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Fresh vegetables and herbs not only taste great they also have optimum levels of vitamins and flavour. A salad of just-picked romaine lettuce, radishes and a few chive spikes can make any meal memorable and healthy. If you want to have a garden but don't have a backyard, never fear. You can transform a balcony or patio into a lush retreat brimming with a wide variety of edible plants.

Containers makes it possible to have a garden where plants wouldn't otherwise take root and gives those of us without a "real" garden a chance to flex our green thumbs! As many of you may already know, container gardening does present certain challenges. Here are a few tricks to keeping your plants healthy:

Choose large pots in light colours. The sun can heat the edges of pots potentially damaging the roots. Larger pots give roots more room as well as keep the soil moist for longer periods.

Paint a clear varnish over clay pots to keep moisture from evaporating through the sides. (Once you start you may want to get creative with touches of colour and patterns.)

If you're using plastic pots, the soil can become quite warm. A good solution is to place a smaller pot within a larger one leaving a small space between them. The outer pot will become a heat shield by providing shade.

One summer I decided I'd had enough of mosquitoes and went to the hardware store and bought some screen mesh and built a simple frame. When I was done, I found myself with extra mesh. It turned out to be a great way to keep small bugs from crawling into my potted plants through the drainage holes at the bases. Fifty-cents worth of mesh was all it took to keep those pesky sow bugs from taking up residence! Cut out a piece of mesh at least twice the size of the drainage hole. Add small rocks on top as usual for drainage.

Use a special potting soil mixture containing sand, peat moss and vermiculite.

Aerate the soil at least once a month by creating small holes in the soil with a twig approximately about the size of a chopstick. Make holes every 5cm or so to a depth of half the container height.

Growing your own food also allows you to control pesticide and fertilizer use. If your garden is elevated, as it would be on a balcony, you will have fewer pests to contend with. To combat flying insects and soil-borne organisms, try a solution of 15ml soap flakes (available at nurseries), 5ml cayenne pepper, and a one clove of crushed garlic in one litre of water. Let it steep for a few days then strain and spray on the leaves early in the morning or at dusk. Your local nursery will also carry a variety of non-toxic pest controls.

The Best Edible Plants for Containers

We've all seen spectacular displays of flowers but now it's time for vegetables to take centre stage. If you don't think vegetables can be attractive you might be surprised! Not only can you have a striking garden but you'll have some delicious produce as well.

You can find plants that will grow to all heights, shapes, colours and sizes. Take a moment to consider how you would like your garden to look. You may decide you would like to arrange plants from low to high making a gradual step from one end of your deck to the other. Or you could have low, medium, and tall-sized plants within the same container.

Edible ground cover plants include basil, oregano, parsley, mint, thyme, purple sage, and garlic (garlic often begins sprouting from the bulbs-check out your local grocer you're bound to find one with a green shoot). With the exception of basil all of these are nearly foolproof. Strawberries, violets and pansies are sweet choices. Yes you can eat violets and pansies-they are often candied and used to decorate special cakes. In fact, ounce for ounce, violets have more Vitamin C than oranges!

Medium-sized plants that take well to containers are beets, lettuce, zucchini, chamomile, and tomatoes. Growing tomatoes in containers offers one big advantage to growing in a backyard: you can prevent rain from falling on the fruit and causing blight if you position your container beneath an awning.

Tall plants will lend an exotic look to your garden. Choose from blueberry (it grows to approximately one metre and the foliage turns a deep red in autumn), raspberry, beans or snow peas climbing a trellis, sunflowers or even wheat. It may sound strange but when you see wheat someplace other than a field it is quite striking. Although you may never harvest enough wheat to bake a loaf of bread, it can be dried and used in flower arrangements.

If you want to add more colour to the great shapes and displays of vegetables, you can add a few flowers. Tried and true varieties include Gerbera daisy, pink and purple wave petunia, begonias, Calla lilies (great if your space is partially shaded) fragrant heliotrope and stock. If you prefer edible flowers try nasturtium, rose, violet and marigold (also known as calendula). Be sure not to use any chemicals on the edible flowers.

Get digging!

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