Liz Dobbs - Container Vegetable Gardening: Growing Crops in Pots in Every Space

No garden? No problem! All you need are a few suitable containers and the right plants. You can grow some of your own food, even if you only have a small outdoor space without any garden soil.

Planting some attractive vegetable plants close to your home and growing them with ornamental flowers can be both practical and beautiful. Youll love picking fresh herbs every day from just outside the kitchen doorthey will be so easy to reach when cooking. You can move the containers around, showing them off at their prime and moving them to a less conspicuous spot when they are at their least attractive. It will also be easier to move them away from nibbling critters or to bring them inside if it gets too cold outside.

Even if you have a large yard, you may still want to grow vegetables in containers if most of your yard is too shady. On the other hand, if your outdoor space is limited to just a balcony, front porch, or even a roof garden, growing vegetables in containers is often the only option available. However, there are more choices than you might have considered, such as using vertical spaces for pouches of fresh herbs.

A flowerpot with rosemary and orange marigolds is an attractive planting suitable for a patio setting with other plants or on its own, perhaps near a kitchen door.

This book aims to offer both inspiration and practical advice, showcasing the best plants to grow in a wide range of containers, from hanging baskets to large planters. There are 34 projects that look as good as they taste and detailed growing advice for more than 40 different vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Even if you have never grown anything before, planting a few herbs or salad greens in containers is a great place to start, and you will be able to enjoy and eat the results within one season. Even gardeners who are familiar with combining flowers and foliage in containers for ornamental displays will find some fresh ideas for being creative with edible plants.

A mixed planting includes French tarragon and red begonias, with frilly-leavedred lettuce making charming edging plants.

The projects have been developed around recipes, where weve put together plantings based on how you would use the harvest in the kitchen, whether it is a Taste of Italy, which provides tomato with basil to make bruschetta, or to have a mixture of mint available to pick. These planting recipes have been divided into three groups. Small Bites covers the fast crops, such as leafy greens and herbs. These will grow in smaller pots or in planting arrangements that look pretty enough to sit on the deck, yet still yield plenty of edibles. Next Bigger Servings looks at increasing the harvest by growing plants in larger planters. Last but not least, the focus on Going UP! is to make the most of vertical space to grow crops, whether it be window boxes of chilies, walls of flowering green beans, or hanging baskets full of tomatoes.