Bert Swope
Have you heard about edible window box gardening? It’s a fantastic way to grow fresh herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers right outside your window!
Some edible plants thrive in window boxes’ cramped quarters while others need more room to flourish. A typical window box might have 6-12 inches of soil depth; this gives roots space to spread and increases the variety of plants you can cultivate.
Herbs
Window boxes are an easy and space-saving way to add flowers and edibles to your garden without taking up a large footprint. Window boxes add visual interest both inside and outside your yard, plus their setup is quick.
Herbs make great additions to window box gardens because they’re so simple to grow. Most varieties don’t need regular watering and some, like sage, even tolerate shade!
Thyme is another herb that thrives when grown in window boxes and containers, and one of the most widely planted aromatic plants. As one of many kitchen essentials, it makes an excellent starter choice for beginners who wish to expand their knowledge of growing herbs.
Thyme not only adds delicious flavor to soups, salads and stocks but it is an ideal companion plant to other herbs in your garden – be they sage or mint for example. Combine them together for added dimension!
Parsley is another ideal herb to include in your window box garden, with easy care requirements and its leaves serving as a tasty addition to tabbouleh, chimichurri salads and soups.
Hyssop, a beautiful vine, produces blue and purple flower spikes which make an excellent addition to your herb box. They’re also often used in tea blends as they attract pollinators species.
When selecting herbs to include in a window box, select ones with similar sunlight and water requirements as they’ll thrive more than those who require different amounts.
Your herbs can come in all shades and textures, from reds to whites and greens – purple-leaved basil is an excellent contrast with vibrant yellow and orange nasturtiums!
Radish is an easy and fast-growing vegetable to add to any window box, providing quick coverage quickly.
Asian greens such as bok choy and mizuna make an ideal addition to a window box as they don’t require direct sunlight – you can even cultivate them in shaded containers provided they provide adequate drainage.
Vegetables
If you live in a small home, apartment, or condo with limited outdoor space, window box gardening could be an excellent way to grow fresh produce while simultaneously reducing your environmental footprint by producing locally.
At the core of it all lies your choice of plants and their care in your window box garden – as well as how often you water them. To simplify matters further, group together plants with similar needs for sun exposure and moisture in a container vegetable garden.
Plants that do well in containers include tomatoes, cucumbers and basil; however they require ample direct sun so it’s important to make sure your container veggie garden gets at least six hours of sun every day.
Some varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers thrive best when planted in full sun while others do well when grown under partial shade conditions. Check your seed catalog to discover which veggies work well when grown in containers.
Your window box garden must consist of plants with shallow root systems, such as carrots, radishes, lettuce, peas and spinach.
These vegetables make ideal choices for window boxes: parsley, garlic, sage and red-veined sorrel are all easy to grow in small spaces and can be harvested whenever desired.
Aloe makes an excellent window box plant as its low maintenance needs and ability to treat burns can make this plant ideal.
Window boxes offer another great place for growing flowers and herbs, including easy-care varieties like thyme, cilantro, oregano and rosemary that not only look stunning but add flavorful flair to food too!
Build a window box salad garden filled with leafy vegetables to provide yourself with an unending supply of salad greens to snip into sandwiches and meals. Consider growing different colors like purple sage and red-veined sorrel for variety and creativity!
Edible Flowers
Edible flowers are not only visually stunning and delicious, but they’re also an effective way to attract pollinators life. From baking with violet sugarplums or cooking with squash blossoms to cultivating edible blooms in your window box can be both enjoyable and rewarding additions to your garden.
Window boxes make a wonderful home for an array of plants that boast year-round appeal, or flower when least expected – including bulbs which bloom all winter long!
Edible flowers can make for an eye-catching accent to any window box, adding color and aroma. When selecting edible blooms for cultivation, be mindful to choose those safe for consumption and avoid those sold from florists or nurseries that have been heavily treated with herbicides.
Add microgreens to your window box for some added variety and easy herb gardening! Microgreens make an ideal addition for beginners or those without much experience growing herbs.
Other options for perennial gardening include bachelor buttons, which produce bright blue flowers with an aromatic lavender tinge that are both delectable and pleasing to the nose. Not only are these blooms deliciously fragrant but their scent soothes both body and mind!
Sage flowers are another popular edible flower. With spiky petals that add extra zest, these aromatic blooms add extra depth of flavor to dishes like salads, sauces, soups or even directly from the plant itself!
Lavender is an attractive, fragrant bloom that adds beauty and scent to any garden. Pick or sow lavender seeds during spring for harvest in early summer; either way they should be reseeded each year to maintain fresh blooms.
Leaves from these edible plants can also be harvested to add as a delicious garnish for dishes and beverages, and are also rich sources of Vitamin C and fiber for optimal garden health.
When planting edible flowers, make sure they receive maximum sunlight. This will allow them to flourish and produce the largest number of petals possible.
Containers
Growing containers can be an ideal way to expand your vegetable and herb harvest in apartments with limited window space, or rental homes with minimal landscaping. These compact, easy-to-maintain garden boxes can be filled with vegetables, herbs and colorful blooms for increased harvests.
To maximize your space, choose a container that complements the size and shape of your window while offering enough room to grow plants with sufficient spacing between plants. For best results, choose a window box that sits lower by several inches than your sill so plants have plenty of space to spread out without blocking your view from within your house.
Vegetables that thrive in containers include leaf lettuces, radishes, carrots, spinach and bush beans; their shallow roots thrive in soil depths between 6 and 12 inches. Parsley, chives and oregano can also thrive here.
Herbs make an attractive addition to any garden, from vegetable plots and fruit orchards to window boxes. Finding varieties suitable for your window box display will create an eye-catching display as well as ensure a steady supply of fresh herbs.
Container gardens can be the ideal way to grow almost any edible, from lettuce and other shallow-rooted veggies like beetroot, to tomatoes. Container gardening also allows you to easily get fresh produce delivered straight to your door each week!
Radishes make an ideal window box vegetable, whether grown from seeds or purchased at a horticultural supply store. Their seeds can be reseeded to ensure an ongoing supply of salad leaves.
When planting vegetables, soil quality should always come first. Potting mixes designed specifically for containers contain materials to promote healthy root development while retaining moisture in the soil, while many commercial mixes also feature slow-release fertilizer to aid with nutrient retention.
Watering crops on a regular basis is also essential. This is especially important with shallow-rooted veggies like lettuce, which tend to dry out more rapidly. If your crops need extra hydration, try layering containers with sphagnum moss or newspaper; another solution would be double potting plants by placing smaller pots inside larger ones.
