The Lazy Girl's Guide to Container Gardening

🌱 Lazy Girl’s Guide to Container Gardening: Grow Your Own Food Without Killing It

Because not everyone has a backyard, a green thumb, or the patience for high-maintenance plants.

Wait… What is Container Gardening?

Glad you asked, because this is literally the easiest way to garden without needing a farm, yard, or even a lot of space.

Container gardening = growing plants in pots, buckets, or any other container instead of in the ground.
✔ Perfect for apartments, patios, balconies, and even windowsills.
✔ No digging, no massive space commitment, just plants in pots that you can move around when needed.
✔ Great for lazy gardeners (hi, it’s me) because you control the soil, water, and sun exposure instead of fighting with nature.

So if you’ve ever thought, “I’d love to grow my own food, but I kill everything,” or "if only I had the space to plant a garden..", container gardening is for you.

Why Container Gardening? (AKA, Why You Should Absolutely Do This)

So, you want to grow your own food but:
✔ You live in an apartment (same).
✔ You kill everything that isn’t a plastic plant.
✔ You love the idea of fresh herbs but can’t commit to a full-on farm.

Good news: container gardening exists. You can grow veggies, herbs, and even fruit in a tiny space with minimal effort and zero fancy equipment.

Step 1: Choose Your Fighter

Some plants are divas, some are low-key unkillable. If this is your first attempt at growing things, start with the easy ones.

🌿 Herbs (Impossible to Mess Up):
✅ Basil - fast-growing, great on everything
✅ Mint - now mint is an aggressive girl that does not like to share and needs its own pot
✅ Rosemary - basically thrives on neglect
✅ Chives- they come back every year, like a loyal friend

🥬 Leafy Greens (For Salad Lovers & People Who Forget to Buy Lettuce):
✅ Spinach - quick-growing, easy, and great for iron
✅ Lettuce - low effort, high reward
✅ Kale - largely unlikeable but harder to kill than you think

🍅 Veggies (A Little More Commitment, But So Worth It):
✅ Cherry tomatoes - a staple in my home
✅ Peppers - sweet, spicy, dangerous, your call
✅ Radishes fast-growing, low maintenance and surprisingly delicious

✅Green onions - cut them, and they just regrow - like the magic they are

Step 2: Pick Your Containers (Hint: You Don’t Need Fancy Pots)

If it holds soil and drains water, it’s a container. You don’t need expensive planters—get creative.

✔ Old buckets (punch some holes in the bottom—instant planter)
✔ Mason jars (for herbs—just don’t overwater)
✔ Dollar Store plastic pots
✔ Literally any pot with drainage holes (or drill your own)

💡 Pro Tip: Bigger containers = less watering. Tiny pots dry out fast, so go bigger if you’re forgetful.

Step 3: Soil & Water (The Bare Minimum You Need to Know)

🌱 Use good soil. Get potting mix, not random dirt from outside. Your plants will thank you.
💧 Water, but don’t drown them. Stick a finger in the soil—if it’s dry, water it. If it’s damp, chill.
☀️ Sunlight matters. Most plants need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight, so find a sunny spot.

Step 4: Don’t Overthink It (But Do These Easy Things to Keep Plants Alive)

✔ Feed them. Use an organic fertilizer once in a while.
✔ Trim them. Dead leaves? Not today.
✔ Harvest often. The more you pick, the more they grow (especially basil & lettuce).

💡 Pro Tip: If you kill something, just plant another one. No shame in the gardening game.

🥒 Pickled Perks: Why Container Gardening is Actually Amazing

✔ Saves money – Fresh basil at the store? $5. A whole basil plant? Basically free forever.
✔ Gives you control – No pesticides, no mystery chemicals—just clean, homegrown food.
✔ Reduces food waste – Ever bought lettuce just to let it rot? Yeah, me too. Grow what you’ll actually eat.
✔ Boosts mental health – Gardening is proven to reduce stress. Plus, plants don’t judge you.

Final step: Plant something, water it occasionally, and watch yourself become a gardening legend. 🥒😏