It’s finally time to dine al fresco, and that means those of us with home gardens are ramping up our crops of fresh produce for beautiful summer meals.
While not all of us have large garden spaces, a resurfaced clip on the Martha Moments Instagram page reminds us that a French technique called potager allows for ample growing everywhere from garden plots to back porches. It’s giving us some major vegetable garden container ideas.
‘In France, if you have a little tiny garden or a great big garden, chances are you’ll also have what they call a potager,’ Martha explains in the clip. ‘Potager is a little vegetable garden where you grow just enough for your everyday cooking. It’s a very nice thing to do in this pot. Here we have a caprese salad growing, we have a tomato, we have our fresh basil. We even have a little bit of oregano. And when this is ripe and full-grown, you’ll have meal to meal a lovely salad. All you need is the mozzarella.’
Shop the porch vegetable garden edit
Tomato Seeds
Super Sweet 100 Tomato Seeds or Plants
Super Sweet 100 is an indeterminate, cherry tomato that produces large harvests of scarlet, cherry-sized fruits over the season.
Sturdy shape
Fiskars Herb Garden Scissors
These stainless steel blade plant shears are deal for harvesting herbs outdoors or from a window herb garden. It comes with a safety cover to avoid injury.
Lightweight
Made from durable, lightweight plastic this planter is fade, frost, and weather-resistant.
We are instantly sold. However, Martha mentions a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when potting fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers in your backyard.
First and foremost, when prepping your pots, create drills in the soil for your seeds.
‘Just sprinkle the lettuce seeds,’ Martha suggests. ‘ You want them to grow very full and thick because you’re going to be cutting them, maybe with scissors, or pulling them out as as you thin them.’
Next, she suggests covering up the furrows with a bit of soil, about twice the thickness of the length of the seed.
‘Make sure you water it and until it germinates, you can cover this whole thing over with just a piece of black plastic,’ she says. [It] keeps the moisture in and the sunlight out. Remember, seeds do not need light to germinate. Once they’re germinated, remove the plastic and watch those lettuces mature into delicious salads.’
When it comes time to pick your veg, ‘Use a sharp scissor and just take the largest leaves, leaving the plant to regenerate itself,’ Martha recommends.
Finally, mix and match different herbs and vegetables in large pots a la companion planting, creating a blend of seasonal veg all in one place; Martha has opted for one pot with butter crunch, oak leaf, and arugula, and another with shallots, tomato, and basil.
Potager is a convenient and highly effective way to garden this summer, and it’s a method we can certainly get behind.
As the weather warms up, it’s time to enjoy outdoor dining and fresh produce from our home gardens for delicious summer meals.
Even if you don’t have a large garden space, a video on the Martha Moments Instagram page highlights the French technique of potager, which allows for growing vegetables in small spaces like garden plots or back porches. This is inspiring us with some great vegetable garden container ideas.
“In France, whether you have a small or large garden, you’ll likely have a potager,” Martha explains in the video. “A potager is a small vegetable garden where you grow just enough for your everyday cooking. It’s a lovely thing to do. Here we have a caprese salad growing with tomatoes, fresh basil, and oregano. When these are ready, you’ll have a delicious salad for your meals. All you need is mozzarella.”
Shop the porch vegetable garden edit
Tomato Seeds
Super Sweet 100 Tomato Seeds or Plants
Super Sweet 100 is an indeterminate, cherry tomato that produces large harvests of scarlet, cherry-sized fruits over the season.
Sturdy shape
Fiskars Herb Garden Scissors
These stainless steel blade plant shears are ideal for harvesting herbs outdoors or from a window herb garden. They come with a safety cover to prevent injury.
Lightweight
This planter is made from durable, lightweight plastic that is fade, frost, and weather-resistant.
We are excited to try this out. Martha also shares some tips for potting fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers in your backyard.
When preparing your pots, Martha suggests creating drills in the soil for your seeds.
“Simply sprinkle the lettuce seeds,” Martha advises. “You want them to grow full and thick so you can harvest them by cutting with scissors or thinning them out.”
Next, cover the furrows with soil about twice the thickness of the seed length.
“Make sure to water it and cover it with black plastic until it germinates,” she explains. “This keeps the moisture in and sunlight out, as seeds do not need light to germinate. Once they sprout, remove the plastic and watch your lettuce grow into tasty salads.”
When it’s time to harvest, Martha recommends using sharp scissors to cut the largest leaves, allowing the plant to regrow.
Finally, mix different herbs and vegetables in large pots using companion planting to create a variety of seasonal vegetables in one place. Martha suggests combinations like butter crunch, oak leaf, and arugula in one pot, and shallots, tomatoes, and basil in another.
Potager is a convenient and effective way to garden this summer, and it’s a method we can definitely get behind.
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