Last week, I talked about raising vegetables organically wherever you can find sunshine and space — and planting vegetables I normally look longingly at and pass over.

I would like to continue our discussion and venture into the world of container gardening. This is an excellent way to raise nutritious, fresh food and expand the vegetable garden, no matter whether you have limited garden space or not.

So what am I saying? If you have very little space but you have a windowsill, a doorstep, a patio or balcony, you can have a vegetable garden.

The following vegetable list and other tips should help you get started. (The numbers following each vegetable indicate the top of the container, measured in inches):

♦Vegetables, which are ideally suited for growing in containers, include tomatoes (large 12, dwarf 8), peppers (10), eggplant (10), green onions (4), bush beans (6), peas (5), okra (10), lettuce (4), squash (14), radishes (4), potatoes (10), cabbage (8), Brussels sprouts (8), cauliflower (8), broccoli (8) and most herbs (5). Pole beans and cucumbers (10 and trellised) also do well in this type of garden.

♦Shop around – you will find a variety of attractive trellises available that will fit in or around a pot.

♦When buying seeds or shopping for plants, most varieties that will do well when planted in a yard garden or raised bed also will do well in containers.

♦Planting healthy plants in containers in a balanced soil mix will help avoid soil-borne diseases, nematodes or poor soil conditions.

♦Many pre-mixed soils are available from garden centers, or you can prepare your own.

To make 1 bushel of soil mix, combine:

1/3 bushel soil

1/3 bushel organic matter (compost, peat moss, well-rotted manure)

1/3 bushel vermiculite or perlite

1/2 cup fertilizer (5-10-5, 6-10-4, or a similar fertilizer formulation)

To make 1 bushel of soil-less mix, combine:

1/2 bushel peat moss

1/2 bushel vermiculite

1/2 cup ground limestone

1/2 cup superphosphate

1 cup fertilizer (5-10-5, 6-10-4, or a similar formulation.)

(Slow-release fertilizer can last 2 to 3 months.)

♦Seeds or plants can be planted in rows or clusters. Obviously, seeds take longer to produce, but the end result is just as rewarding as transplants and the cost is a lot less.

♦You can begin planting your cool-weather containers with radishes, lettuce, peas, anything in the cabbage family, as well as other cool-weather choices in late March or early April.

♦Predictions are that we will have a drier-than-usual year. If this is true, containers can help control water usage.

♦Containers are an imaginative effort and bring out the artist in each of us. Instead of just purchasing that expensive hanging basket filled with flowers, add one or more hanging baskets filled with cherry tomatoes or dwarf cucumbers.

♦Imagine planting an edible sweet potato slip instead of the ornamental one in an extra-large container with some nasturtiums and a few scented plants, such as pineapple mint, lemon mint or other mint cultivar. What a fragrant arrangement this would be, and it would all be edible. As an added benefit, you can collect seeds from the plants and make slips from one of the sweet potatoes for next season's garden.

While you are looking at garden catalogs, keep in mind a container garden — and remember, this is the year to break out of old habits and try new things in the garden.