Pots and planters will soon be a one-and-a-half billion-dollar industry in the United States, driven in part by the rise of container gardening. The hobby has blossomed into a solution for city residents seeking to bring greenery into limited spaces. With only a few pots, quality soil and select plants, anyone can transform a balcony, patio or windowsill into a productive garden.
“Whether it’s a deck or a patio or you’re an introductory gardener, [if you] want to dip your toe in the water [of gardening]… you can grow and have a successful vegetable garden” with a container garden, says corporate gardening consultant Adam Weiss, who teaches gardening to Johnson & Johnson, Tiffany & Company and L’Oréal employees. Container gardening is a beginner-friendly introduction to green thumbing, and it’s easy to get started.
Who should start a container garden?
Anyone seeking nature and a bit of greenery in their urban environment is a great candidate for a container garden. Siobhan Shaw, co-founder of Growing to Give, grew up on a farm and was nostalgic for her childhood when she moved to the city. She says she thought, “I used to have all this beautiful nature around me.… How do I bring that back into my life?”
Container gardening was a space-friendly solution. “Wherever we were, we tried to have some sort of garden. And, mostly, it had to be containers… because we lived in tight, small spaces, and we moved around a lot.”
Although she now lives in Arizona, Shaw has kept up her container gardening, as she believes it can play a role in solving the food insecurity crisis in America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.5% of American households were food insecure at some point in 2023.
Shaw sees container gardening as a way of mitigating that number. “I really, truly believe if more and more people grew in containers in their small spaces around their homes [on] rooftops, balconies, [in] alleyways beside McDonald’s… we could really take a bite out of the hunger issues that we find in our communities.”
How to start a container garden
Container gardening doesn’t require expensive equipment. Weiss recommends starting with grow bags, an inexpensive, breathable material for growing plants. “If someone’s starting with a container garden, and they don’t want to make a huge investment [in pots and planters], these come in 5-, 10-, 20-, 25-gallon sizes, and they’re portable.”
It’s essential to choose the right items to plant. “There are 13 growing zones in the United States, so… where you live determines when you plant certain types of vegetables,” Weiss explains.
Weiss also recommends succession planting, or planting the right things to get the most from each container throughout the year. “In the cool seasons, you direct seed vegetables like radishes, beets, carrots, leaf lettuces… snap peas. These are items that thrive in cool weather.”
For warmer months, different plants thrive. “In the summertime, you want to put in seedling vegetables like your tomatoes and your peppers and your eggplants and your cucumbers and your squashes because they need a soil temperature that is much warmer, more like 70 degrees,” Weiss says.
Container gardening mistakes to avoid
Some plants take up too much space for container gardens. “Some people say, hey, I want to grow butternut squash. I love it. Butternut squash is a vining vegetable that will take over an area with one container. It could grow laterally 12 to 15 feet in each direction,” Weiss cautions.
Although a cute pot or planter might add to a container garden’s appeal, the most critical element for success isn’t the container itself but what goes in it. Many first-time gardeners make a fundamental mistake with soil selection. “You don’t want to use garden soil in your container gardening because [it’s] compacted. It will not [be] as effective with drainage [and] root development,” Weiss explains.
“You want to get a potting soil… it’s lighter, aerated, easier to drain, [and an] easier growing medium for container gardening. Many people use garden soil, and they don’t understand why they haven’t had success.” The right soil will allow roots to penetrate deeply, which makes accessing nutrients and water easier for the plant.
Container gardening success tips
To help a container garden thrive, it’s critical to mulch it with shredded mulch or straw compost to “retain moisture to minimize weed development [and] retain heat or cooling,” Weiss advises.
It’s also vital to support plants early. “Make sure to trellis or put your supports in your container. For instance, if you’re growing a tomato, you need to either put a stake or a cage at the get-go,” Weiss says. This lets the plant grow to its full potential.
Whether you’re cultivating herbs for cooking or raising vegetables for better nutrition, container gardening can bring the joy of growing to any space. With simple materials and these expert tips, even the smallest balcony can be transformed into a productive green sanctuary.
Photo by Anna Nahabed/Shutterstock
