I've read that it's a bad idea to plant small plants into larger pots (the idea being that they will grow into the large pot). Instead, you're supposed to keep the plant in the smallest appropriate container and move up as it grows. Why? What will happen if I just start a plant in a container that's bigger than it needs?
posted by tumbleweedjack on Oct 17, 2009 - 7 answers

Every year on my porch in Boston, Ma. I grow a few different vegetables in large planters. This year one is pumpkins. After several years of growing crops in the same soil, how can I rejuvenate the soil to make it better for the next crop?
posted by boby on Jul 21, 2009 - 11 answers

Newbie gardening question: I'm very new to gardening and have some questions about drainage. I live in an apartment, so can only grow things in containers. For plants on the balcony, I'm using terra cotta pots with a hole in the bottom and setting them on the matching saucers. But what about indoor plants? Do all pots need drainage holes? [more inside]
posted by wsquared on Jun 23, 2009 - 11 answers

Help me find a seven-day pill container (with a few desired characteristics, of course). [more inside]
posted by brandman on Jun 22, 2009 - 5 answers

Can anybody recommend an LCL shipping company to Kuala Lumpur? [more inside]
posted by computech_apolloniajames on Jun 20, 2009 - 3 answers

I need to find a freight forwarder that can arrange all of the details for door-to-door shipping of a 20' x 8'6" ISO standard cargo container from the west coast of the USA to Pakistan. [more inside]
posted by thewalrus on Nov 20, 2008 - 1 answer

What plants are suitable for putting on our deck in Seattle? There's no yard/soil, so they must live in containers. The deck is quite large so I was thinking about large decorative plants like small trees or some form of bamboo. Climate-wise, we have the typical PNW weather of moist winters that only fall below freezing a few days out of the year. Also, we are completely ignorant of gardening and would rather have something that can survive with a minimum of attention.
posted by matildaben on Nov 18, 2008 - 11 answers

What winter vegetables can I grow in pots in a warm climate? [more inside]
posted by exceptinsects on Sep 27, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm working on an electric recumbent bicycle using a Bike-E as the bike part. I want to hang my batteries below the seat by building two containers to hang on the sides of the Bike-E's alloy beam body. What's the best way to build the container? [more inside]
posted by diode on Oct 31, 2007 - 7 answers

What is this woven Asian container? [more inside]
posted by TochterAusElysium on Oct 13, 2007 - 7 answers

What kind of plants should I grow in my apartment? Bonus points for traditionally outdoor plants. [more inside]
posted by ArgentCorvid on Apr 25, 2007 - 12 answers

Help me transport food in comfort, if not in style. [more inside]
posted by orange swan on Jun 30, 2006 - 9 answers

I need to move a forty foot shipping container 120 yards across a grassy field and turn a corner and another 20 yards. [more inside]
posted by Mhead on Mar 25, 2006 - 12 answers

Where is the least expensive place and/or company/or source in the United States to buy used ocean going shipping containers? [more inside]
posted by DreamStar on Oct 2, 2005 - 1 answer

Many schemes for making a house out of one or more shipping containers have been proposed, but if I wanted to buy them in small quantities (one or two), how would I go about doing so?
posted by phrontist on Sep 3, 2005 - 17 answers

I'm moving into a new apartment in Chicago on June 1st, and I'm hoping to be able to have window boxes. There's also a ground-floor patio (shared with one other person), and I'm thinking of starting some container-type gardening. Any thoughts? [more inside]
posted by bibbit on May 9, 2005 - 4 answers

we have a deck on our house where I've planted tomatoes in the past. we wanted to get a custom plant container that is 3 feet high, 6 feet long and 2.5 feet wide custom made for that space. it is prohibitively expensive. i thought I remember reading somewhere about making plant containers using concrete and peat moss or something to make it lighter in weight. i think i read it in martha stewart or something. i can't remember how to do it. it's not a big deck so the dimensions are really limited. any suggestions?
posted by dstrouse91 on Mar 23, 2005 - 12 answers

If police found a container that to them obviously contained drugs (but there were no drugs in it, except for maybe a small coating of dust in the case of cocaine, or a few flakes of marijuana), could they charge you with anything? (The container in this instance would be a baggie or a box, nothing that is explicity "drug paraphanalia.")
posted by agregoli on Feb 9, 2005 - 26 answers

Does milk go bad faster if you drink straight from the container? [Moo inside] [more inside]
posted by ssmith on Oct 2, 2004 - 9 answers