Put Your Edible Garden In Pots

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's been an early harvest, even for patio gardeners like me. Last week I already gathered armfuls of herbs - oregano, marjoram, and several kinds of basil. I see lots of tomatoes on their way to ripening too.

I don't grow tons of food and none of it in the ground but rather, in big planters to put it at easy reach for me, yet further from the bunnies. Big pots let you control the soil, remind you to water by putting them where you walk by often, and make food easy to fetch for meals. You never have to step into a muddy garden in the middle of cooking to pick a pepper or snip some sage when there's a handy planter right by the back door.

Herbs are one of the easiest things to grow, and cheap to buy - one little plant usually costs less than you pay for one of those packs of cut herbs at the grocery store. By growing your own, you'll have enough to eat fresh all summer, lots of leftover to dry or freeze for the rest of the year, plus plenty to give as gifts. So, if you don't have any yet, go grab a few herb plants on sale and pop them into pots to harvest all summer long.