Use bigger pots than you think

Small pots dry out in hours on a hot day. A tomato needs at least 5 gallons, and 10 or more is better. Peppers and eggplant want 3 to 5 gallons.

When: Spring · For: Tomato, Cherry tomato, Pepper, Hot pepper, Eggplant

Choose varieties bred for pots

Look for words like patio, bush, dwarf, or compact on the seed packet or plant tag. They stay small but still produce well, where a full-size tomato or squash would soon outgrow the pot.

When: Winter, Spring

Use potting mix, not garden soil

Garden soil packs down in a pot, drains poorly, and brings weed seeds. Potting mix stays light and airy, so roots get both water and air.

Refresh old potting mix each spring

Mix in about a third fresh potting mix or compost, plus some slow-release fertilizer. If the plants in it got sick last year, start over with all new mix.

When: Spring

Every pot needs a drainage hole

Gravel in the bottom doesn't help drainage: it actually keeps the wettest layer closer to the roots. Use a pot with a hole and good potting mix instead.

Water pots until it runs out the bottom

A quick splash only wets the top inch. Soak the whole pot until water drips from the drainage hole, then empty the saucer so the roots don't sit in water.

When: Growing season

Check pots every day in summer

In hot weather, pots can need water once or even twice a day. A drip line on a timer takes care of it, even when you're away.

When: Growing season

Put your pots on drip irrigation →

Feed plants in pots

Every watering washes some nutrients out the bottom of the pot. Feed with a diluted liquid fertilizer every week or two while plants are growing.

When: Growing season

Keep roots in pots from cooking

A dark pot in full sun can heat the soil inside enough to hurt the roots. Use light-colored pots, group pots so they shade each other, or slip a small pot inside a bigger one.

When: Growing season

Grow up, not out

In a small space, give cucumbers, pole beans, and peas something to climb. They grow more in the same patch of ground, and the fruit is easier to find.

For: Cucumber, Pole beans, Peas, Snap peas

Build a trellis →

Grow herbs by the kitchen door

You'll use them far more if you can step out and snip some while dinner cooks. Basil, parsley, chives, and thyme all do well in pots.

When: Spring · For: Basil, Parsley, Chives, Thyme