Container Herb Gardening

This is all the result of my husband not knowing one herb from another.  We are starting to use fresh herbs in the kitchen on a regular basis and my husband has been asking me to get them for him because he says he doesn't know which is which!  Then I discovered some beautiful brass herb markers in the Lee Valley catalogue.  Thus the idea of having an herb garden on the deck was born.

Our deck is a large one and I've had pots of flowers on the deck before.  Unfortunately, they started rotting the cedar planks, so away they went.  Lee Valley also has some wonderful deck protectors.  They are round grids with little feet on them which allow the pot to drain but create a space between the deck and pot, thus reducing the likelihood of rotting deck planks.

Today I assembled all the things I'd need and planted the first of my herb pots.

The first order of business was to cover the drainage holes of the pots with broken pottery shards.  Then I put a complete container mix in the bottom of the pots, topped it up with a combination of compost and SeaSoil and mixed the two together.  Finally I put more container mix on top, wetted it thoroughly and planted the herbs.  The final act was to place the herb markers and give the plants a drink of water.

Today I planted mint, Greek oregano, French tarragon, English thyme and Canadian parsley seedlings from my own garden.  I'll add a few more pots to the collection such as basil, and I'd like to grow some of the scented verbenas.  Another plan is to make some of my own herbal teas and it would be handy to have some of the ingredients close to the house.  Two more very large pots were readied for cherry tomatoes.  It'll be nice to relax on the deck, cool drink in hand, and nab a ripe tomato or two while taking in the wonderful scent of fresh herbs.