Starting a Small Kitchen Garden: Site, Soil, Water, and a First Planting Plan

A small kitchen garden can start with two planters and a few foods you will enjoy using. This guide walks through choosing a spot, filling containers, spacing leaf lettuce and small radishes, and checking moisture as they grow. The two-planter arrangement is an illustrative layout you can adapt to your space and local season.

Everything below assumes you’re starting from scratch with a patio, a small yard, or a few square feet near a door. The timing for what you plant comes from your own local growing season and the seed packet in your hand, not from any date on this page.

Start With Two Manageable Planters

Start with what your household eats and what you can realistically check on every day. If nobody in your house eats kale, don’t plant kale.

Group plants with similar seasons and maturity together instead of scattering one of everything. Keep the whole setup close to a water source and leave room to walk around it without stepping on anything. The University of Maryland Extension’s guide to starting a vegetable garden^[7] emphasizes starting small, leaving access paths, and keeping water within easy reach.

Two planters, which is the example this guide walks through, is plenty to learn the basics: reading your site, mixing potting soil, spacing seeds, and watching for problems. Add more once you know what a realistic week of care actually looks like for you.

Reading Your Site: Sun, Drainage, Water, and Space

Before you settle on a container kitchen garden or a raised bed, spend real time watching the site itself. Four things matter most:

• Sunlight across the whole day, not just a glance out the window
• Drainage, especially what happens after a hard rain
• Water access you’ll actually keep up with
• Stable space you can reach on every side

Sunlight Across the Day

Check the spot in the morning, at midday, and again in the late afternoon, and do that more than once. Shade patterns shift as the sun’s angle changes through the season, so one day of watching won’t give you the full picture. Note when direct light actually reaches the spot, when it moves off, and anything that blocks it partway through, a fence, a roofline, a tree that’s bare in winter and full by summer.

Light needs are crop-specific, not universal. Warm-season fruiting vegetables like tomatoes and peppers generally want 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day^[2]. Leafy greens can often get by on less, sometimes 3 to 5 hours or a bit of light shade.^[1] Root crops like radishes aren’t automatically covered by that same “greens” guidance either, so check the specific variety you’re planting rather than assuming one number applies to everything in the planter.

Sun isn’t the only thing that decides what works here. Drainage, how easy the spot is to water, and how much time you actually have all factor in just as much.

Drainage and Access

Watch what happens to the spot after a hard rain. Standing water that takes hours to disappear is a sign the ground doesn’t drain well, which matters more for an in-ground bed than for a container with its own drainage holes.

Choose somewhere you can reach easily with a hose or watering can. A convenient spot is much easier to keep up with when the weather is warm or the rest of the day is busy.

A Stable, Reachable Spot

A filled planter is heavier than most people expect before they’ve filled one. Decide on placement before you add soil, not after, and make sure you can reach every side to plant, weed, and harvest without leaning over something else.

For a balcony, deck or other raised structure, confirm the load capacity with the building’s owner or manager before filling the planters. Include the weight of the containers, wet growing mix and water when discussing the setup.

Container, Raised Bed, or In-Ground: Choosing by Your Site

There’s no single right answer here. It depends on what you’re working with.

In-ground beds make sense when your native soil drains reasonably well and you don’t have specific concerns about what’s been on that ground before. Raised beds are a good fit when the existing soil is compacted, rocky, or poor, since you can fill them with better material without digging out what’s already there. A raised bed can also improve drainage and make a bed easier to reach, though building one doesn’t automatically resolve every soil concern underneath it. More on that below.

A container kitchen garden can suit several kinds of space when light, water, drainage, and stable support are adequate: a patio, a rental where you can’t dig, a spot where you’re not sure about the soil yet, or a smaller commitment while you figure out if gardening is something you want to keep doing. The two-planter example later in this guide uses containers for exactly that reason.

Garden Soil and Watering Basics: What Goes in the Pot

Once you’ve picked a container or bed, what goes inside it matters as much as where you put it.

Potting Media for Edible Containers

Skip the dense garden soil from your yard as filler for a container. It compacts differently in a pot than it does in the ground and tends to hold water in a way that suffocates roots. Use a potting mix made for containers instead.

