Plants
How to Grow and Care for Tomatillos in Containers
Intro: Tomatillos are great container plants for kitchen gardens that many people think are just green tomatoes. Tomatillos are a smaller (think the size of a golf ball) green fruit that grows inside of a papery husk. These little green vegetables (technically tomatillos are fruit) are popular in Mexican cuisine (they are native to Mexico) and are the key ingredient in salsa verde. You may also find some purple or red tomatillo varieties. Tomatillo plants will need stakes, a trellis or some other type of support. The flowers will attract bees, which will increase fruit production. They do well in small 5-gallon plant containers with well-draining potting soil. Each tomatillo plant will produce many tomatillos, so be prepared!
How to Grow and Care for Catnip in Containers
Intro: Cats love catnip, and growing catnip on the balcony is easy and a great treat for your cats. Catnip grows so well that it can become an invasive weed in the garden if you don’t grow it in its own plant container. Catnip can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall and looks like mint (it also belongs to the mint family). This herb has tiny white flowers with purple spots. Its flowers will attract bees, butterflies and some birds. Before you learn how to grow catnip, check out these 10 Cute Cats in the Garden (Photos)!
How to Propagate Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is one of the easiest container plants to grow in a balcony garden, and it is also easy to propagate. Propagating aloe vera from seed is difficult (many aloe-keepers have never seen their aloe flower). Most container gardeners find it easiest to propagate an aloe vera’s offsets. If your aloe vera plant is doing well, it will send out offsets or “pups.” These small clones can be found around your plant or even coming out of the drainage holes of its container. An aloe vera can fill an entire plant container with its pups, and it can even send offshoots beyond its plant container and try to settle down in the dirt belonging to a neighboring container plant.
How to Grow and Care for Lettuce in Containers
Intro: The lettuce you find in your salad bowl are varieties of Lactuca sativa. Common lettuce varieties that you can grow in plant containers in your kitchen garden are black-seeded Simpson, red sails, salad bowl, Tom Thumb, green ice and little gem. This leafy vegetable is not only delicious, but it's easy to grow and does great in plant pots because its roots do not need to grow very deep. Because it comes in a variety of colors and flavors, it does double duty of making a great plant display in balcony container garden and also keeping you healthy by providing a fresh, healthy food for your kitchen.
How to Grow and Care for Hyacinth in Containers
Intro: The fragrant hyacinth flower blooms in spring with white, pink, red, orange, yellow or blue bell-shaped flower clusters.
