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Container gardening?
By admin | March 28, 2010
For mothers day I want to give my mom an herb container with basil, lavender, thyme, and oregano. They all have already germinated. I was wondering if these herbs will do well together and what size container should I use if I only plant one of each herb in the same container?
Thanks for your help
Topics: Container Gardening | 6 Comments »
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I would get a long trough (preferably one she could either place on the sill inside the kichen or use as a window-box outside) and put separate pots in there side by side. That way when one comes to the end of its season, or dies off, she can replace it easily.
Also, if she doesn’t like the scent of one of your chosen plants, she can plant it out somewhere away from her window and put another in, and still enjoy the rest of your gift.
If you get one of the troughs with a separate water reservoir, she can fill it up and the plants will last through several days of hot weather without watering, but because they’re raised above the reservoir the roots won’t get waterlogged or rot. They’re more expensive but worth it.
Those herbs are all great choices. Lavender is a little esoteric for cooking but you can make ice-cream, cookies and other things using it as a flavouring, and of course you can also dry the springs for scenting your linen drawer as well as enjoying the scent. Lavender is an antiseptic too – when you have a bad cold, put bowls of hot water (or humidifiers) with added sprigs of lavender or lavender oil around the room, and it will help your breathing.
I hope your mother has a wonderful Mother’s Day and enjoys her plants for a long time afterwards.
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I think you should put the lavender in a different container as it is the only plant that can’t be ingested, you do not want any sort of natural grafting happening in pollination process. You need to get those elongated container which one can hang on the window sill as these are all fragrants that she would like to inhale when she opens her windows for airing out the house.
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Yes I think they would work well together.
The basil is an annual so it would only last the year but by then the lavender,thyme and oregano will have crept enough to fill the gap.
As for size of pot it does depend on the size of the lavender you start with. Eventually they grow roughly 2/3ft by 2/3ft (depending on variety) but will take a while to get there. It would be easier to choose the plants you want and then look for a pot that gave them space to grow. Your mum can always take one out and plant it in the garden if it gets too big (oregano can spread quite rapidly once it gets going.)
When you have made up the pot top it with grit or gravel. It will set them off nicely but also keep the base of the plants dry as they are mediteranean herbs and hate being wet.
You want to end up with something spaced like this….
http://www.colecanyonfarm.com/images/Window-box-5b.jpg
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Well, the soil in my garden is so poor that I only do container gardening. I have just been looking in all my books, and all the herbs you wrote about will grow well together. I use thyme and oregano in meals, and I often just give the lavender a small pinch before I come indoors, and I bring the fragrance in with me. Basil is, of course, the King of herbs and you can use him for anything. Better your own than Sainsburys.
Container gardening is much under-rated. You can use it for herbs, roses, jasmine, agapanthus, all sorts …
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
The lavender and the thyme would go together as one is tall and the other much shorter. The basil, being an annual, is going to grow much faster than the others which are all perennials. I would keep the basil and oregano seperate. They all need at least a one gallon pot and if they are going to go outside I’d go with as big a pot as you can afford.
March 28th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Use a trough and plant each plant in a separate small pot then put the pots into the trough with soil all round, that way they will keep in more moisture and their roots wont spread. If any of the plants start to look sickly you just take out the small pot and replace it.