and possibly how fastidious you are about the cleanliness of the patio. Perhaps placing the table, pots or containers just off the patio might save you some stress.

Oc1012,

Welcome!!

😀

Mindi

Thank you!

I live in the southern hemisphere where we have two seasons:

Summer = max 33c (91f) min 18c (65f) and lots of rain
Winter = max 25c (77f) min 10c (50f) and very dry

Our patio is a covered varanda and gets afternoon sun from about 2/3pm to 6/7pm.

Any thoughts?

The only reason I wanted a table is because we have a dog who I think would likely eat/chew/pee on the plants if they're at ground level. But now I'm realising how big and heavy some of the pots need to be, I think it will be easier to buy some fencing and section off an area the dog can't get to.

I would think you would need a lot more sun for plants to grow and produce. Mine get sun most of the day. Not sure about growing in the southern hemisphere. How about neighbors in your area they might have information on growing that they would be willing to share with you. Changing your profile to show where you garden will catch the attention of folks that could give you better insight to your gardening.