You do not need acres to grow real food — a sunny balcony, patio, or even a doorstep will do. Container gardening is also the perfect low-risk way for beginners to learn before committing to beds in the ground.
Size matters most. Most vegetables want at least a 5-gallon pot; tomatoes and peppers are happiest in 10 gallons or more. Whatever you use, it must have drainage holes. Fill containers with quality potting mix, never garden soil, which compacts into concrete in pots. Mix in a handful of slow-release organic fertilizer at planting time.
Choose compact varieties bred for containers: patio tomatoes, bush beans, dwarf kale, salad greens, and herbs. Almost all herbs thrive in pots, and a trough of mixed lettuces is both beautiful and endlessly harvestable — snip outer leaves and the center keeps growing.
The one trade-off is watering. Containers dry out fast, sometimes daily in midsummer. Check by pushing a finger an inch into the soil; if it is dry, water deeply until it runs from the drainage holes. Group pots together to raise humidity and make watering rounds quicker.