*This guide is a part of our Apartment Homesteading Series.
Learn the basics of Apartment Homesteading in our knowledge base here, or check out our recommended books for growing food in the city.
No matter the size of your yard (or if you have one at all), you can still enjoy fresh produce, beautiful flowers, and the satisfaction of growing your own food.
With a balcony, deck, or even just a sunny windowsill, you can start your self-sufficiency journey and connect with the plant world through herbs, vegetables, and fruit.
In this guide, I'll show you everything you need to know to get started with container gardening.
You’ll learn:
There are a lot of different kinds of pots out there, and it can be overwhelming to know what kind to get. If it’s in your budget and you’re in the market for new pots, I have curated a list of pots that are sustainable and noted by the manufacturer to be food-safe.
While I always encourage being crafty and repurposing things, when you’re growing your own food it’s important to know if the container is meant for food gardening use or not.
These pots are perfect to use if you’re apartment homesteading and have a balcony, or if you have a patio or small yard. Containers also work for larger properties - I can attest that it’s nice to be able to move the containers around to provide more sun, shade, or warmth.
I really like fabric pots as they are so useful on the homestead, especially when they have handles! They are easy to move around, come in a variety of sizes, and are easy to store after the growing season is complete.
These fabric pots are noted as being BPA-free, and were designed with drip irrigation in mind. The variety of sizes that you can get is pretty incredible!
While these are smaller pots, I have purchased them in bulk for seed starting and am surprised at how well they hold up. Being made from Coconut Fiber, they are a 100% natural product that is made from something that is considered a “waste” in the food industry. It’s really nice to have pots that are totally biodegradable!
Terracotta pots are beautiful, sturdy, and come in a variety of sizes. Unless they are coated or painted, terracotta can be lead-free, but you can check the labeling of what you're buying to be sure.
I recommend purchasing terracotta pots in person if you can - they are often less expensive to purchase that way, as shipping their weight can really add to the price.
These two options allow you to grow SO much food in a very small footprint. You're able to turn them, so you can make sure that all sides of the structure is getting enough sun. You can also turn more sensitive plants away from the sun during the heat of the day.
The Garden Tower 2 comes with a built-in composting system, makes watering a breeze, and can be used indoors with the base attachment.
The Garden Tower official website states that it’s made from “100% UV stable food-grade high-purity HDPE (non-toxic, BPA & PVC free plastic) plastic,” is made in the USA and has a 5 year guarantee. The color is FDA approved dye.
Epic Gardening notes that the Greenstalk is made in the USA “with high quality, food-grade, UV-resistant, BPA, BPS & PVC-free plastic.” It also comes with a 5 year guarantee! This vertical gardening system is not recommended for indoor growing.
Having taller spaces for growing food gives you the option to stack more plants or store garden tools, while also making gardening more accessible. These options are either made from untreated wood, terracotta, or
While you can make container growing work with a lot of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, some plants are more suited to small space gardening than others. If you are apartment homesteading and need to be mindful about space, these varieties are known for being small, compact, and perfect for getting an abundant harvest without sprawling.
If you have a large enough pot and support system, tomatoes are fantastic to grow in containers! I have luck growing non-dwarf paste tomatoes in fabric pots that are 10 gallons or bigger.
If you have the space for it, tomato plants really add to what you can do while apartment homesteading. You can eat tomatoes fresh, or make tomato sauce and preserve it to eat throughout the year. You can even make fermented salsa!
Start off by checking out the Dwarf Tomato Project for hundreds of varieties that are ideal for container growing:
As I mentioned earlier, I love growing paste tomatoes in containers - here is the variety I usually grow, San Marzano.
These other varieties are noted as being well-suited to growing in containers
I really love eggplants for stirfries and for making caponata. I freeze the caponata in freezer-safe pint jars from Ball, and enjoy it the taste of late summer whenever I need abosst in the depths of winter. If you enjoy eggplant, you'll be happy to know that they are really easy to grow in containers, as most varieties are quite compact. I'd recommend a 10 gallon container per plant.
I love broccoli, and there are a few varieties that are really compact to grow. Look for Rapini, which is a plant that you can harvest small shoots from for around a month. The Calabrese Broccoli linked below is your standard full-size head on a more compact plant.
One of the most delicious things on earth are fresh brussels sprouts, picked after a frost and roasted minutes after being picked. Grow a bunch of these Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts, and you can freeze any that you don't eat fresh.
I definitely recommend zucchini for apartment homesteading - it's prolific and versitile, and there are compact varieties out there that won't take up your whole balcony. There's also a really sweet baby Spaghetti Squash listed here, which can be easily cured and stored for months.
Maybe one of the essential apartment homesteading activities is making true fermented pickles from your own cucumbers! These pickling cucumbers are compact and fast to mature.
Beans are so quick to grow and offer a double benefit of beautiful blooms before the nutritious harvests. Look for bush varieties of beans, or pea plants that are noted for being compact. A simple bamboo stake with some twine can be use to support the plants.
As a homesteader, I'm always thinking about which plants will give me the most calories, and often find myself turning to root vegetables to grow calories for me. You can even grow potatoes in grow bags, which makes for a hearty harvest.
It should be noted that as long as your container is deep enough, any beet, turnip, or carrot variety can grow well in containers. I actually prefer to grow carrots in containers because the soil is fresh and loose and yields perfect long carrots every time.
A sliced cucumber, a diced tomato, and freshly picked lettuce greens...the perfect snack on a hot summer day. Here are some leafy greens for salads and stir-fries that are known for growing well in containers.
Peppers grow really well in containers, as they are often naturally bushy and compact. They're definitely a rewarding plant to grow while apartment homesteading, as once they start producing they usually continue to make new peppers until the first frost.
Any strawberry can be grown in containers, and many gardeners have had success growing strawberries in a GreenStalk or Garden Tower.
Here are some other fruits for your apartment homestead:
While I love growing food, flowers feed my soul as well. Grow these compact flowers to make bouquets, and offer some food for your local pollinators at the same time.
When you buy herbs in the market, fresh or dried, they can be pretty expensive. A great way to save money and make your own seasonings and teas is to grow your own herbs. Herbs are easy to air dry, and can really spice up a meal or make a soothing cup of tea.
I hope you are feeling inspired with all that is possible with containers! If you're looking for more information on apartment homesteading, check out our knowledge base here. We also have a guide to apartment homesteading books and on vermicomposting indoors!
If you're brand new to gardening, you might also enjoy our list of the top books for beginner gardeners.
