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I was wrong about using big pots for everything on my balcony
I always thought bigger pots meant better growth, so I planted my cherry tomatoes in a huge 15-gallon container. My friend in Chicago said to try a smaller, 5-gallon fabric pot for my herbs instead, and the basil and thyme grew way faster and looked healthier. Now I match the pot size to the plant's roots, not just go big. What's your rule for picking pot sizes?
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ryanprice2mo ago
Three inches is basically a shot glass.
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simontorres24d ago
Ryanprice said "three inches is basically a shot glass" but I gotta disagree there. I've had mint and oregano explode out of a 3 inch pot like it was nothing, no transplant needed for months. The trick is matching the root ball not the leaf size. A shallow rooted herb like basil will stunt in a deep giant pot because the soil stays wet too long and they hate that. I'd rather start small and let the plant tell me when it's cramped, which is when you see roots poking out the bottom. Big pots can actually hurt growth if the plant's roots aren't aggressive enough to fill that space. So for me, it's less about the pot being small and more about not giving them more dirt than they can handle.
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