Read the mix’s ingredients and feeding instructions before planting. Some potting mixes already contain a starter dose of fertilizer, sometimes called a fertilizer charge. Check what has been added before giving extra feed, then follow the mix and crop instructions. Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends organic vegetables for GAPS; keep that preference in mind when choosing growing materials.^[8]

Drainage Holes and the Gravel Myth

Whatever you plant into needs working drainage holes. Water with nowhere to go sits at the bottom of the pot and drowns roots.

Skip the layer of gravel or rocks at the bottom that a lot of older advice recommends. According to the University of Maryland Extension’s container growing guide^[1], gravel doesn’t improve drainage the way people think it does, and it can actually make water pool higher in the pot than mix alone would.

Choosing Containers Safely

Use containers actually made for growing food, or ones with a known food-safe history before you got them.

• Skip anything that previously held detergents, paint, pesticides, or other chemicals, even if you plan to clean it first
• If a container’s history is unknown, choose one intended for growing food

How Much Mix You’ll Need for This Example

For the two-planter layout in this guide, each planter is roughly 24 by 12 inches on the inside, filled to about 9 inches of usable growing depth. That works out to about 2,592 cubic inches, or 1.5 cubic feet, of growing volume per planter. Two planters come to about 3 cubic feet total, which converts to about 22.4 US liquid gallons as a geometric conversion. Nominal nursery-container sizes may use a different convention, so check dimensions and the supplier’s stated units.

Treat that as a starting estimate, not an exact number. Taper on the sides of the container, the headspace you leave at the top, and settling after the first watering all change how much mix you actually need. Measure your own container’s interior dimensions rather than going by the box it came in, and keep in mind that a bag’s weight or its listed capacity isn’t the same thing as the usable growing volume you get once it’s packed into the pot.

Soil Tests: Fertility Versus Contamination

A standard soil test and a contamination screening aren’t automatically the same thing, and it’s worth knowing the difference before you plant into ground soil.

A routine nutrient or pH test tells you what your soil needs to grow healthy plants: whether it’s acidic or alkaline, low in a particular nutrient, that kind of thing. Some lab packages include a check for lead or other metals alongside the standard nutrient panel, and some don’t, so check what a specific test actually covers rather than assuming it rules out contamination.

If your site has a history that raises a flag, an old structure with lead paint, a former orchard, an industrial site nearby, ground close to a busy road, that’s a reason to ask your lab or local extension office which specific test fits your situation. The Oregon State University Extension guide on reducing lead hazards in gardens^[5] points to this same approach: match the test to your actual site history rather than skipping it or over-testing for no reason.

A raised bed or a container can make a contaminated site easier to manage, since you control what goes into them, but building one on top of contaminated ground doesn’t guarantee the roots or surrounding dust are fully separated from what’s underneath. There’s no single safe threshold that applies everywhere either. Screening levels and how they’re interpreted vary by jurisdiction and by testing method. If you have a real reason for concern, have someone who knows your local situation interpret the results instead of relying on a number found online.

The First Planting Plan: Leaf Lettuce and Small Radishes in Two Planters

Here’s one concrete lettuce-and-radish planting plan, adapted from university extension spacing guidance. It is deliberately sparse so you can learn the process; adjust it for the mature size named on the seed packet.

The Window and the Crops

Pick a cool-season window that fits your local climate, using your regional extension office’s calendar and the seed packet in your hand rather than a date from somewhere else. Leaf lettuce and small garden radishes fit the cited container-depth examples and make a manageable starting project. Choose varieties suited to your available light and local season, and use the packet’s growing information to judge their progress.

Planter A: Leaf Lettuce

Use a planter roughly 24 by 12 inches inside, with 9 to 12 inches of usable growing depth and working drainage. The UC Master Gardener Program’s container spacing reference^[3] gives 6-inch spacing for leaf lettuce. Using that spacing, this guide’s example places four plants along one centered row at 3, 9, 15, and 21 inches from a short end. Those four positions show how the cited spacing fits this example planter. Use them as a starting point and adjust for the variety. Some lettuces grow larger than others and may need more room than this leaves, so check your specific packet.

You can start from hardened-off transplants or sow seed directly and thin to that spacing as seedlings come up. Either way, the packet for the variety you’ve chosen has the final say over anything in this example.

Planter B: Small Garden Radishes

In the second planter, sow small garden radishes, not daikon or other long-rooted types, which need considerably more depth and space. The University of Minnesota Extension’s radish growing guide^[4] gives about 1-inch sowing spacing and a quarter- to half-inch depth for small varieties. Follow your variety’s packet; the centered row is this guide’s proposed arrangement. When the radishes reach a small, edible size, thin them to about 2 inches apart, following the Minnesota guide.

