How Does Your (Container) Garden Grow?

Last summer, I posted about how Robbie and I, both with absolutely no gardening experience whatsoever (aside from the practice of unintentionally killing houseplants on a regular basis), turned into full-on container gardening enthusiasts:

"Robbie and I randomly bought a little $1 organic basil seed kit on a whim while out running errands... We didn't think much of it, as neither of us had ever really possessed the desire to garden before (nor a yard in which to plant even if we had).  But when those seeds turned to sprouts and poked their little bits of green goodness through that black soil, we were suddenly urban farmers with glowing green thumbs, ready to grow all sorts of food and lovely-to-look-at plants on our deck/terrace for summer."

It's true. Something about seeing that basil seed sprout unleashed a hidden garden obsession within both of us, and we discovered an awesome new hobby in something that we'd never before imagined would interest us. We ended up growing that tiny basil seed into a hearty plant that provided us with endless pesto and fresh basil sandwiches all summer long.  We also grew red and yellow tomatoes, sunflowers, and a bunch of ornamental plants.  All in containers.  The best part (because we had no idea what we were doing) was that we were forced to do a lot of research on container gardening, which allowed us to be prepared to create a bigger and better garden this time around.

In all fairness, it is Robbie who has done most of the work so far this year.  The band spent the first four months of the year on the road almost nonstop, so with the exception of weekend festivals, they're home quite a lot for the rest of the spring and beginning of summer.  Robbie has been spending a lot of his time pursuing our container gardening addiction, and I have to say that I'm really impressed with everything he's been accomplishing.  He's been reading, learning, building, clearing, planting, and DIY-ing.  So far he's built two raised beds, and even has a little indoor growing area set up in the basement for the seedlings.  He's planted heirloom tomatoes, basil, thyme, cumin, rosemary, oregano, spearmint, peppermint, parsley, lettuce, daisies, and sunflowers. Our friends John and Amanda also gave us a ton of baby pepper plants, which I'll admit is ridiculously exciting for us (we love us some hot peppers). 

As I mentioned in my post last summer, there really is an amazing potential to produce fresh, healthy food and visually beautiful plants and flowers, regardless of how small or unconventional the space.  And with urban sprawl on the rise, diminishing farmland, and increased signs of environmental destruction arriving everyday, the concept of small-space container gardening is becoming more and more significant to the future of humankind.  (Yep, it's pretty heavy.) 

If you've been thinking about starting a garden but have limited space, it's so much easier than you might think to DIY your own container garden.  Promise.  Although we're still far from expert status, Robbie and I are both happy to answer any questions you guys might have.  You can also check out some of these resources to learn more:  Life on the Balcony // Urban Organic Gardener // Garden Guides: Container Gardening // Treehugger.com Edible Container Gardens  // 24 Container Gardening Projects // How to Build a Raised Vegetable Garden