Carrots are great for growing in deeper containers with a free-draining sand and peat-free compost mix. You can sow successively from early spring and pick as you go. In shallower containers, try rounder-style carrots such as Baby Chantenay, Paris Market, or Atlas. These varietals are good for growing with kids, as they are quick to mature.

Ideal for growing in pots, chilies are perfect window sill veggies that also look great as a table decoration. There are so many different varieties to choose from, depending on how hot you like them. Fiery Flames is a super-hot variety with high yields on a compact plant. Or try the amazing heirloom variety Buena Mulata that starts out purple.

Chilies need regular watering and feeding during the growing season, and you can help with pollination by gently brushing each flower with a small paintbrush. Make sure the weather is at a steady temperature before moving plants from your windowsill to outdoors.

You might not get a huge crop, but you will grow the best potatoes you’ve ever tasted, and it’s especially worthwhile for the early new potatoes. To do so, you’ll need a large bag or a bin. Add a layer of compost with three seed potatoes per bag. As the potatoes send up shoots, add more compost until the bag is full—this is just like earthing them up if you were growing them in the ground. When the plants have flowered, you can simply empty the bag and count how many delicious potatoes you’ve grown.

Supermarket cucumbers lack the crunch and flavour you can get from a home-grown one. Cucumbers are climbers and quite prolific, so you will need a large pot and a strong support system or trellis for your plant to clamber up. Amaze your friends with the yellow, round Crystal Lemon cucumber or opt for Picolino, which is good for smaller spaces—even hanging baskets with good resistance against powdery mildew.

Choose a sheltered position in full sun, a large container, or grow bags, and rich peat-free compost. Plant tomatoes next to a cane for support and tie them in as they grow, or choose tumbling varieties to trail over the edges. Look for varietals with good disease resistance; it’s so disheartening when your crops are decimated.

Gardeners’ Delight is a very tasty cherry variety, easy to grow, and so reliable, making it great for first-time growers. Try compact trailing tomatoes for hanging baskets, like Tiny Tim or Supersweet 100. Feed and water regularly through the season as the fruits develop.

Chamberlain recommends Purple Knight and White Knight for pots because of their compact size and longer, productive season. The fruits are long and thin versions of traditional eggplants, so you’ll experience less damage as the plant gets heavier.

Beans look great on the vine and are easy to spot when they’re ripe for picking. Choose a large, deep container so the roots have plenty of room. Try climbing Cobra, a newer variety with stringless pods up to 8 inches long. Blauhilde is another productive, disease-resistant purple bean, and yellow beans look great in summer salads–try Golden Mine, which has a really high yield.

This small, compact, lesser-known leafy perennial is great for growing in pots. The fresh green leaves with rich red patterning are highly ornamental. It’s reliably cut and come again, and you can use the tangy-flavoured leaves in salads, stir-fries or soups, or serve like spinach. It’s also a good choice for a shadier area. Grow from seed or get a division from a friend’s pot.

While rhubarb is not technically a vegetable, it’s a great grow-your-own choice for a large pot. This plant is a perennial and will die back over winter, with the lovely pink new growth returning the following spring. Victoria is one of the only varieties that will keep producing lovely edible stems from March right through to October.

Rhubarb foliage is also very attractive in its own right, making a lush display among a collection of pots—just remember that only the stems are edible!

If you don’t want an oversupply of squash, grow them in a container, which will limit their growth and productivity. They need a larger, deep pot, and you can also pick the flowers for cooking. Choose more unusual varieties, such as the yellow Golden Zucchini—the looks great both on the plant and the plate.