Use containers to start your own little garden of eatin'

Candy Criddle is a vegetable expert at Swansons Nursery in Seattle, but she understands new-gardener anxiety. The first time she planted vegetables, she used a measuring tape to make sure they were exactly 6 inches apart.

"Don't do that to yourself," said Criddle, who teaches a class on container vegetable gardening at Swansons.

Learning to grow edibles is much easier than that, she said, and far more fun.

"It's just getting going and learning and the practicing," she said. "It's about the beauty of plants and the practicality of eating your plants and the pleasure of growing your own food."

For people looking to venture beyond houseplants, container edibles are a good introduction to gardening, since many can be grown on decks and patios. Leafy lettuces, spinach and juicy tomatoes are relatively low-maintenance and easy to grow.

"When you've tasted your own homegrown tomato, there's nothing like it," Criddle said. "It's so satisfying."

Criddle lent us her expertise on beginner edible container gardening, sharing advice on how to successfully grow lettuces, tomatoes and strawberries over the summer.

Putting together a container garden on a patio or deck includes these basic steps, according to Criddle.

Containers. Plastic or wood dry out more evenly than clay.

Soil. Start your plants out in a combination of 4/5 potting soil and 1/5 organic compost mixed with a good vegetable fertilizer.

Fertilizer. Some plants do well with another dose of fertilizer, but many thrive when sprayed every six weeks with a seaweed-based plant enhancer.

Sacrifice plants. Prevent pests from eating your hard work with a sacrifice plant. Place a nasturtium in the opposite corner from your plants to attract black aphids.

Watering tips. Water before noon so the plant can use water all day long. It also prevents bugs. Add water until it runs out of the bottom of the container. Check soil regularly, and when it appears dry on top, it is time to water. There is no rule of thumb, but in general, water every three days or so in cooler weather and daily in warm weather.

Tomatoes

When to plant: Start planting tomatoes in April or May.

Containers: A full-size tomato requires a 5-gallon container for one plant. If you pick smaller varieties intended for hanging baskets like Yellow Canaries, Red Robins and Tommy Toes, you can put two or three in an 8-inch container.

Sun: Tomatoes need direct heat and lots of sun.

Watering tips: Tomatoes need water regularly, so once you put them on a schedule, stay with it.

Fertilizer: Mix in an organic fertilizer when you plant, and then spray with a seaweed derivative every six weeks or so.

Extra tip: A tomato is labeled by number of days before it has ripe fruit, like a 62-day tomato. The clock starts the day you plant the tomato.

Lettuces

When to plant: Plant lettuces in April and May.

Containers: You can plant up to five lettuce starts in a 12-by-12-inch container. Leafy lettuces like romaine, leaf and butter varieties do well in containers. Try mixing in spinach, kale or Swiss chard.

Sun tips: Lettuces need lots of light but don't do well in direct, hot sun.

Watering tips: Water when the top of the soil starts to get dry.

Fertilizer: Use a seaweed-based plant enhancer about every six weeks.

Extra tips: Don't overcrowd the lettuces in a container. And when cool-weather lettuces are done in July, plant the container with green bush beans to continue your garden through the summer.

Strawberries

When to plant: Now is a good time to plant strawberries.

Containers: Three plants will do well in an 8-inch container. Pick from varieties like delicate alpine strawberries or go with sturdier June bearing and day neutral varieties, the kind you find in the grocery store.

Sun: Strawberries like full sun, though alpines can handle full sun and part shade.

Watering: Water when the top of the soil starts to get dry.

Fertilizer: Add fertilizer when planting, and fertilize once again in late summer. Do not over-fertilize.

Extra tip: Mix edible violas like a Johnny-jump-up in the container for color.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com