Top 5 – Edible Plants for pots

My garden has a lot of paved areas and as a result my garden has a lot of pots.  I grow a pretty wide range of things in them, I have tried most things (except pumpkins) in pots at one time or another.   Whilst most things do grow at least reasonably well I do find pots are better suited to some plants more than others.  Generally the pot grown plants do not get as big, or produce as big a yield as bed grown plants, but there are exceptions, and there are also plants where a reduced yield doesn’t really matter at all.

1. Chillies

Chillies – I love chillies and even more I love chillies grown in pots.  The plants are attractive, you get a decent yield from them and having them in pots allows you to grow a wide range of varieties in a comparatively small space.

 2. Eggplant

Eggplant – One of my earliest posts was called Eggplant – The perfect pot plant? and I do think they work fabulously.  They don’t seem to mind the constraints of the pot (provided its a reasonable size to start with – I use 40cm diameter pots for eggplant), they fruit happily and can be moved to maximise time in the sun.

3. Mint

Mint – Every book I’ve read on herbs seems to tell you that herbs are wonderful plants for pots and whilst most are fabulous there are others that I think do better in the garden.  Parsley for instance seems to better suited to the garden bed as it likes to have room to stretch into.  If you give mint room to stretch into it will take that room and more so I’ve always grown it in pots.  I have 3 large pots of common mint, one large Vietnamese mint and this small spearmint.  Mint is  a water hungry plant and growing it in pots allows you to feed and water it to its hearts content.

 4. Citrus

Citrus – I think there’s something terribly romantic about fruit trees in pots.  Olives and particularly citrus remind me of Spain and fabulous courtyard gardens in the most amazing villas.  Citrus also seems to like growing in pots.  It is easy to control the drainage, you can keep the food and water up to them and ensure they have the best position year round.   My citrus are all grafted onto dwarf rootstock which I do think helps their comfort level in a confined space.

5. Tropical plants

This could really read – anything out of its comfort zone, which for me is tropical plants.  Melbourne is just inside what in Australia is called the Warm Temperate gardening zone, we have hot dry summers and cold wettish winters.  These are not really ideal conditions for growing tropical plants and yet I like to eat them.  The best solution I’ve found is to grow them in pots – that way I am better able to control their environment.  I can allow them to follow the sun, or in ginger’s case, the shade.  I can ensure they have adequate water (often more than the other crops need) and I can keep the food up to them.  Currently I am growing cardamom, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, and my pride and joy – my curry leaf tree – all in pots.

So what have I missed?  What does fabulously well for you in a pot?

As for last week’s cookbook related Top 5: thankyou to everyone for their feedback.  More shopping to do….. If you enjoyed the topic and want more The New Goodlife also chose it as her Top 5 theme for the week.  She has some great recommendations here.