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Pots & Soil container gardening, honestly

Container gardening, honestly explained

Grow real food in pots — on a balcony, a doorstep, or from a chair.

No yard. No full mobility. No patience for “easy and fun!” guides that skip the pot size. This is the site I wish existed when my first tomato died in a 2-gallon pot.

Start here Browse crop guides
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guides planned, 26 live
41
crops with real pot sizes
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Hands transplanting a tomato seedling into a fabric grow bag

Four ways in

Pick the path that matches your space — and your body.

Everything on the site lives under one of these four. Start anywhere; they cross-link constantly.

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The guides people read first — and come back to.

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This month · August

What to do in your pots right now.

Late summer is when containers either coast or collapse. Four things worth doing this week, each with the guide that explains why.

Autumn containers with ornamental kale, pansies and a small pumpkin on a doorstep Read next Fall container gardening: what to plant in September, October and November
Carsten on his balcony among potted vegetables
A shallow container of mixed lettuce

About

I'm not a master gardener. That's sort of the point.

I'm Carsten — a builder who got obsessed with growing food in places that weren't supposed to grow food: a 4×6 balcony, a north-facing window, a friend's wheelchair-height planter. Every guide here is written from trying it, failing at it, and asking people who know better.

  • Real container sizesGallons, not “a big pot”.
  • Honest failure modesCorn in a pot is a fantasy. I'll say so.
  • Named varietiesPatio Princess, not Brandywine.
  • Accessible gardening, researchedBuilt with people who garden seated.
Read my story

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The container size chart — minimum gallons per crop, on one page.

41 vegetables, herbs and fruits with the pot size that actually works, not the one that “might”. Print it, stick it near your pots. One email a fortnight, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.

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