Don’t have room for a big vegetable patch, but would still like a bit of tasty freshness at your fingertips this summer? Don’t despair, with some minimal creativity, you can still find ways to grow your own. Almost everyone can find a sunny spot for a hanging basket of pretty pink-blossomed strawberries to snack on as you pass by. Or how about a basket of Tumbler tomatoes that cascade out of their container with an abundance of tasty bite sized tomatoes ready to pop in your mouth. Sounding good? Don’t stop there. There are many pretty herbs, edible flowers, & vegetables that add interest to containers or flowerbeds, and allow you to experience fresh taste without turning under the lawn in the front yard in lieu of a vegetable patch. Grow a window box of herbs full of some favorites like chives, thyme, basil, rosemary & oregano. Situated next to your tomatoes, it’s pretty much everything you need for spaghetti sauce, minus the pasta of course. They make an interesting tapestry of textures, are especially pretty when in bloom, and they smell & taste fabulous. Edible flowers like pansies & nasturtiums can be tucked in the flower garden or in any planter to add some bright hits of color both outside and on your plate.

Try some other tasty treats that look great too like “Bright Lights” Swiss chard, with stems that add a beautiful array of color to containers or flower gardens. Another one to try is “Bulls Blood” Beets with their beautiful dark burgundy leaves that look as great in salads as they taste when they are young, and you get to eat the roots too, later in the season.  Lettuce is another great pick to tuck in anywhere & there are a wide variety of interesting colors like “Freckles” which is a green leaved lettuce with pretty maroon freckles or “Cimmaron” which is a romaine lettuce tinged with burgundy. They look pretty planted almost anywhere, including containers, and they all taste great to boot. Love the taste of new potatoes in summer? You can try planting one in a container too. If I had to choose just one potato plant to grow, it would definitely be a banana fingerling potato.  They are rarely available in the grocery store, but they have the most exquisite buttery taste and creamy texture. In my garden last year they averaged 45 small to medium sized potatoes to a plant, (you may want to make sure it is a fairly large container for that one).

Don’t forget to use organic fertilizers if you are growing your edibles in containers so that you are not adding chemicals to your own home grown veggies.

Next week’s Garden Chat, we will talk tips for the #1 most popular vegetable to grow at home …

Can you guess what it is? Stay tuned next week to find out!