Question
QUESTION: Hello there, how are you going? My name is Christina, and I live in Australia. Thank you for taking the time to answer this question. Vegetable prices have gone up really high at the moment in Australia, because we are having a drought, and I was thinking about growing some vegetables in pots. I was wondering if you think that would be a good idea, and which kinds of vegetables do you think are best? Is it hard? Also, I heard that you can grow lettuces in a pot, and I was wondering how this could be- like wouldn't a pot only fit about 4 lettuces or so, before the pot was full- and does that mean you would only get 4 lettuces every couple of months or so, by the time the next lettuces grew back, or is there a way to have lettuces all year round out of pots, do they grow back quickly once you cut them off to eat, or do they take months to grow back? Thank you so very much for your time, I do appreciate it a lot :-)

ANSWER: Hello Australia.
The size of the container needed depends on which plants you grow. But it must have drainage holes. The larger containers will give you plenty of room to grow more food.
Fill the container with a good potting mix. Don't use garden soil which will pack down too tightly with repeated watering.
When choosing which vegetable to grow, remember that compact or dwarf cultivars are generally the best choice for containers.
Some vegetables that are well adapted to containers are:
Bush beans, short rooted carrots, bush cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce, onion, peas with a trellis, pepper, radish, tomato, watercress, spinach, radish, chive, and celery.
Lettuce is very easy to grow in containers and looks as great as it tastes. try a packet of a "cutting mix" which contains several kinds of lettuce (with green and red leaves) along with other spicy salad greens such as mustard mizuna, and angula. With these cutting mixes, you just plant the seed rather thickly, then cut handfuls with scissors as the lettuce grows. After cutting, the plants will grow back quickly.
Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to grow enough food in containers to make a big dent in your food budget. But it is nice to have the fresh choices so handy when you want them. It can be fun to see how well you can get them to grow. Also try some cooking herbs, and flowers, in with the vegetables.

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QUESTION: Hello, and thank you so VERY much for your answer, I do appreciate it a lot, and it was most helpful. Is it okay if I ask one more question? I was wondering what size garden bed do you reckon I would need, to grow a decent size kinda vegetable patch, so that it would be enough to make a dent in the old food bill. We have got a big back yard you see, and Im sure my Dad would let me dig some of it up, if I told him it would help with the food bill :-), Thanks heaps for your time

Answer
Since I don't know what vegetables you like, and how many, I am going to answer your question with this good advice.
Go to amazon.com and buy  "ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING" by Mel Bartholomew. This is my favorite book about anything to do with vegetable gardening. He explains a raised bed system that is great. You can plan out how much room you will need by the size of the plants you put in your beds. And you will be able to estimate the amount of food your family will use. He also expains, in detail, how to plant, and maintain the garden.
I hope you read it. It will answer all of your questions, and give easy to follow advice for a great garden.