HERBS & FRUIT
RACHEL CLARE, editor of NZ Gardener's weekly ezine Get Growing, grows common mint in a pot. “I foolishly planted it in a raised bed as well and it took over. Even though I've tried to pull out every single runner, it still rears its green minty heads all over the place. In a pot, it has no choice but to behave itself.”
JACK HOBBS of the Auckland Botanic Gardens always grows triple curled parsley in pots. “It grows any time of year and looks good with any other plant such as violas or rainbow chard in winter,” he says. “In summer I also like purple basil such as ‘Purple Ruffles' for containers.”
Another great herb for containers is rosemary. Upright rosemary is RACHEL BUTLER’S pick for a top crop in a pot in her Auckland garden. She says she initially made the mistake of planting the Mediterranean herb in a raised bed with nutrient-rich organic vege mix where it barely grew. “Since I planted it in a terracotta pot which sits in full sun on my deck, it's thrived. I water it once a week or less and otherwise leave it alone in its slightly impoverished conditions.”
Garden writer SHERYN DEAN says bay trees are better suited to pots than being planted in the ground. They can grow huge if left unchecked, whereas keeping them in a pot keeps them “semi-bonsai”, she says. “And let's face it, even a big stew only needs two or three leaves, and having it in a pot handy to the kitchen makes it convenient to grab a fresh leaf while you are cooking.”
Similarly, growing a fig tree in large pot (ideally one that's the size of a half wine barrel) is a good way to keep it a manageable size so you can actually reach the ripe fruit. Plus it makes it much easier to throw a net over the whole tree to protect your harvest from birds.
The Ballerina series of apple trees are the ideal picks for all regions of New Zealand if you want to grow apples in small spaces or in large pots. The world's most compact apple trees, Ballerinas are named after slender pirouetting dancers, Waimea Nurseries' KATE MARSHALL explains. “The trees only grow to a narrow column of around 30cm wide and about 2m tall, producing apples all the way up the trunk.
Choose from the three Ballerina varieties which grow in this form – ‘Polka' and ‘Waltz' which are red-skinned apples, or try the greenskinned apple ‘Bolero'.”
Aucklander LINDA FERGUSON votes for strawberries as a standout crop for pots – although in her case, they were grown in cleverly upcycled apple boxes. “My daughter grew strawberries in mini raised garden beds made from apple boxes.” A layer of horse manure was added to the bottom, then it was topped off with a mix of topsoil and homemade compost. “Then we add a mulch of straw to the very tops, and feed regularly with strawberry fertiliser. From the dozen plants, she grew we picked fruit right through last summer.”
Bonsai basil ‘Greek Mini' is perfect for pots, forming naturally into cute mounds and with a great flavour.
BLUEBERRIES do brilliantly in pots and are the ideal fruit crop for the small garden or balcony. And as well as fruit, “they will reward you with small flowers which bees love and great autumn foliage too,” says Incredible Edibles’ FIONA BOYLAN.