Herb Garden

D

DCLonghorn

1,000+ Posts
Want to grow some herbs in large flower pots on my backyard patio and I'm wondering what you suggest and have had success with? I know that I want to grow some banana peppers or jalapeños. This would only be for me so I do not have the space to grow large quantities. Are there any veggies that grow in flower pots?
 
I'm a little confused, do you want to plant Herbs (cilantro, bazil, oregano) or veggies? If it's herbs, knock yourself out, perfect for pots. In terms of veggies, you can do certain ones in a large pot but there won't be much yield. jalapeno or habenero would work depending on the size of the planter.
 
I want to grow herbs but thought that I would throw in veggies to see if they could be grown in a large pot. I would really like to grow some peppers but I'm unsure which would grow the best in a 12-15" pot. Yes, cilantro, basil oregano, mint, etc. is what I'm thinking, any growing secretes?
 
Herbs are easy, do yourself a favor and buy the plant instead of seeds, you can get 3-4 plants in that size pot. The most compact pepper plant I know is Habanero. I've never done it in a pot but it didn't take up much room in the garden. If you do lots of sun. Obviously avoid any vine veggies unless you have a fence for them to run up.

My suggestion. Herbs.
 
I grow habanero, jalapeno, cayennes and banana peppers, chives, basil, bay laurel, epazote, a Persian orange tree, (and an aloe vera).

I have also grown oregano, bell peppers, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary.

All on a balcony.

It's doable, but in Houston, I water twice a day in the heat of the summer.






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Bay laurel is bay leaf. It's a shrub. I grow it in a large pot.

The herbs and peppers grow in "regular sized" pots, (maybe 2 gallons?)

The orange tree is obviously in a much larger pot, (but needs to be transplanted). It's only about two years old and about five feet tall. No fruit yet, but I grew it from a seed my dentist gave me.

Epazote is a Mexican herb. You use a little when cooking beans to de-gassify them.

I use regular potting soil and water as needed, (as noted twice a day in the summer). I use Miracle Grow about once every week or two.

I typically keep the pepper plants for two years. Any longer and they start reducing the amount of fruit they produce. I love the green cayennes the best for just eating on the side. I usually have enough red ones at the end of the season to dry and grind for use in a pepper shaker.

For the extra habaneros, I cut off the top with the stem, deseed and dry in a dehydrator. I have a quart or so of those right now.

The herbs tend to die each year except for the chives and epazote.

Picking fresh peppers and herbs for your cooking is great. Makes a huge difference. You can snip your herbs and dry them for use all year round. It's not as good as fresh, but muuuuch better than store-bought.

Hope this helps.






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Just started a garden myself. So far I've got Japanese eggplant, lemongrass, Roma tomatoes, and artichokes. I'm gonna plant some herbs and peppers this weekend.

Thanks for the info, Doobie.
 
Every single herb that I know of grows well in pots at my house in Austin.

Partial list:

Five different kinds of mint
Parsley
Chives
Thyme-Silver and Lemon
Oregono
Rosemary
Basil (three different kinds)
Sage (Jerusalem, Russian, Culinary)

Many more.
 
Tomatoes grow great in pots. Out of 6 plants, I should get over 40 pounds of tomatoes this year. I am already over 15 pounds and the amount of fruit still on the vine is staggering.

I use 5-10 gallon black containers you can get for free at many nurseries and water twice a day with a drip system. I grow everything from seed in my garage under hallogen startingin Jan and transplant in Mar. I have also gotten huge yields of peppers and cucumbers. (A possum just destroyed my pablano peppers though...)

Good luck. PM me if you have any questions.
 
For patio/deck gardening, it is really tough to beat an earth box

I have 8 of them. 4 for tomatoes (2 plants per box), 2 for peppers (4 per box) and 2 for herbs (4 per box). You water through a tube that goes into the bottom of the plants.

Tomato plants drink A LOT of water, so this ensures the water isn't wasted. I also have a garden area for cucumbers and squash, but the earth boxes are tough to beat for toms, peppers and herbs.
 
FWIW - I just picked almost 90 cherry tomatoes (~ $6 worth) from 2 plants this morning with around 300 more still on the vine. I will have to post some pictures. It is amazing. Nothing better than a fresh cherry tomato still warm from the sun.

I recommend these varieties:
Sweet Baby Girl
Big Beef
Azoychka

Look for varieties that are AAS (All American Selections). These will be the best varieties. Also, don't even bother with the cages that you get at Home Depot. They are worthless. A decent tomato plant will outgrow them within the first month. Instead, get some concrete reinforcing wire and make 5' cages out of them. Much better (and inexpensive as well).

You should also stick with hybrids when first gardening. They are MUCH, MUCH more forgiving than the heirloom varieties.

As far as herbs go, you should try Rosemary, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Chives, and Sage. All are easy in pots. I like to grow several varieties of each. The Basil in particular will be great to have with the fresh tomatoes.
 
My garden so far:
Zuccini, Brandywine tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, thyme, lemongrass, Japanese eggplant, African purple sage, poblano peppers, and a Crenshaw melon vine. Add in our fig tree, 2 grapefruit trees, 3 avocado trees, and a grapevine and we're producing a good amount of food at mi casa.

Question on the poblanos (and other plants, in general): our neighborhood has quite a few possums and skunks. Are my plants going to be toast once they start fruiting? Should I just put a chicken wire fence around the garden?

How often should I be watering the poblano? I've been doing it about once a day. They get about 4-5 hours of sunlight. Any tips?
 
Two years ago, my tomato plants were doing great but I never harvested any. I would see huge green fruit, but once they started turning. they would be gone.

Then one day, I see a squirrel running up a tree, with one in his mouth and the other tucked under his arm. I hate those ********. Since then, they have learned that I have gotten fairly accurate with my CO2 BB pistol.
 
I had this problem too 1 year. Turns out it was my dog. The tomato stealin' bastard had developed a taste for cherry tomatoes the previous year, and his pilfering had gone unnoticed since there were so many. The next year when I planted regular 'maters, he probably thought he'd hit the mother load!!
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A couple of pointers on tomatoes: plant several plants near each other as they are wind pollinated. If there is no wind, give them a periodic small shake; additionally, amend your soil with some bone meal, as the phosphorous will help them bloom more.
 
I dug up this thread as I'm starting a couple of new gardens - my herbs and tomatoes will all be in pots, with my other veggies in my garden bed.

How big a pot do I need for tomatoes? How many tomato plants in each pot? Is it a good idea to put multiple varieties in the same pot?

What about with herbs? I feel like I've heard that putting several different herbs in the same pot is a good idea (with the exception of mint). Is this right?

Any suggestions for some veggies that need partial sun? I've got a nice big garden bed, half of which gets a good amount of sun and half of which is partially shaded.

Any info would be much appreciated.

What's everyone else growing this year?
 
I have not planted yet, but this year we started from seed.

We have basil, oregano, thyme, green onion, leeks, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, baby carrots, and parsley. My wife bought the seeds this year, she bought some that I know I am not going to be able to deal with...

Basil, chives, all the herbs are very easy, only small tomatoes should be grown in a pot. Make sure you have adequate drainage, tomatoes do not like to be soaked, and also do not like getting leaves wet.
 
Any truth to the rumor that planting marigolds near your herb garden helps keep mites and bugs away from the herbs?
 
if you can't find a pot big enough and want to enlarge your planting, try a half-barrel. my mom uses a few to grow her herbs and i think tomatoes. everything else she grows in the ground, but the half-barrels are great for herbs and such.
 
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