My Container Gardening Must-Haves and Lessons Learned

When we moved into our apartment more than three years ago, my mom commented excitedly that our balcony faced south. I wouldn’t realize how valuable the south-facing direction would be until much later, but the balcony itself was a big selling point for us because my husband Damon loves to barbecue. Gardening was not a big interest of mine at the time, and ironically, I didn’t like our patio during the summer because it got too hot from the afternoon sun. My gardening obsession started with a pack of cilantro seeds (my favorite herb) and it all snowballed from there.

Since purchasing my first pack of seeds, I’ve taken a deep dive into vegetable gardening and continue to experiment with growing as many varieties as I can on my balcony. If you live in a condo like me, you might feel very limited in space or be under the impression that you can’t garden unless you have a backyard. However, I’ve learned that balcony gardens actually have many advantages. You avoid problems like deer, squirrels, rodents, raccoons, carrot rust flies (they’re poor fliers), other people, and other people’s pets from damaging your garden. You can grow in a variety of planters and grow bags, which allows you to style your balcony however you like – whether in cedar planter boxes, fabric grow bags, or industrial-vibe concrete-coloured planters. You can easily rearrange the position and configuration of your planters because they’re not fixed to the ground. Furthermore, you have the advantage of using vertical space with hanging planters and balcony railing planters. There’s so much possibility.

I’ve found gardening to be meditative, intellectually stimulating, challenging and rewarding. I love that there’s there so much to learn and that at the same time, so much of it is out of my control. I find it beneficial for my mental health to spend time outside in my garden, rain or shine, get dirty, and watch things grow. In my year of deep diving into gardening, I’ve learned so much and want to share my gardening philosophy and advice.

My gardening philosophy and tips:

Just try it. You don’t need to know everything or have the best of everything. There are numerous ways to grow vegetables and it can be paralyzing if you do too much research. The two resources I highly recommend are All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew (very inspiring book about maximizing the space you have) and Gardening Under Lights by Leslie Halleck. If something seems interesting, give it the best environment you can with what you have and just plant it!
Grow from seed. There are so many reasons to grow from seeds vs growing from store-bought seedlings. I’ve bought my share of seedlings from the garden centre and trust me, I get the appeal. 1) Seedlings from the garden centre or grocery store come with bugs. I’ve learned this the hard way. 2) If you’ve planted store-bought seedlings before, you’ve seen how root bound they are by the time you take them home. Those plants are not getting the best start. Also, not every vegetable is happy being transplanted. 3) When you plant from seeds, you have control over the whole process; 4) Variety – You have much much more variety to choose from when you grow from seed. You get to choose from dozens of varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, etc. 5) Growing from seed costs a lot less money; 6) Most importantly, it’s very satisfying growing things from seed. I love running to my seedling tray in the morning (and afternoon and evening) to see if anything’s sprouted, and both Damon and I check multiple times a day. You get to experience the progress of your plant from seed to harvest. Don’t deprive yourself of that excitement! The only exceptions to this “rule” are: potatoes, which are grown from certified seed potatoes (potatoes used specifically for growing crops that’s been certified by the government to be free of disease); asparagus, which are grown from 1-2 year “crowns” aka roots; raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries (though I am trying to grow strawberries from seed); and other vegetables if you’re very late in the season and want to try to grow something but don’t have time to start seeds.
Buy a grow light (or two). Using grow lights has been the biggest game changer for me. For anyone with a fiddle leaf fig, using a grow light will make a noticeable difference. Even though I have large south facing windows, I use grow lights for starting seeds indoors and for giving consistent year-round light to my fiddle leaf figs. My fiddle leaf figs actually don’t like southern exposure because it’s too harsh in the summer and it burns the leaves. I have two Soltech Large Aspect Lights in white, and I’d really like a third. It comes with a timer and it fits nicely with my home decor. I also have an inexpensive clip-on LED grow light that I clip on to a shelf and use for germinating seeds. I use a timer like this one and have it set to turn on from 6am to 8pm.
Give plants enough space. One of the biggest factors in success is giving plants enough space and making sure they’re not crowded. I tend to plant too many things in a small area and always end up going through a tedious effort of moving plants when they run out of space. When plants are in the seedling stage, it’s hard to picture how big they’ll get. Last year I moved my cauliflower and cabbage plants so many times that I was exhausted and so were they. Container depth is just as important as horizontal spacing. The same plant will grow much bigger in a deep container than a shallow one. I recommend a minimum of 6 inches. To maximize the space and soil you have, I love the recommendations in Square Foot Gardening, and I love the images that people have created based on square foot garden principles (see below). Seedling Square is a good tool if you’re planting in the ground, in raised beds or have very large containers.
Drainage is a must – Make sure that you buy planters with drainage holes, drill your own drainage holes, or get fabric grow bags that allow excess water to easily drain out of the container.
Use chemical-free fertilizers and soil amendments – I believe in using natural soil amendments like compost, manure, and worm castings. I also believe in growing cover crops like buckwheat and clover to bring nitrogen back to the soil. There are lots of ways to grow healthy plants without pouring in chemical fertilizers.
If you don’t get the result you want, just try again. Look, this isn’t how you make a living. You don’t have a plant boss. Harvesting is fun but so is the entire process. This is all done in the spirit of fun and learning, so whatever doesn’t work just means you have gained experience. It is highly likely that you will get to harvest some things out of everything you plant, and when you do, it will be very rewarding.

