Guides

Practical guides for growing in a small footprint

The parts of small-space gardening that don't fit in a spec sheet: how much actually fits per square, whether your balcony can hold it, and how to keep it watered.

Planting

Square-foot planting chart

How many plants of each size class actually fit per square, applied to a 9-square, 4-tier frame.

Safety

Balcony weight limits

What balconies are typically built to hold, why wet soil changes the number, and where to place the weight.

Care

Watering schedule

How water moves through a drain-linked frame, how often to check it, and the signs you're over- or under-watering.

Planting

Container size chart

Minimum pot depth, recommended volume, and plants per pot for 20 common vegetables and herbs.

Safety

Container soil weight

What potting mix, garden soil, and gravel weigh per gallon, dry and watered, with worked examples per pot size.

Planting

Sunlight requirements chart

Full sun, part sun, and part shade in actual hours, crop by crop, and what still produces on a north-facing balcony.

Planting

Days to maturity chart

Seed-to-harvest times from seed and from transplant, with succession-sowing intervals to keep harvests continuous.

Planting

Herbs per square foot

Counts herb by herb, the rule for herbs not on the chart, and why chives go in as a clump.

Planting

Lettuce and greens per square foot

Counts for lettuce, spinach, chard, bok choy and kale, and why heading and leaf lettuce differ.

Planting

Companion planting chart

Which pairings have research behind them, which are folklore, and which crops actually share a container.

Care

Container fertilizer basics

What N-P-K numbers mean, how often to feed container vegetables, and the signs of over- and under-fertilizing.