I finally accepted that big pots are a waste of space on my tiny balcony.
I used to think bigger pots meant healthier plants, but on my balcony, it just took up all the room. Last summer, I had two large pots for peppers, and they blocked the sun for everything else. Now I use small, stacked planters and get more variety. It's so much better for herbs and lettuces. Why do people push for huge containers when space is tight? I see all these guides saying to use deep pots, but that doesn't work for me. My balcony is only 4 feet wide, and every inch counts. Switching to smaller setups changed my whole garden.
14 Tomato plants in 5 gallon buckets last year barely gave me anything, like maybe 2 pounds total. My neighbor uses those big half barrel planters for his peppers and they're literally 3 feet tall now. I couldn't believe the root systems he showed me when he transplanted one, it was like a whole other plant compared to what I get in small pots. Guess I need to stop being cheap and just buy the big containers.