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Comment by stevekemp | Hacker News Reader

Off-topic but I have to say that potatoes are incredibly easy to grow, and doing so is very worthwhile.

I have a small planter on my balcony at the moment which is thriving with leaves, and in a few weeks I'll dig out the harvest to see what I got. People grow them in very poor soil, and even in literal bags of compost, or buckets. They're easy-going and almost trouble-free.

Growing chillis, tomatoes, or herbs on window-sills is kinda fun and rewarding, but growing a "proper crop" feels even more rewarding. And surprising because you have to wait until you dig things up to see how well you did!

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All with you on the general idea that growing potatoes is easy and great. That being said, just a detail:

> People grow them in very poor soil, and even in literal bags of compost

a bag of compost is pretty much the exact opposite of "very poor soil"; it's about the richest soil there is.

Indeed, the point there as you don't need a planter. Literally just a plastic bag of soil bought from a hardware/gardening store.

Of course the "new soil" would be full of nutrients, etc, it was more that this is possible even if you don't have a garden, or other hardware. (Similar intent behind mentioning the use of buckets!)

My wife and I did the same with two planters outside my apartment, first time trying our hand at container gardening. We are about 10ish days from harvest and exited to see what happened. If the amount and health of the leaves are any indication, we should pull a meal or two's worth out of it for what amounted to very little effort and care. Fingers crossed!

We tried carrots, but they came out very stunted, even accounting that they were a smaller variety. The container we used was likely too shallow.

Does anyone have other vegetable suggestions for us apartment-dwelling container growers to try? We have a few different size containers available ranging from about (in inches) 12x12x36 to 24x24x24 and space for more.

Try dwarf French beans.

Exciting times!

I have to say I grew cucumbers for the first time last year, and they were surprisingly good. Otherwise the only other thing that comes to mind immediately is Strawberries, which are also tasty and not so hard to keep up with.

The most productive things I grow (temperate/cool climate in coastal BC) and then actually eat/enjoy:

- Zucchini always grows more than we can use, but they're really good. I pick them very small (~6") so the plant continues producing and growing more

- Chard grows year-round and is very resilient and low-maintenance. It's great in casseroles, soups, sautees, and other cooked formats

- Kale is similar. It'll just keep on giving

- Bush beans are amazing in summer, and if you've got vertical space, pole beans can be incredible producers too. My 8 foot raised bed has a single row of pole beans, and I've been harvesting from them for about 6 weeks with plenty more to come. This single row is very densely planted, but I feed it heavily and ensure it's fully exposed to the sun. With enough nutrients and water, you'll get pounds of beans. Again I pick them relatively small and often

- Nasturtiums make a beautiful flower but the leaves and flowers are incredible in salads, and their seed pods can be used to make a really delicious pickle/ferment as well. Throw them in hanging baskets and use them to make fun salads

- Scallions are a fun one that can be densely planted and only need 6" or so of depth. Bulb onions can be a bit more sensitive and demanding, but scallions are pretty easy going. I stagger the plantings throughout spring so I can harvest bunches of them every few weeks. They never seem to do poorly

I grow lots of other stuff but I don't always eat or enjoy them as much as these things. One exception is lettuces and other greens/herbs, but I grow those hydroponically indoors because it allows for a system that makes timing and harvesting much easier so I'm more likely to ensure it doesn't go to waste

I forgot to mention that I tried Kale but as soon as it started sprouting, the local chipmunks dug it all up, but left the carrots and potatoes alone. I'll have to build a cage next season.

Definitely add your other suggestions to the list. We are in Michigan, US, so harvest is soon, then Winter, so plenty of time to plan and prep as we learn more about container gardening.

To get long slender carrots like you see at the supermarket I think you need deep very loose soil. My dad gardened for years and never had good luck with carrots. Our soil was just too heavy (a lot of clay) and even with the addition of a lot of sand they always grew fat and stumpy. He grew them every year regardless.

Garlic takes a long time, but it's easy and doesn't take up much space. It also repels some critters that might otherwise help themselves to your crops.

I second the garlic recommendation here. It is more tolerant to nutrient and water variability than most crops. Slugs and many other pests won’t bother it.

If you do give it regular fertilizer and water then you can plant it extremely densely, seeding just a few inches apart. Great for apartment dwellers with raised bed or container gardens.

We plant around Halloween and harvest in early July. That leaves time and space for a late summer crop if you wish.

Also, garlic stores very well. We harvest about 100 bulbs each year from a small plot, maybe 2-3 sq m., and that gives us garlic for a year, fresh, cured, minced (into butter or pesto), and for gifts.

And don’t even get me started on how amazing and versatile garlic scapes are. The scape harvest is its own prized crop!

Added: I’m in Vancouver. Garlic seems to love the overwintering process here, usually with some light snow.

One of the most gratifying things I've done in the garden was grow a potato tower. The first time I used a variety which doesn't root out very well from stems, so the results were really disappointing. A few years later I figured out my mistake and tried with a more suitable variety, and it was like a vertical potato farm in a 1.5m radius. We were so excited with how many potatoes came out, haha. I never expected knocking down a pile of soil and discovering potatoes to be so exhilarating. Especially after the first run was such a disappointment

I threw potatoes into the back part of my yard without burying them or tending them in any way and they did quiet well. Ended up dying from a freeze, I think I will throw them more strategically next time.

I tried planting ones I've left in storage for too long once, even buried them a bit underground. The next day the only thing left was snail trails ):

Where I am it's often not warm and dry enough through summer for chillies and tomatoes. If there are a few cooler, wetter weeks then they do poorly.

Potatoes are a bit better in that respect.

But in poor weather conditions, blight can easily set in on the potatoes and tomatoes. Which makes it a lot less worthwhile.

That’s essentially half the plot of the Martian, they were pretty “easy” to grow. ;)

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