Creating a fantastic edible basket is easy, with the right ingredients. First you need a basket that you can work with. I want as much surface area as possible so my plants have room to grow. This means I use the sides and bottom as well as the top. You need to take root space into consideration too but using a mix including shallow rooted plants allows for more plants in a basket. The basket in the picture has not had a chance to fill out, once the weather improves (like we get some sun) I expect it to bush out more fully.
There are a lot of Chinese made moss lined baskets on the market for around $30 which have tightly woven mesh. I have tried to use these with moderate success - I lost approximately half the herbs I tried to plant in the sides. I opt for Canadian made wire baskets with more working space between the wires. I also use bulk moss or a coir matt (grass or coconut). Surprisingly, building your own basket using bulk moss and bare wire baskets is a little more expensive however the results are better, and perhaps a little more satisfying.
For those of you living in Vancouver, I am teaching a 1.5 hour Edible Hanging Basket Workshop at Orling & Wu in Gastown on July 2, 2012. Everyone will be taking home their own basket with a delicious array of herbs, veggies, and edible flowers.
The seedings I am currently growing for the workshop include: thyme, rosemary, cut & come again lettuce, tomatoes (of course), miniature white cucumbers, peas, nasturtiums, lavender and violas.
Participants will also learn how to make an eco friendly newspaper pot for propagating seeds, and some of the basics for seed propagation.
They will not only take home their own edible hanging basket but, included in the price are seeds they can start themselves for succession planting or growing next year (seeds can be used for up to 2-3 years) and their own newspaper pot with freshly planted seeds.
We are introducing the workshops at a special low rate of $75.