Container gardening allows you to grow your own food at home, without the land!
Edible gardening in containers can supplement your food supply, whether it be growing small herbs on a balcony, growing a range of tomatoes and vegetables on a deck, or growing your edibles indoors with one of our indoor gardening ideas.
Explore some of these posts for ideas on the many ways to approach container gardening.
Quick Summary: Keeping container gardens watered while traveling is one of the biggest challenges for balcony and patio gardeners. Solutions range from simple wine-bottle type of spikes for weekend trips to Smart Drip Irrigation systems for extended travel. This guide covers four approaches matched to trip length, plus an example of a setup of a …
Quick Summary: Starting a vegetable garden begins with assessing your space, sun exposure, soil quality, and water access. Begin with easy crops like lettuce, herbs, bush beans, and radishes. If yard space is limited, many vegetables grow well in containers. Read time: 12 min | Experience level: Beginner Jump to: Planning your Garden Space | …
Quick Summary: Mini vegetables like ‘Tom Thumb’ peas, ‘Patio Baby’ eggplant, ‘Bambino’ carrots, and alpine strawberries are ideal for balcony and patio container gardens. Most need pots at least 10 to 12 inches in diameter and 8 to 12 inches deep, depending on the crop. Read time: 6 min | Experience level: Beginner Jump to: …
Quick Summary: Homemade potting soil gives you full control over ingredients but requires space and bulk materials. Commercial potting soil is convenient and consistent. Either way, use sterile mix, avoid overwatering, and keep lights close to prevent damping-off. Read time: 7 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: Homemade Potting Soils | Commercial …
Quick Summary: Container vegetable gardening requires good drainage, appropriately sized pots, sterile potting soil, consistent watering, and regular fertilizing. Determinate tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and salad greens are excellent choices for pots. Prep: Minimal | Difficulty: Beginner Jump to: Growing Vegetables in Pots | Choosing the Right Pot | How to Grow Veggies in Pots | …
Quick Summary: An Italian kitchen garden needs tomatoes (paste, slicer, and cherry types), squash, beans, chicory, peppers, eggplant, kale, broccoli, onions, lettuce, and herbs like basil, oregano, and parsley. Grow in the ground or containers. Most Italian varieties thrive in US gardens with warm summers. Read time: 12 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate …
Blueberry plants grown in containers will thrive in the summer but in many climates they will need a little extra care in winter to prevent their roots from freezing. Find out how to protect a potted blueberry bush in winter, whether you’re overwintering it indoors or outdoors! Jump to: Matching Blueberry Plants to Climate Zones …
Quick Summary: Blueberries benefit from companion plants that attract pollinators, tolerate acidic soil, and don’t compete aggressively for nutrients. Good choices include heather, fuchsia, strawberries, and herbs like thyme and lavender. Avoid nightshades, raspberries, and walnut trees in the garden plot. Read time: 10 min | Applies to: Containers and garden beds Jump to: Benefits …
Quick Summary: Grow blueberries in wide pots (at least 20 inches in diameter) with acidic soil (half peat, half potting mix). Choose half-high varieties for pots (Polaris, Northland, Chippewa). Full sun (6+ hours) is essential. Expect a lifespan of 8 to 12 years when grown in pots; 20-30 years when grown in a garden bed. …
Quick Summary: Grow tomatoes in hanging baskets using small, determinate varieties like Tumbler, Tumbling Tom, or Tiny Tim. Use a sturdy basket at least 12 inches wide and deep with drainage holes. Water daily in summer heat. Fertilize regularly since nutrients leach with each watering. Choose a sunny spot protected from strong wind. Read time: …
Quick Summary: A complete guide to starting a balcony herb garden. Covers which herbs grow best in containers, design ideas for small spaces, care basics (light, water, soil), and troubleshooting common problems. Perfect for urban gardeners and apartment dwellers with limited outdoor space. Jump to: Which Herbs to Choose | Purchase or Start from Seed? …
Quick Summary: Grow bags are reusable for multiple seasons if cleaned and stored properly. After harvest, remove soil, scrub the bag, soak in warm soapy water, rinse, and dry completely before storing flat. Replace potting soil each year for tomatoes to avoid disease buildup, or solarize old soil and add fresh compost. Quality bags last …
Quick Summary: Grow bags offer excellent drainage and air pruning for tomato roots. Use 7-10 gallon bags for determinate varieties, 15-20 gallons for indeterminate. The porous fabric dries out faster than plastic pots, so check soil daily in hot weather. One plant per bag for best results. Read time: 12 min | Experience level: Beginner …
Quick Summary: Potted plants need extra winter protection because roots aren’t insulated by ground soil. Rule of thumb: subtract 2 zones from a plant’s hardiness rating for containers. Hardy plants can stay outdoors with protection (mulch, wrapping, burying pots). Tender plants go indoors to a garage, greenhouse, or cool room. Stop fertilizing in fall; reduce …
We’re all well aware of the benefits of growing your own food: it’s tasty, it’s cheap and it’s fun. But what if you don’t have a big garden to grow your vegetables, fruits or herbs in? Although I am able to grow my own produce on our 23-acre farm, my son is an apartment dweller …