Square Foot Gardening Guide from Victory 8 Garden

My Container Gardening Must-Haves

I have and use everything on this list with the exception of the nice tool kit, which I want to get.

Vegetable and Herb Seeds – I highly recommend growing from seed (see reasons above). It can be overwhelming to shop from the large catalogues of seeds out there. I put together a Container Gardening Seed Collection with varieties that grow successfully in containers. It comes in three different sizes to suit different spaces. I also put together a comprehensive Herb Collection with the goal that that one day, none of us will need to buy $2.49 packages of herbs at the grocery store.
Gardening tool set – How cute is this tool bag? My tools are mix-and-match and kind of all over the place, so I’d love to get this nicely organized set for storing my tools. I can put my gloves, seed markers, other knick knacks in there too. Why is my birthday so far away?
Self-watering hanging planter – We have four of these and use them to grow tomatoes, flowers and strawberries. It’s a great way to make use of vertical space. We highly recommend getting a pulley so you can safely bring your basket up and down.
My two favorite books on gardening: All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew and Gardening Under Lights by Leslie Halleck.
Grow lights – The amount of light seedlings need is much more than a typical windowsill can provide. Even the brightest windows do not provide light for enough hours of the day for seedlings to grow. How far away from the window makes a dramatic difference as well. When plants don’t get enough light, they can get leggy from stretching to find a light source. I live in Vancouver, where it’s dark for most of the year and bright for about three months. I love fiddle leaf figs and could not handle killing another one, so I bought my first Soltech light. I’ve since purchased a second one as well as a basic clip on grow light. When I’m starting seeds, I put most of the lights over my seed trays. For the rest of the year I position them over my indoor plants. I think it’s important to get a grow light that looks good in your home.
Seed Starting Pellets – I love using jiffy pellets to start seeds. All you have to do is add water and seeds. I’ve also used seed starting soil and containers, but peat or coir pellets are much easier and less messy. Just a note on those peat containers that you’re supposed to be able to plant right in the soil with the seedlings because the roots supposedly grow through them easily: False. In my experience, roots don’t grow through them well at all. If you’re using them, my advice is to take the seedling out and reuse the container or throw it in the compost.
Planters – I like these containers and have several in various sizes on my balcony. I also have these ones and these ones. For my larger plants like my Japanese Maple that are more permanent fixtures on my balcony, I love CB2 outdoor planters (on sale). I love the classy concrete look. If you have a balcony, planters that attach to your balcony railing are another way to maximize your space. I get them from Canadian Tire (haven’t been able to find any online).
Fabric Grow Bags – In addition to planters, I use a lot of fabric grow bags. They come in different sizes, are easy to move around, are easy to store when not in use, provide great drainage, and are affordable. I use several 5 gallon and 7 gallon bags for vegetables and I use 20 gallon bags for potatoes.
A Cute Watering Can you’ll enjoy using every day
Gardening Gloves – I get splinters every single time I garden and think “I’ll just do this quick thing” without gloves. I just got these gloves with forearm protection because I’m growing three rose bushes this year, and I love that they come in different sizes. I got XS and they fit well. They’re a bit stiff at the moment but I think they’ll soften.
Worm Manure – I love Jocelyn’s Soil Booster, and in fact, I had such a good experience with worm castings that I started my own worm bin during quarantine. Jocelyn’s Soil Booster Worm Manure comes from worms that are fed food waste from Toronto businesses and homes. Worm manure, commonly known as worm castings, is a natural fertilizer for all of your plants, indoor and outdoor. It promotes healthy microbial activity in the soil, which in turn makes your plans stronger and less susceptible to disease (think probiotics for your soil). I add a handful of this when I’m transplanting seedlings and use it a couple times a year on my fiddle leaf figs. I buy multiple bags of this at a time and I can’t wait to be able to use my own worm castings.
Wide-Brimmed Hat – Don’t underestimate the amount of sun exposure you get when you’re outside gardening. Even if you’re just doing a quick early morning walk through, remember to wear a hat and sunscreen. Tory Burch sells the cutest gardening hat that I want.
Sunscreen! – I love products that do double beauty. I was wearing La Roche-Posay Tinted Ultra-light Sunscreen SPF 50 when Damon proposed in Japan, and I buy it every year because I love that it provides sun protection while giving me medium coverage. Juice Beauty SPF 30 Moisturizer smells great, and Shiseido’s UV Lip Color SPF 30 has a beautiful tint and helps me protect my lips.