If my site logs are on to anything, gardeners are REALLY interested in growing edibles in containers. So here goes nothing. Bear with me on the graphics, I’m having some technical issues behind the scenes. But hopefully they’ll get my ideas across.
Rosemary, Meet My Friend Strawberry
A super easy combo is to plant up a strawberry pot with strawberries in the lower half and rosemary in the top. Start by filling the pot with enough dirt to reach the lowest hole in the pot. Insert the first strawberry transplant and then fill the pot with enough dirt to reach the next hole, and repeat. When you’ve planted the last strawberry, add enough dirt so that the rosemary’s roots will be about 2 inches below the lip of the pot. Place the rosemary in the pot, fill around it with dirt, and voila! You’re done.
When the strawberries are ready to be picked, consider this strawberry and rosemary jam recipe (scroll down to the bottom to see how she tweaked the recipe to include rosemary). If you want extra credit, train your rosemary into a topiary.
Eat Your Beets and Carrots
A really attractive combo of root vegetables is carrots and beets. The finely cut foliage of the carrots contrasts nicely with the bold, dark foliage of beets. I like planting beets in the back of the pot, and then a short variety of carrots in front. As the beet leaves are also edible, you’d be hard pressed to plant a more efficient pot.
More Good Veggie Combos
- Tomatoes and marigolds – Probably the classic vegetable companion combination. Marigolds fight off some of the pests that attack tomato roots.
- Lettuce and Radishes – Ring a pot of lettuce with radishes and you’ll have an attractive salad in the pot and on the plate.
- Mint and Broccoli – Broccoli is actually a pretty attractive plant. Mint will spread around the base of the broccoli, covering the dirt.
- Swiss Chard and Cabbage – The striking white and green of the chard contrasts nicely in both shape and color with the cabbage.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Last year I pretty much just did edibles, but this year I’m growing a lot flowers too. I am doing a big long rectangular planter with different kinds of peppers, nasturtium and calendula. I’m not very experiences doing mixed planters, by my mom assures me that peppers can be crowded a little more than other similar veggies, so I think the yellows, oranges and reds from the flowers will be fun next to peppers of the same colors.
Great ideas! I love the strawberries and rosemary idea
Have you heard/used/seen the biodegradable planters made of bamboo pulp? We will be growing carrots, garlic and peas on our balcony and I was concerned about how much weight it could hold… so heavy planters are out, but the idea of having my food grown in soil contained by leaching, chemically sprayed plastic was a little gross. I found some bamboo pulp containers that I will be trying… but I’m unsure exactly how well they hold up. Any thoughts?
Beetroot is so lovely to grow in the pots – I have it in hanging pots and think it is prettier than the flowers in the other hanging pots! Can’t fit many in but it is worth it. We also have a large pot with broccoli in the middle and snowpeas trellised up the side (well they will be once they grow more) Works well and looks pretty.)
Love the rosemary strawberry idea. So many combinations it is hard to choose what to do.
I’ve got beets planted in a big long container so I’m curious to see how they do being that this is the first time I’m branching out in container gardening. Love your artwork on the rosemary/strawberry container!
ElleDee–Your pepper planter sounds great! Calendula and Nasturtiums are edible, so the whole thing is technically edible, even though most people grow the flowers purely for ornamental reasons.
Lisa–I tried some of them last year. They worked pretty well, although the cheaper ones started to bow a little in the bottom of the pot. Of course this decision is totally up to you, but the chances of anything leaching into the soil from your plastic pots is pretty slim. And if it was a problem, the plants you purchased at the nursery would already be contaminated. I’m sure you could find recycled plastic pots, which might buoy your conscience.
Prue–I agree, beets are one of the prettier vegetables. It’s too bad the actual root has a bad reputation, because it tastes and looks great! Your broccoli and peas pots sounds great too!
Rowena — Thanks! Beets are a good edible to start with, they’re pretty tough. Good luck!
Fern- Thanks
Recycled plastic pots is a great idea!! I hadn’t thought of that (I don’t know why… lol). I will definitely look into it (although we are currently experiencing a snow storm… so I guess planting will wait!).
Great suggestions here Ms. Fern. We do much of the same plantings in the big garden.
I need to redo a strawberry jar. I’m trying the rosemary/strawberry combo. My life needs more of booth. I’ll report back and tell you how I did.
Lisa — Snow should be illegal in April. Where’s global warming when you need it?
TC — Thanks!
Adriana — Can’t wait to see pictures!
I’m just curious, are the combos you suggest put together for visual reasons or do the plants act symbiotically together. If so, how and how do you identify other good combos?
Ariel–Some of them are companion plants (they help eachother perform better) and some I combined because the have the same care requirements. All of them are combinations I think will look good.
For example, rosemary and strawberries both like the same things. Plenty of water in the early part of the growing season and less at the end of the season. Whereas marigolds are good to plant with tomatoes because they fend off soil pests that feed on tomatoes’ roots. I wrote a post about companion plants a while back that you might be interested in: Vegetable and Herb Companion Plants for Container Gardeners.
Thanks for the tips — tomatoes and carrots are also great companion plants for those looking to save space.