Not everyone owns property with a yard suitable for vegetable gardening. You can still grow vegetables, however. Most vegetables grow just fine in containers, window boxes, or small raised beds. When using containers, you get to choose the soil so nematodes, cotton root rot, and other problems are not a concern.
Even vining vegetables such as cucumbers can be grown in containers provided trellises are used to train the plants up instead of out. Fruit grown in such a manner is cleaner than fruit that is in contact with the ground and is less likely to bruise. Root crops such as potatoes and carrots can be grown in large pots that give them room to develop. Just make sure that you can move the pots if necessary and that you do not stack so many pots on a balcony or other structure that you cause it to fail.
Group plants with others who have similar water needs. You do not want to grow a water loving vegetable in the same pot as one that needs little water. One or the other will not do well. You also need to consider the soil ph each plant likes. Blueberries require acid soil and blackberries require alkaline soil. They will not both grow well in the same pot. On the other hand, if you grow them in adjacent pots with the type of soil ph they love, you can have both blueberries and blackberries.
The same type of fertilizer can be used as you would use in a regular vegetable. The easiest way to fertilize, however, is by adding liquid fertilizer to the water you give the plants. Many fertilizers are designed to be delivered this way. Be sure you do not let your plants dry out too much, as containers dry out faster than plants in the ground.
Remember that vegetables need at least six hours of sun on average. Place them where the plants will get that or your crop will not be as good as it could be. When the vegetables are harvested and the plants are spent, throw out the soil and plants, or compost them. Do not turn right around and use the soil again or you could spread pests or disease among your new plants.
