Growing your own veggies doesn’t mean you have to have a huge yard — vegetable gardening can be done in pots and containers in small spaces as well.

Smithfield Gardens hard goods manager Margie Cooper said a vegetable garden can be successful in small spaces, such as apartment patios, with special care and consideration.

“You can do just about everything in containers that you can in a garden,” she said.

The first step to a successful veggie garden is to choose plants that do not grow to be too big. Cooper recommends selections such as tomatoes, cucumbers, small eggplants and lettuce.

Plants that produce large fruits and vegetables, such as cantaloupes, are hard to manage in a small space.

Also, Cooper said not to plant vegetables together unless you have thoroughly researched the effects of planting them in the same container.

Once you have selected your plants, Cooper said you have to make sure to get pots and containers that are big and deep enough to give the roots a chance to plant firmly and spread in the soil.

“Your plants are only going to be as good as their root system,” she said.

An additional tip to ensure a good root system is to fill your pots with a balanced soil and feed the plants a granular vegetable food once a month.

Cooper said she prefers Fertilome or Happy Frog’s Tiger Bloom, but regardless of the brand, she said you should get something that dissolves quickly.

When the plants are potted, they require at least eight hours of sunlight and plenty of water.

Cooper said making sure the plants have enough water is the most important component to successful container garden. She said plants should get at least one inch of water a week.

“Watering is the main issue when you get into containers,” Cooper said.

Tomatoes are especially sensitive to uneven watering, which can cause the tomatoes to get cracks in them.

“You really need to be really careful,” she said.

To save your plants from the sun, Cooper said, painting the pots light colors can prevent drying out because it will reflect the light instead of absorbing it and drying out the soil.

Cooper said pots can be painted white, or you can chose colors to compliment the plants in the pots.

Painting your containers can make your potted plant garden more aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching.