The Windowbox Allotment
What herbs, etc. to plant
Below are mini guides as to what other edible or useful plants you could grow in your windowbox with instructions on how to grow them and recommended cultivars that are known for their ease of growing, good flavour, size or hardiness.
Fruit
Vegetables
Lemon Balm
Great for herbal teas and makes a tasty homemade wine. Lemon balm plants are pretty tough and will survive in most conditions, but have a tendency to take over unless you provide a barrier within the windowbox. Feed regularly in spring and summer.
Sow seed: 1cm deep in spring
Plant: Established plants / divided clumps in spring or autumn
Marjoram (Oregano)
Pot marjoram (which can be dried) and sweet marjoram (usually used fresh) do well in a sunny position and can be easily grown in a windowbox and steadily picked through the summer.
Sow seed: In pots in spring.
Plant: pot grown plants out in spring and early summer
Mint
Mint comes in a huge variety of scents and flavours and most need to be carefully contained to stop them spreading throughout your whole windowbox. Either plant your mint in a bottomless pot or force in a piece of slate to act as a barrier to prevent the roots from roaming too far. Plant in fertile, moisture-retentive compost and feed frequently in summer.
Plant: rooted shoots or pot-grown plants in spring or autumn
Varieties: Spearmint, Epicure Mint, Bowles’ Mint
Lemon Grass
An oriental, tender perennial, that needs minimum temperatures of 13oC so not really suited to outdoor growing in this country
Lovage
Lovage is capable of growing to heights of more than 2m, so is really not suitable for growing in your windowbox!
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
