You can grow salad vegetables and herbs in almost any sunny spot and enjoy fresh ingredients all year round. Snipping off a sprig of fresh herbs from the window ledge garden in the kitchen while you are cooking cannot be bettered.

Here are some tips for the perfect container vegetable garden.

Choice of container. The easiest choice is to go to your local garden center or home improvement store and pick any gardening container that takes your fancy. Theres a wide variety available in plastic, ceramic, wood or clay. Before you pull out your credit card though, take a look around your home and see whatever containers you have lying around. Almost anything that will hold soil can be used for growing, whether it is an old bucket, an empty margarine container or an empty coffee can.

Any container you use must have sufficient drainage holes in the bottom. Make additional holes in containers that do not drain quickly after watering. Waterlogged soil will lead to soil-borne diseases and stunted plants. Stand the containers in a tray if these are indoors.

Using regular soil is not advisable for container plants, since soil is likely to have plant disease organisms and weed seeds. Soil less potting mixes are lighter, less likely to compact and hold moisture and plant nutrients well. These potting mixes can be purchased from any garden center.

Choice of plants. Almost any herb is suitable for a container vegetable garden. Basil, thyme, mint, parsley, chives and oregano are all good choices. Most salads can also be grown in containers. Consider lettuce, young salad carrots, radishes, and green onions, for smaller containers. Tomatoes, eggplant and peppers do well in a larger container on a sunny patio or balcony. Choose dwarf varieties where these are available.

Seeds can either be planted directly into the container or started in a smaller pot and transplanted once large enough to handle. Always plant more seeds than you need in each container since there will seldom be 100% germination. During the winter, seeds can be encouraged to grow early when placed next to a water heater or other warm (not hot) place. Make sure that you move these to a sunny position as soon as they appear above the soil.

Ideally, containers should be placed where they receive at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. Plants that bear fruit, such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants require the most sun. Many herbs and leafy vegetables will tolerate more shade. Plants growing in containers require frequent watering especially if outdoors. During the hot summer months many will require daily watering.

Plants will need fertilizer during the growing season. The easiest way to add fertilizer is to use a commercial mix such as Miracle-Gro. Follow the directions and do not over feed. Most potting soils will have sufficient nutrients for the first few weeks.

Harvest when the plants are mature but still young and tender. Small sprigs of most herbs can be clipped as needed and the plant will continue to grow.

Vince Apps is the editor of a number of gardening sites including Manual of Gardening and Home Vegetable Gardening.

Herbs are annuals, biennials and perennial plants. Herbs like Basil, Coriander and Dill are annuals that bloom for one season only and then die. Caraway and parsley are biennials that live for two seasons and bloom only in the second season. Perennials like chives, fennel, mint and tarragon die over winter and then blossom each season once the plant has established itself.

Herbs need to be planted in a 20 by 4 foot garden space. In this garden, you can have separate plots for each type of herb. This mini plot is a 12 by 18 inch herb garden. With the many herbs that are being used, colorful and frequently used herbs can be planted around the borders of your plot. Parsley and Purple Basil are examples of colorful border herb gardening.

For your herb garden to thrive the soil should not be very wet. Herbs do not grow in wet soil. To make your herb plot well drained, remove about 15 to 18 inches depth of soil. To the bottom of the hole add some crushed stone or other material that is similar to the stones.

A compost and sand mixture added to the soil will lighten the soils texture making it easier for the water to seep through the soil and drain away. Hummus will enrich the nutrients within the soil and restore the soils Ph level. Then refill the hole higher than it was originally.

The herbs can be planted in the ground late winter. Herb gardening requires that you first grow them indoors in shallow trays. The herb seeds must not be covered with a thick coating of soil. The soil needs to be light and well drained. This type of soil texture will ensure that your herb gardening gets off to good start.

Once your herbs are planted outdoors there are a few insects that can attack the plants. Aphids like anise, caraway, dill and fennel herbs. The red mite spider attacks low growing herbs. Rust can be a disease-like status for mint plants.

But these minor troubles aside, herb gardening is a peaceful and intriguing activity that takes its place in history. Whether you use herbs for cooking, medicinal use or even aromatic usage, the art of herb gardening is making a comeback amongst gardeners. Join their ranks and enjoy the pleasures of using your own herbs.