Container Gardening

Some of us don’t have room for a garden, but almost everyone has room for a container or two. I decided I should grow some things in containers to prove to myself that it’s worthwhile. I have three containers planted, and am already enjoying the results.

A salad is a joyful thing, especially when it’s really fresh, so I planted a container of lettuce. The tall one is puntarelle, an heirloom Italian bitter salad green; the flavor is very bright and quite bitter, but pleasantly so. It’s trying to bolt, so I took the picture then harvested most of it. Also in the pot are “Speckled Amish” butterhead lettuce, and some lettuce seedlings. I’ll be able to supplement salads pretty much all summer so long as I keep this pot well watered. Having this just outside the kitchen door makes it easy to harvest, even if it’s raining.

I want to put up some tomato sauce this year, although I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever have any sunny days here in Portland. This container was planted for tomato sauce, with a San Marzano tomato plant, some Italian parsley, red onion, and garlic. I had also planted basil in the pot, but the monsoon rains we’ve been having drowned all the basil–I’ll have to try again if we see the sun.

The onion and garlic in this pot are kitchen volunteers. You know how sometimes garlic and onions sprout before you get around to using them? I had that happen, so I stuck them in a small container with some dirt and covered them with a plastic bag. Within a week I had healthy-looking growth, so I transplanted them to the large container and added the tomato and parsley starters. Both seem to be doing well. I’ll be interested to see whether I have usable garlic or onion later this year.

Speaking of kitchen volunteers, I had a piece of ginger with what looked to be a fresh knob, so I set it on top of some dirt under a plastic bag. It appears to be rooting, so I’ll transplant it soon. Wouldn’t it be nice to have ginger any time you want it without having to pay for it?

Finally, I thought it would be nice to have things I need to make stock, particularly carrots, celery, and onions. The celery is in the garden, but I decided I’d plant a pot with some onions and carrots. Just to make it useful sooner rather than later, I planted some radish seeds with the carrot seeds so that I could have two crops from the same space.

Here you can see the onions in the center surrounded by harvestable radishes. Underneath the radish leaves are carrot seedlings. Just after taking this picture I harvested about half the radishes. They have much brighter color than the ones you can buy in stores, and are quite sweet. I expect to have Nantes carrots this fall out of this container–the seedlings look pretty healthy.

These three pots are just examples of what can be done in containers. You won’t be able to achieve self-sufficiency with a few containers, but you’ll be able to have a few fresh-from-the-garden veggies to supplement your purchases. And you’ll have the satisfaction of having grown them yourself!