Kitchen Garden Planters

Whether you have a small space or a large one, planters are a great way to put the things you love to grow nearby.  Maybe you thought you could never have a kitchen garden at your back door because you lack the space, the light, or the topography to make it work.  Consider planters! Planters are a great way to put your favorite veggies and herbs within easy reach of the house.  They can be moved throughout the season to take advantage of the best light, they can bring a garden to spots that are inhospitable (think rocky areas, spots with heavy clay soil, or sloping land) without the effort or expense of amending soils or creating raised beds, and you can fit a lot into a small space.  You can also get a jump on the growing season by starting them indoors early and moving them outside as the weather warms!

We made this planter using a combination of red romaine lettuce (cascading out of the left side of the planter), marigolds (right side), and Swiss chard (middle) with Red Rubin basil tucked into the front.  The marigolds are edible and repel a number of pests, as does the basil.  This planter gave us plenty of greens for our salads throughout the spring, summer and fall.  And few pests bothered the greens without the need for pesticides.

To add visual interest to your kitchen planter, look for interesting varieties of your favorite plants.  Want basil near your back door?  Try Red Rubin basil to add dark purple foliage to your planter.  Looking for something to trail out of your pot?  Try nasturtiums (which are edible!) or trailing varieties of thyme.  Here are a few more interesting herb varieties to try in your kitchen garden planter:

 Irish Lace Marigold.  This annual herb has lacy leaves and a licorice/anise flavor and smell.  Great contrast to the big bold leaves of salad greens, and it can be used to flavor drinks, teas, and salads.

Dark Opal Basil.  This basil variety is a real standout with very dark, purple leaves.  Stunning in a planter and looks and tastes wonderful in salads or as a garnish.

Mint Varieties.  Mint is a great choice for a planter because it is too invasive to grow directly in your garden.  So win-win!  Mint's strong smell also repels many garden pests, which makes it a good companion to greens and other plants that insects, rabbits, deer and other critters love.  If you're considering mint in your kitchen planter, try some interesting varieties, like lemon mint, orange mint, and even spearmint.

Garlic chives.  Garlic chives are a beautiful perennial herb that sports star-like white flowers in the spring.  Like chives, they are a member of the onion family, but they have a distinct garlic flavor.  The smell also repels insects!

Many vegetables also thrive in planters.  Here are a few ideas:

Bush Tomatoes.  Bush varieties are usually smaller and more densely branched, allowing for more production in a smaller space.  Try Bush Champion, Bush Early Girl, and Bush Goliath.

Pole Beans.  Try adding stakes to a planter and grow vertically!  (We add three stakes and connect them with twine at the top to create a tripod that is more stable.)  Pole beans work well in a vertical planter, and there is plenty of room left in the planter for herbs or other plants.

Peppers.  Peppers are relatively easy to grow in planters, and there are many, many varieties to choose from.  Try some unique and visually interesting varieties like Mocha Swirl (a sweet pepper variety) or Hot Fish (an heirloom hot pepper).  We also love growing in-saaane-ly hot peppers in planters, like ghost hot peppers, Trinidad scorpion hot peppers, or Carolina reapers.  

Mix and match these varieties and channel your creative energies!  With a little planning, you can create beautiful and functional planters that will continue to produce from early spring to winter.  

One last note: do a quick companion planting check before you finalize your plans.  Some plants play nice together and some don't.  For example, salad greens get along with pretty much everyone, but plants in the onion family do not.  Basil is a great companion to peppers and tomatoes but brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower... not so much.  Here is a great chart from windowbox.com that we use all the time.

Happy planting!