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How To Select Edible Plants For Containers
Growing your own food can be great fun, save you money and help your carbon footprint by reducing your food miles. But there’s a problem. These days many of us either don’t have the time for a full-blown vegetable plot or don’t have a garden in which to grow crops. However fortunately it is possible to grow a wide range of food in all sorts of containers from window boxes to hanging baskets.
So that being said, what sorts of crops work well in the specialized environment of a container? Principally there are three main factors worthy of consideration:
1) Ease Of Care
Containers are often used by people with limited time but even more importantly they can also be sited in places where they will receive little care. A basket hanging overhead or a window box is unlikely to receive as much regular attention as would plants growing in a garden and furthermore these containers can often be difficult to access.
As a result of this one key consideration when choosing edible plants for container gardening is that they must grow strongly and healthily with the absolute minimum of human input. In an ideal world once these containers are planted up it should be possible to put them in their proper place and virtually leave them to it save for the occasional watering and of course the all important harvesting.
2) Small Stature
It goes without saying that the average container is likely to be of limited size and as a result we need to select edible plants that don’t grow too large. Crops like zucchini, pumpkins and corn can all get too large for the limited confines of a hanging basket or window box and can either struggle to fruit as a result or can drown out any other plants trying to grow alongside.
3) Appearance
Hanging baskets and window boxes shouldn’t just be practical. In an ideal world – and especially if you want to impress your neighbors – your containers should be attractive as well as practical. This may mean making compromises. For example cabbages covered in caterpillars or scruffy garlic may be out of the question though there are still plenty of other edible plants that manage to tick both boxes.
Examples Of Suitable Plants For Containers
Some examples of edible plants you may want to consider adding to your containers include beetroot with their stunning red and purple foliage as well as dwarf tomato plants. Another favorite of mine if rainbow chard with it’s amazing yellow and red stalks though you will have to pick leaves regularly to prevent it growing too large. A range of herbs will grow well in containers such as basil, parsley and chives and there are even flowers that can be safely added to salads including lavender, nasturtium and marigolds.
In short, by carefully considering each of these elements it is entirely possible to create your own tiny little gardens that produce plenty of free food for you while being easy to manage and creating an attractive focal point around your home.
Richard Adams is a UK-based environmentalist who is passionate about finding ways to live more sustainably without having to compromise on your lifestyle. He can be found at his blog EcoLivingAdvice.com or on Twitter.
How To Select Edible Plants For Containers is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag
Modern Hippie Mag is an online resource dedicated to promoting hip, healthy conscious living and environmental sustainability. Featuring engaging articles, podcast interviews and video features, Modern Hippie Mag is “Where it’s hip to BE!”
2012-09-17 19:21:08
Source: http://www.modernhippiemag.com/2012/09/select-edible-plants-containers/
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