Why a container dries unevenly
A dry potting-mix surface can sit above damp lower layers. Learn how drainage, roots, container walls and rewetting shape the uneven pattern, and how to check the whole pot before watering again.
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Balcony Harvest
Small-space growing, edible pots and noticing what actually survives.
Words by Tessa Rowan
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4 storiesFrom the notebook
What a potting mix needs from its empty spaces
The pores in a potting mix must store water and leave a connected route for air. Particle size, packing, pot height and watering decide how those spaces serve the roots after drainage.
Your balcony doesn’t need a garden influencer’s shopping list
The delivery driver arrived with a box large enough to contain a modest refrigerator. Inside were three containers, a bag of accessories and the growing conviction that I had been an idiot. I own a
I stopped planning the perfect garden. My herbs survived.
My original planting plan had arrows, colors and a reassuringly ambitious title. It also assumed that every free afternoon would coincide with pleasant weather and that I would remember every small change I made. An
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