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I live in the Caribbean, and I have 400 square feet of outdoor space where I can put all types of pots (it's concrete). So lately I've been interested in growing some potted plants that bear fruit or vegetables.

Unfortunately, I haven't found local businesses that sell these types of plants. I also haven't found local businesses that can guide me in the right direction.

So my last resort is going online, but I have no idea where to start.

I also wanted to add that I don't want to do any more trial-and-error. A few weeks ago I grew a small avocado seed, thinking it would grow something. Thanks to a member here, I learned that it would grow into a nice plant, but it wouldn't grow fruit. I'm going to take care of it so it grows healthy, but it's now what I was looking for.

Essentially, I want to contact an online store and tell them my situation so that they can suggest what I can plant. I'm starting with this now, so I'm not picky.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

rbhat
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  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's a shopping question; see https://gardening.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/285/teaching-a-man-to-fish-garden-and-shop and https://gardening.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/634/do-we-really-want-questions-asking-for-off-site-resources for more information. – Niall C. Jun 26 '18 at 16:53
  • I am not understanding why this would not be on topic. I think this an outstanding question. We need to start imagining how to grow 'globally' not just locally...us 'experts' anyway. I had no idea that nurseries, local nurseries, would not have appropriate human food making plants for sale. That is nuts. Same with India. Packed population means few have access to garden soil. The only way they are able to grow food, grow any plants at all is by pots. Pots have to have potting soil and there isn't potting soil to be found in India. Selling potting soil in India would be phenomenal. – stormy Jul 13 '18 at 00:26
  • @rbhat could you send a print out of one of your nurseries' MENU selection? This is a real problem; available resources. We all should be able to grow our own food, learning to grow our own food in pots is a measure of security beyond "Food Forests" one of US's new fads.... When we are trying to grow our own food in pots, the information becomes far more exacting. I want to know that we are teaching how to do just that. Available resources are vastly different between countries. This site is VAST in scope. There are few and fewer people with the ability to multi task and overlap sciences – stormy Jul 13 '18 at 00:35
  • List the vegetables you'd like to grow...certainly there are many more options than you've been led to believe. I mean...the Caribbean? For real? Mind boggling! – stormy Jul 13 '18 at 00:51
  • @rbhat I wouldn't be thinking about tree fruits with your space. There are mangoes and avocados galore already. Those pots with potting soil should be able to grow ANYTHING! Brassicas, Solanaceae (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes), curcubits...oh my! Seeds are not planted in big pots. Seeds are planted in potting soil in tiny pots (1X2"), when the plant's roots peek from the bottom they are up potted to 3X4" pots in potting soil. At that time they need a bit of balanced NPK. When the roots show in the drain holes those plants are up potted to 1 gallon or 6". Baby plants need tiny amt soil. – stormy Jul 13 '18 at 01:18

2 Answers2

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Prickly pears (Opuntia spp.) have edible fruits (tunas) and pads (nopales). One of the most commonly eaten and widespread species, Opuntia ficus-indica, is available in spineless varieties. Propagation is very easy: just take a pad, stick it in some dirt, and wait. It's a prolific grower, so even if you start with one plant, you can have several before too long. It's actually invasive in some parts of the world, so take care that it doesn't get out of control. Even if it's in a pot, it can still drop pads to create new plants.

It's a very common plant, and there are lots of places selling cuttings online if you can't get one in person. It's much easier to start with a cutting than it is to grow seeds.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/opuntiaficusindica.html

Also, an avocado tree grown from a pit can eventually produce fruit, but only after about 10 years, and the fruit probably won't be very good. Also, it helps to have a Type A and a Type B to cross pollinate, as their flowers open at different times. You can also use a pit-grown avocado as rootstock and graft another variety onto it, which can give better fruit much earlier.

cg_
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Not plants IN pots, no; although they may be supplied in pots, you'd need to buy your own larger pots for growing them properly, but you can certainly grow some fruit and vegetables in pots, though by no means all. Where you live, I'm not sure what you'd want to grow, and the usual 'patio' fruiting trees (apple, pear, cherry, sometimes plum) available here in much cooler northern climes will likely not be suitable for your climate. I note you have applied the 'houseplant' tag to your question, but these sort of plants should be grown outdoors, not inside, unless its a green or growing house. The houseplant tag means plants grown indoors, not any plant in a pot.

Probably the way to approach it is to decide what you'd like to grow, then look up each one individually to see what the growing requirements are and how big the plants get. Even a small fruiting tree needs to be a dwarf or patio version to grow successfully in a pot, but many vegetables you can start yourself from seed and transfer into your pots when they're large enough. Candidates for that in the UK would include French or dwarf beans, radish, potato. salad crops and in summer, peppers, but you should ensure that whatever you choose, the pot you grow it in is the right size, and large/deep enough for any root crops like carrots or potatoes. Some guidance as to how to grow here, but the crops they mention may not be appropriate for your climate https://www.gardeningdirect.co.uk/how-to-grow-fruit-and-veg-in-containers

Bamboo
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  • That's the thing: I would like to grow anything that bears something that can be consumed. I can also buy larger pots if needed. But I don't want to grow seeds without knowing if it will eventually grow something (like the avocado seed). – rbhat Jun 26 '18 at 13:33
  • What I'm looking is for someone to tell me what I should buy, and hope that it grows _knowing_ that it **will grow** if I take of it properly. – rbhat Jun 26 '18 at 13:33