Growing herbs in containers

[Helen PirtleStudent]

I am new to this school and would welcome any suggestions from your experiences.  I have a number of weeds (herbs) growing around me but I am thinking about adding more this spring.  If I decide to plant them in containers, is it necessary to cut holes in the bottom of the container to allow for water to drain out?  Are containers usually best left on top of the ground or can/should they be partly submerged in the soil?  What about the plants over winter?  Will they have more kill because of cold temperatures if the containers are above the ground?  Or will metal containers be too hot for plants in the summer?

I live in the Idaho Falls area  in southern Idaho so we do have cold winters!

Some containers I’m considering are simply metal buckets or animal watering troughs.  If using a deep container, should it be filled first with other degradable stuff like branches, limbs, twigs, straw, etc to take up space before adding dirt?

 

[rjcbbdsStudent]

I am also a new student, but I have been gardening for lots of years.  Yes to your first question.  Drainage is always good to have in pots.  The question about where to put the pots, (in the ground, or above ground) depends on what the herb is and where you are putting the pot.  It’s best to look at the conditions that each herb needs.  On the south side of your house it might be good to put them in the ground to keep them from getting too hot.  You also need to think about wind and where that usually is coming from.  Wind can dry out herbs faster than just heat.  Also there are herbs that are considered annuals in your area, and so they would not survive outside in the winter no matter what you do.  My suggestion is to make a list of the herbs that you want to grow.  Then find out the growing conditions each herb likes best.  Then you will know which one would be happy in a pot outside and which ones you might want to grow in a pot inside.  Also which ones want more moisture and which ones was less.  And to answer your last question, that’s a good idea to add something to  the bottom of a deep container before you plant it.  The soil just needs to be as deep as the roots grow.

[TresMarieStudent]

Heavy mulching will provide some protective insulation for the plants during the winter. There’s also the option of using wool plant blankets to wrap around the containers (depending on size) and wool pads on top to serve as mulch. Gardener’s Supply sells those.  Another alternative is to use bubble wrap around your containers and use plant covers (either with drawstrings or zipper) or purchase greenhouse covers or pop-up tents specifically designed for containers/garden beds. These you can find on Amazon.

[DawnStudent]

Hi Helen, I am also using a lot of containers these last couple years so I can take them with me when I move (eventually).  Doc teaches that many of the herbs grow deep roots which bring up rarely tapped minerals/etc from the ground so he prefers plants in the ground. Comfrey is one example. You might find a post where this was already discussed but it was a year ago, i’d guess. Additionally, when the root is the medicine, it is best to give them lots of space to develop as much of it as you can. Ashwagandha for example.  But I grow these in deep pots so I can bring the cold sensitive ones inside giving them more time … as the ground plants didn’t get very big as it turned out. So, it is all about the herb and the reason …. mints are invasive so they are good options for containers (and there are a lot of mint herbs!)   Happy Herb’ing 🙂

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Virginia Larson

[Virginia LarsonStudent]

I can attest that enough drainage is VERY important!  I put lavender in a medium-largish pot with a drain hole in the bottom and the poor thing drowned in high desert with appropriate watering.  Out comes the drill for next year!

Virginia (PS I know this isn’t brilliant information to share, but now I have completed my new student assignment to create a reply.  I’ll wait to do another until I have something better to contribute. 😆 )

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