When looking to get a little more from your gardening than just pretty blooms and foliage, consider an edible container garden. This type of garden gives you the convenience and ease of container while having the ability to enjoy fresh produce. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and even edible flowers can be grown in and around your home.

Fruit and Vegetable Containers

Blueberries and lettuce are just two of the fruits and vegetables that can be grown in containers. Almost any vegetable can be grown in a container if it has enough space. Some varieties, such as tiny tim tomatoes, were developed specifically for container gardening. If you would like to try plants in a spot which doesn't receive a lot of sunlight, try plants such as citrus, parsley, and, radishes. A few types of fruit and vegetables require special containers to be successful. Strawberries need to have a specifically designed pot with holes on the sides, while vegetables such as cucumbers simply need a larger container.

Herb Container Gardens

Herbs are another kind of edible container garden. They are not only great in your culinary creations, but they give off delicious scents into a room. The best part of growing herbs is that they require very little care outside of watering. If you end up with more than you can use, the plants can easily be divided and given as gifts. The harvested herbs can also be dried and kept in glass jars for cooking and decorating. Leftover herbs can also be frozen for use later on in the year.

Edible Flowers for you Container Garden

Edible flowers do more than just look great in an edible garden container. They are wonderful for dressing up desserts and drinks for summer get-togethers. Anise Hyssop, better known as star of Anise, gives off the scent and taste of black licorice. Cornflowers, borage, and nasturtiums look and taste great when strewn on the top of puddings or froze in ice cubes for drinks.

Water Container Gardens

Your water garden can also be used as an edible container garden. Plants such as watercress and arrowheads grow edible bulb-like growths, which are especially delicious in stir-fries. Water lilies have edible roots while the shoots of cattails can be eaten as well as the roots.

General Guidelines

When growing an edible garden container, there are a few rules that differ from decorative gardens. Caution is needed when treating plants for insects and diseases. These poisonous chemicals can enter the plants and wind up on your plate. It is best to choose natural solutions to remedy the problem. Try methods such as planting oregano in with your vegetables to get rid of insects. Pruning the affected areas or washing the plant with a mild soap and water solution will often eliminate a variety of bugs and diseases. There also needs to be sufficient room in the pot for food production. Harvesting the produce at the right time is also important. Picking the vegetables or fruit as it matures will give you the best quality food while eliminating the chance of it dropping off the plant. Picking the produce at the right time also allows the plant to focus more on new food production rather than wasting nutrients and time on over-ripening.

If you have shied away from gardening because of a lack of space for poor soil in which to grow plants, an edible container garden is the perfect solution. Produce can be grown in any sunny spot in your home and all you need is a pot, plants, and some soil to get started.