A guy at the Nashville farmers market told me my balcony pots were too shallow, and he was right

Linda Butler · 2026-10-02T16:05:03.446198+00:00

Back in April I was at the Nashville farmers market and struck up a chat with an old guy selling tomato starts. I mentioned my cherry tomatoes kept drying out on my balcony, and he poked my pot and said the roots needed 12 inches of dirt, not the 6 I had. I went home and measured, and sure enough my pots were only 6 inches deep. Swapped to two 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled in the bottom, and my plants stopped wilting by mid afternoon. Cost me about $8 total at the hardware store. Funny how one old farmer's comment fixed a problem I had been fighting for two summers. Anyone else get surprise advice from a stranger that actually worked out?

HW Forums

Loading…

A guy at the Nashville farmers market told me my balcony pots were too shallow, and he was right | Balcony Vegetable Gardens - HW Forums