Mini Vegetables for Container Gardening: Best Varieties and Pot Sizes

Quick Summary: Mini vegetables like ‘Tom Thumb’ peas, ‘Patio Baby’ eggplant, ‘Bambino’ carrots, and alpine strawberries are ideal for balcony and patio container gardens. Most need pots at least 10 to 12 inches in diameter and 8 to 12 inches deep, depending on the crop. Read time: 6 min | Experience level: Beginner

Jump to: What are Baby Vegetables? | Why Grow Baby Vegetables? | Best Mini Veggies for Containers | Recommended Container Sizes | FAQ

Although I grow vegetables on 23 acres at HeathGlen Organic Farm in Minnesota, I’ve been testing balcony and patio container setups to share with my farmers market customers what actually works in small spaces.

Mini vegetables (also called baby vegetables) are ideal for containers because they mature at a compact size while still producing a real harvest. This guide covers my favorite mini varieties and the container sizes they need to thrive.

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What Are Baby Vegetables (aka Mini-Vegetables)?

As the name suggests, baby vegetables are tiny versions of the common “regular” veggies. There are loads of different baby vegetables, but they can be divided into two main groups based on how they’re produced.

Baby vegetables (or mini vegetables) typically fall into one of these categories:

Selectively bred dwarf varieties

Dwarf varieties will always produce smaller fruit (and often a smaller plant). Examples would include:

• determinate patio type of tomatoes
• dwarf carrots,
• dwarf cucumber
• Tom Thumb shelling peas

Vegetables Harvested Early

These are vegetables that are picked earlier than usual, but the plant itself would be a normal size. Examples would include:

• baby spinach & greens
• baby cauliflower
• baby zucchini

Why Grow Mini Vegetables?

The #1 advantage is making the most of a small space.

Shorter root systems make them easier to grow in containers than full-sized veg, and the plants can be placed closer together. Saves room on the balcony or the deck, so you can grow your own food even without a garden plot.

Saving space is not the only benefit of growing baby vegetables. Here are a few other advantages of including these miniature veggies:

• They taste great. The flavor tends to be less bitter, and the vegetables are noticeably more tender.
• They’re so cute! A beautiful baby vegetable salad or crudité platter looks great for Summer entertaining.
• Most are easy to grow, even if you’ve never had a veggie garden before.
• They grow fast and mature quicker. This means you’ll get smaller amounts of produce, but you’ll get it more often—perfect if you don’t like the regular “get nothing for months and then receive a vegetable tsunami” type of gardening.
• Extending the season: You can keep starting new seeds for things like carrots and beets (aka succession planting).
• Variety: growing smaller plants allows you to try more varieties than if you went for full-sized vegetables, so your urban garden will be bursting with colors and textures all summer long.

Best Mini Vegetable Varieties for Container Gardens

These are varieties I’ve tested at HeathGlen Organic Farm. Both the plants and crops stay compact.

Fruiting Vegetables:

• Peas: ‘Tom Thumb’ – 8 to 9″ tall, grown mainly as a shelling type, but the pods are also sweet & tender when harvested very young. Heirloom, frost tolerant and no staking! Can be grown on a trellis.
• Eggplant: Bambino, Little Prince, Slim Jim, or Patio Baby. 1 plant per container; 2 gal. minimum.
• Peppers: Sweet peppers would include Baby Belle and Yummy. Many chile peppers are small and grow well in pots. Plant 8″ deep in pot of 12 ” diameter.
• Beans: Bush green beans do well in containers (try Dancy or Mini Green). 2″ apart in 18″ pot; Pole beans can be grown on balcony garden but will need a larger container and a trellis system.
• Cucumbers: Bush Pickle and Green Fingers. space 4-6″ apart & use trellis
• Tomatoes: I like ‘Tumbler’ for hanging baskets, ‘Gardeners Delight’ for a red heirloom cherry and ‘Sun Gold’ for a sweet orange cherry, and ‘Bush Beefsteak’ for a large slicer that can be grown in a pot as it is a determinate tomato variety. Plant in 5+ gallon pot or hanging basket

Root Vegetables

• Carrots: Bambino, Thumbelina, or Babette. Plant 8″ deep; 1-2″ apart in pot. Harvest at 4” and sow a few plantings throughout the season for an extended harvest. 
• Radish: all radishes grow well in shallow containers. Sow them 2-3″ apart.
• Beet: ‘Babybeat’ round mini beet with the earliest harvest of all beet varieties. Plant 4-6″ deep; 2-3″ apart in pot

Fruits

• Strawberries: ‘Alpine’ – perennial plants yield continuous harvests of tiny, 3/4 inch berries with an intensely concentrated flavor; no runners and great for hanging baskets.

Flower Bud Vegetables

• Broccoli (broccolini): Small Miracle or Green Midget. Grow in pot with 12″ diameter
• Cauliflower: Igloo or Snowball. Grow 4 plants per 18″ wide pot.

Greens and Herbs

• Bok choy, & Asian greens, spring mixes of lettuce and greens. Lettuce, greens, and herbs grow well in containers, and can be harvested throughout the summer months, as many of them will keep producing after being cut.

Ideas for Larger Balconies and Decks

If your balcony or deck is on the larger side, you will have more options on both varieties and growing methods.

Here are some of my top tips, many of which I expand upon in the post on vertical gardening for small spaces.

• Try some cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.
• Use railing planters for things like mini carrots or beets.
• Wall trellises are perfect for baby pumpkin and squash.
• Use existing “trellises”, like balcony railings, for beans.

Did you know that you can also grow root vegetables such as potatoes, turnips and parsnips? Just make sure that the pots used for your crops are at least 15 inches deep to give the vegetables enough room to grow.

What Size Pot Do You Need for Each Vegetable?

When choosing containers, check the labels or seed packets to see what the mature size of the plant will be. Pots that are too small will not allow enough room for the roots and will diminish the yield. Small pots also dry out quickly, so go as big as you can given your particular space.

Tip: The bigger the container, the lower-maintenance it will be, in particular when it comes to watering and feeding, which you won’t need to do as often.

The chart below relates to mini vegetables in particular, but the information is similar for regular size vegetables.

FAQ

More Ideas for Small Space Gardening:

• A guide for Growing in Containers
• Tips for Pollinating Fruits and Vegetables
• Growing Herbs in Containers or Pots
• Growing Blueberries in Pots
• Balcony Herb Gardens
• Grow Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets

See the Grow Your Own Food category for a comprehensive list of 75+ guides on fruit and vegetable growing.