My very first herb garden!

[Samantha]

Spring is fast approaching, and after such a hard winter, all I want in my life are some living (edible) plants to cultivate.

However, I live in a fifth floor apartment.

My plan is to get a few planter boxes to hang on the railing on my balcony.

I'd like to plant basil, cilantro, chives, dill, and mint (in its own submerged pot), together in one box.

I'd also like to plant cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and lavender.

My questions:

Does my first box sound realistic?

Can I plant the cherry tomatoes with the herbs?

Can I plant the other plants with anything?

WIll I even get strawberries in my first year?

Any other advise for a young gardener, or recommendations of other plants?

Your advise is SO appreciated!

Thanks,

Sam

 

[headfullofbees]

Your herbs should be OK to start with, but eventually the mint and chives will, if you let them, take over.
I see you have already considered restricting the mint; I'd do the same with the chives, and it should be fine.

Cherry tomatoes and herbs are not a great idea for two reasons:
1) Herbs being leafy, want a basic nitrogenous feed, whilst, to get good tomatoes, you require a feed rich in potash (potassium).
2) The flavour from herbs comes from essential oils, which, in order to get the highest levels in your plants, requires a restrictive watering regime not suitable for tomatoes.
You COULD grow your lavender with the herbs.

Cherry tomatoes and strawberries will, just about, go together, but you'll need very well-draining growing medium in order that you can water the tomatoes enough without the strawberries' roots rotting.

You CAN buy strawberries which will fruit this year:
https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/

This is just an example of a website, you may have your own local favourite, or garden centre.

 

[Mandix]

Yes, I agree with headfullofbees. Be very careful with the mint. It likes sneaking into other areas, even when it's separate. It's also a very hard plant to get rid of if it does start invading another space. The only advice that I can give that I've noticed most herbs do well together in one pot(minus the mint, of course). I've seen pictures and videos of people doing such. Most of them tend to stay in their own area, with no problem. If you're worried before you do it, I would look up the soil requirements and the light requirements for whatever plants you want together. If they're too dissimilar, then I wouldn't put them together.

 

[firelily99]

Congratulations on your first herb garden, always a wonderful experience. Don't forget to think vertical when you are planning it, that can save you a lot of space. The mints can be invasive; I used to plant mine in hanging pots that I hung away from the other plants. I also kept the mint heavily trimmed - it can be bunched and dried for later use.

 

[MStory]

Much like other posters, I caution you about putting mint in with the other herbs. We had a lovely herb garden that was completely overrun with mint in only two summers. The mint had actually broke through barriers in my secondary herb garden, and started growing in my main garden. Needless to say, we removed all the mint from the garden. We also found that raccoons have a fondness for dill. We planted it every year, and every year, those critters would strip it bare. So, if you suddenly see a naked dill plant, it was probably those pesky bandits. .

 

[forextraspecialstuff]

I can say from experience as a fellow apartment dweller I think the herbs will flourish. I always plant my chives and mint in separate pots because as other posters have said they will completely take over and in my first attempt at apartment herb growing took over the other herbs and sort of stunted their growth. I have never tried strawberries, cherry tomatoes, or lavender in my apartment. One thing I would keep in mind about the tomatoes, and this is just a thought, is the weight of them. Being on the 5th floor and having the box on your balcony, you would hate for it to get too heavy.

 

[Francy]

This is great advice, as I would like to start an herb garden soon. It would be so nice to have fresh herbs in the winter time. I do a lot of cooking with herbs and spices anyway, and would like to dive into my own herb garden. Great ideas!

 

[firelily99]

Sounds like you have gotten plenty of good information from other posters. Good luck with it and try and learn as much as you can about what you are growing.

 

[IcyBC]

Most of my herbs are grown in containers, so I think you will do just fine growing them in planter boxes. I haven't grown any tomatoes in container, but my mom does, and she even brought it inside during the winter. She got a few tomatoes out of it, but not much.

I have chives, basil, rosemary and thyme in their own container. My mint was planted in the ground already when I moved in and they literally take over the yard.