The Container Kitchen Garden

KITCHEN GARDENS IN CONTAINERS by Antony Atha is a nifty book with beautiful close-up pictures for tired eyes. Atha has created a useful and informative work. He shows the gardener how to make plant containers from scratch (wooden boxes, brick enclosures); convert items into containers (baskets, coffee cans, plastic lined buckets, wheelbarrows, etc.); or use the tried and true containers such as clay pots. He also includes material on how to design with plant containers. One nifty idea I am going to try involves growing combinations of food plants in the same container. I especially like the example of the strawberry jar growing cilantro in the side pockets and eggplants on top.The back half of Atha's book lists container plants in his "Plant Directory." Not all plants are suited for growing in containers. Furthermore, some plants do well together and some do not. Atha divides his directory into herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Each entry includes information about plant tenderness, size, flower description (food plants have flowers), light requirements, propagation needs, and other information. He color codes the sections: purple for herbs; green for vegetables, and terra cotta for fruit. At the end of each section, he includes recipes for the various items. For example, under herbs you will find a recipe for a chamomile and bran face mask. Under vegetables you will find recipes for Borscht and Gazpacho. The fruit section includes recipes for spiced peaches and damson jam. This is a practical book for gardeners with intermediate skills.