You do not need raised beds, a greenhouse or a yard to start. Three 5-gallon containers, one bag of potting mix and a few seed packets are enough for a first garden that feeds you.
What to buy
| Item | Example price |
|---|---|
| 3 food-grade 5-gallon buckets | $12.00 |
| Potting mix, one 2-cubic-foot bag | $18.48 |
| 4 seed packets: lettuce, radish, cilantro, basil | $9.84 |
| Onion sets, one bag | $3.96 |
| Starter garden | $44.28 |
These are example prices we saw on large U.S. retailers’ websites in October 2026, not quotes. Bakeries, delis and restaurants often give food-grade buckets away, which brings the total down. One 2-cubic-foot bag of potting mix fills three 5-gallon buckets.
What to plant in each pot
- Pot 1: leaf lettuce, with a few radishes sown between. The radishes are out in about a month, before the lettuce needs the room.
- Pot 2: green onion sets on one side, cilantro on the other. Same season, same water.
- Pot 3: basil, once nights stay above 50°F. Before that, it can hold another round of lettuce or radishes.
Leave these on the shelf
- Gravel for the bottom of pots. It does not improve drainage.
- Topsoil or garden soil. Too dense for a container.
- Pots without drainage holes, unless you can drill them: three or four holes about ¼ inch wide.
- Tall “indeterminate” tomatoes. They keep growing until frost; look for patio or bush types.
Sources
Every fact in this guide comes from the publications below. None of them reviewed or endorsed Balcony Bounty.
- University of Maryland Extension. Growing Vegetables in Containers and Salad Tables. extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-vegetables-containers-and-salad-tab…
- University of Maryland Extension. Self-Watering Containers. extension.umd.edu/resource/self-watering-containers
- University of Maryland Extension. Growing Media (Potting Soil) for Containers. extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-media-potting-soil-containers
- University of Maryland Extension. Types of Containers for Growing Vegetables. extension.umd.edu/resource/types-containers-growing-vegetables
- Purdue Extension. HO-200-W: Container and Raised Bed Gardening. extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/container_raised_bed_garden…
- University of Illinois Extension. Container Gardens: Container Drainage Options. extension.illinois.edu/container-gardens/container-drainage-options
- University of Maryland Extension. Vegetable Succession and Companion Planting. extension.umd.edu/resource/vegetable-succession-and-companion-planting
- University of Illinois Extension. Herbs: Basil. extension.illinois.edu/herbs/basil
- Clemson Cooperative Extension. Tomatoes in Containers. hgic.clemson.edu/tomatoes-in-containers/
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