Container Gardening3.0

Grow fresh food on a balcony, patio, rooftop or windowsill. Container Gardening is a clear, illustrated guide to growing vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers in pots, written for beginners and checked against advice from university extension services and the Royal Horticultural Society.

Every guide comes with original drawings: pot sizes to scale, how deep to plant, where to pinch, how to stake, what pests and diseases look like, and how to lay out a small balcony.

GET STARTED
• Why containers work, and a simple five-pot plan for your first garden
• The tools you really need

CONTAINERS
• Plastic, terracotta, wood, fabric or metal: pros, cons and food safety
• Container size chart for every crop, in litres and gallons
• Drainage, and why a gravel layer makes things worse
• Self-watering pots, including a DIY two-bucket planter
• Vertical gardens, hanging baskets and balcony weight

SOIL AND FEEDING
• Potting mix: why not garden soil, and a home recipe
• Fertilizer: N-P-K explained, and reading deficiency symptoms on leaves
• Composting in small spaces: worm bins and bokashi

GROWING
• Reading the sunlight on your balcony
• Watering well: the finger test, soaking, holidays
• Seeds and transplants: sowing depth, pricking out, hardening off

VEGETABLES, HERBS, FRUIT AND FLOWERS
Tomatoes, peppers and chillies, eggplant, okra, cucumbers and squash, lettuce and leafy greens, radishes and carrots, beans and peas, potatoes in grow bags, onions and garlic, microgreens, basil, mint, coriander and parsley, chives, thyme and rosemary, strawberries, dwarf citrus, figs and blueberries, and edible flowers for pollinators. Each one has a quick-facts table: pot size, sun, spacing and time to harvest.

CARE AND PROBLEMS
• Pruning and support: stakes, cages, trellis and pinching out
• Hand pollination for squash and tomatoes
• Succession sowing for a steady harvest
• When and how to harvest
• Seasons in both hemispheres, heat, wind and frost
• Common pests and diseases, with safe, step-by-step control
• Troubleshooting wilting, yellow leaves and leggy seedlings

PROJECTS
• Ready-made balcony plans
• Gardening with kids

Also: search across every guide, dark mode, and everything works offline.

This app is an independent guide. Growing conditions vary by climate and region, so check local advice for your area, and keep pets and children away from plants and products that are not safe for them.