After trying to grow tasty things like arugula, cilantro, dill and parsley in the ground, we decided that our snails and slugs are just too voracious. But apparently they don’t climb on benches to devour our plants – and putting the plants in pots gives them perfect drainage.
Cilantro
This is something we never seem to have enough of – and without it Mexican dishes don’t taste right. It doesn’t stop there, since many Asian cuisines use it, too. We might need more pots if we harvest heavily, but maybe not if the plants grow well. (Annual)
Arugula
This grew readily from seed, not much waiting for it to sprout. We started in fall to give the plants a head start for spring, and every time the weather is sunny they make progress. These will be for salads, garnishes and arugula pesto.
(Annual)
Sage
We use this mostly for Italian food and some French dishes. The nice thing is that you don’t need much at a time – a couple of leaves is typically enough.
(Perennial)
More plants
Walking Onions
A friend gave us a plant, and it walked into several new pots. We use it like green onions, although it may not be quite as potent. Still better than no onion!
Italian Parsley
This is typically used for chimichurri, not as a garnish. We should probably grow more, because the plant is looking rather bald.
Thyme
This was in one pot, then got air layered into a second pot. Since it’s clipped regularly we decided a good constant supply would improve our Mediterranean dishes. (perennial)
Hot Peppers
They went with the first frost, but we had hot Serrano peppers ready to hand all summer. These are a wonderful crop because the plants are prolific and the peppers are hot. They’ll keep a lot longer on the plant than in the refrigerator, turning red and sweeter as they ripen – but still with a kick. (tender annual)