Given a large enough pot, nearly all varieties of tomatoes are suitable for container gardening; however, some will yield better results than others.

What Size Tomato is Best for Container Gardening?

The large beefsteak tomatoes like Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine and Celebrity may not yield the super-sized fruits when confined to a container, although properly watered and fertilized, the flavor can be every bit as good as the 1-2 pound fruits the plants might produce planted in the ground.

Cherry and grape varieties suffer least from the dwarfing effects of container gardening tomatoes. The smaller fruits are naturally more adapted to the limited water and nutrient environment of a container. Tomatoes bred for container gardening include Tumbler, Window Box Roma, Florida Basket, Tiny Tim and Patio. The largest of these produce 2- to 3-ounce tomatoes. Tumbling Tom, a newer tomato hybridized for container gardening, grows only 6 inches wide, making it a perfect focal point plant in a container herb garden.

More on Choosing Tomato Cultivars for Container Gardening

Nearly every vegetable has at least one variety suitable for container gardening. These have less extensive root systems that can maximize the nutrients in the potting mix. Often, the plants are bred to be smaller than their heirloom counterparts, but some vegetables are adapted to containers no matter what variety. County Extension Offices are an excellent source of container gardening tips for novice vegetable gardeners looking for tested information on what varieties of vegetables grow in container gardens in their region.

Greens in a Vegetable Container Garden

Salad greens are a nearly foolproof in a vegetable container garden. They have shallow root systems, allowing them to be planted in shallower planters or as an accent plant in a larger vegetable container garden. Leaf lettuce or spinach can act as a mock groundcover or living mulch around other plants.

More on Choosing Vegetables for Container Gardens

Now if you already have your flower garden design and now you need to come up with a vegetable garden design, there are a few things that you are going to want to think about so that you can come up with the perfect design. There are a few steps that you are going to have to follow in order to make sure that you have the best vegetable garden design.

Choosing the Location

The first, and certainly one of the most important decisions that you are going to have to make is in the choosing of the location for your vegetable garden design. You are going to want to pick a spot that is close enough to your house that you can easily get to it. Especially if you have a larger sized yard, you don’t really want to have to walk across the entire yard every single time you want to get to your vegetable garden.

You are going to need to make sure that the garden area is going to receive lots of sunlight on a daily basis, because without enough sunshine the plants are just not going to be able to strive.

More on Vegetable Garden Design: Coming up With the Perfect Design