Pizza Garden in a Container

By Kerry Michaels, About.com Guide

What You Will Need for your Pizza Herb Container Garden

·         A large container with drainage holes - lots of them

·         Good quality potting soil, preferably organic with a slow release fertilizer

·         Herbs - Parsley, thyme, basil, oregano and anything else you want on pizza.

·         You could also include a tomato plant, or hot pepper plant in this pot.

·         Sun - Most of these herbs thrive in full sun - at least 6 hours a day.

Fill your container garden with Soil and place your herbs-

• First make sure your pot has enough drainage holes.
•  Next you'll need to cover the holes with something that will let water out, but keep your soil in
• For this metal container, I've used a heavy plastic bag with lots of small holes punched in it, to separate the soil from the metal container.
• You can also put plastic window screening, pot shards, packing peanuts or Styrofoam in the bottom of your pizza garden.
• An even better solution is “Better than Rocks” plastic mesh
• Next add enough soil to your container so that your plants will sit an inch or two from the top of your pot. This will make it easier to water them.
• Take your plants out of their nursery pots and if the roots are visible and packed together, gently pull them apart.
• Place your plants in your container and make sure to give them some room.
• In most container gardens I cram plants close together, but in this case, some plants, particularly basil, need space for air circulation.
• Thyme, oregano and some varieties of tarragon and parsley will drape, so I put them on the edges.
• Basil is good in the middle as is rosemary because they tend to be taller and more upright.
• Once you have placed your plants add soil, making sure to fill in the spaces between the plants, and pat it down gently.
•  When you are finished water generously - making sure to water until it runs out the bottom of the container.

Caring for your Pizza Garden

Place your pizza garden in full sun and water generously when the soil feels dry.
Use diluted liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks. I use an organic liquid fish emulsion.
Herb Hints:

·         To keep your basil bushy, use it often or clip it back - the more you use the more you'll have.

·         If you have a sunny spot inside or a grow light, this could be a year 'round container garden.

·         If one of your plants dies or begins to look awful, just pull it or dig it out of your pot and replace it with another plant.

·         Cut back parsley and dill before it flowers.

·         Dill is great on seafood pizza.

·         Chives are also good on pizza and easy to grow.

·         Don't use too much fertilizer - it can affect the taste of the herbs. 

Container Pizza Garden