The roomy layout gives you space to see the plants develop, thin seedlings and check moisture. Once you know how those varieties grow in your conditions, you can adjust the next planting.

Seeds Versus Transplants, and Hardening Off

Radishes are usually direct-sown, since they don’t transplant well once their roots are disturbed. Lettuce can go either way. If you’re using transplants, give them several days outside to adjust before their final container. Set them outside for short periods at first, and gradually increase the time and their exposure to direct sun and wind rather than moving them straight from indoor conditions into full exposure. The exact number of days depends on your climate and how tender the specific seedlings are, so watch the plants rather than counting to a fixed number.

What to Add Later, if Your Site Allows

A third pot for a kitchen herb is worth considering once the first two planters are established, but check the mature size and light needs of that specific herb first, since they don’t all want the same conditions. A sunny spot with 6 to 8 hours of direct light opens up warm-season options like tomatoes later on, but that’s a separate decision for a different season, not something to squeeze into this cool-season plan.

The First Two Weeks: Watering by Observation, Not by Clock

Checking on your planters daily for the first week or two is a good habit. That doesn’t mean watering automatically every day. Hot or dry conditions may require daily or more frequent attention; moisture, crop, and container conditions determine whether to water.

A freshly sown seedbed and an established root system behave differently. Newly planted seeds need consistent surface moisture to germinate, so check that top layer often, but water gently. A hard stream from a hose or watering can wash small seeds right out of place. As roots become established, check moisture in the root zone as well as at the surface. Water according to the crop’s needs, weather, and media rather than imposing one dry-out depth on every plant. Avoid both drying the roots excessively and keeping the mix waterlogged.

Avoid standing water in a saucer under a container. Roots sitting in it for long periods tend to rot. If something looks off, wilting, yellowing, spots, figure out what’s actually going on before you treat it. Wilting isn’t automatically a sign of too little water. Overwatering causes it too, and so do several other issues, so identify the cause before reaching for a fix.

Thin your radishes and lettuce as they grow, based on how the plants are actually doing rather than a fixed date on a calendar. Keeping a short running note of what you planted, when, and what the soil moisture looked like on a given day makes it much easier to catch a pattern if something starts going wrong.

Harvesting and Handling Homegrown Greens Safely

Growing your own lettuce doesn’t skip the food safety basics you’d apply to anything from the grocery store.

Wash produce under running water right before you prepare or eat it, not with soap, detergent, or a produce-specific wash, just plain running water while you rub the surface gently. Wash your hands and any tools or cutting boards you use, and keep raw produce away from raw meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices. Washing reduces the microbes on the surface. It doesn’t eliminate all of them, which is worth knowing rather than assuming a rinse makes anything completely safe. The FDA’s guidance on selecting and serving produce safely^[6] covers this in more detail.

Lettuce and fresh herbs are perishable. Refrigerate harvested lettuce and herbs promptly in a clean refrigerator at 40°F or below. Keep them protected from cross-contamination during storage and preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Sun Does a Small Kitchen Garden Need?

It depends on what you’re growing. Warm-season fruiting crops like tomatoes generally need 6 to 8 hours of direct sun. Many leafy greens tolerate less, sometimes 3 to 5 hours or a bit of shade, and root crops vary by type, so check the specific crop you’re planting.

Can I Use Regular Garden Soil in Containers?

It’s not a good substitute. Garden soil compacts differently in a container than it does in the ground and tends to drain poorly once it’s confined. Use a potting mix made for containers instead.

Do I Need to Test My Soil Before Planting?

A basic nutrient test is useful if you’re planting in the ground and want to know what your soil needs. If your site has a history that could involve lead or other contaminants, an old structure with lead paint, industrial use nearby, ask your local extension office or a lab which test actually covers that, since not every nutrient test screens for it.

How Often Should I Water a Container Vegetable Garden?

There isn’t a fixed schedule that works everywhere. Check the top of the mix regularly and water when it’s actually dry, adjusting for your climate, container size, and the specific plants. Newly sown seeds need more consistent surface moisture than established plants do.

What’s the Easiest Vegetable to Start With in a Container?

Leaf lettuce and small garden radishes are the examples used here because they fit a modest container project. There’s no single easiest crop for every site, so check the variety, light, local season, and care requirements before choosing.

Make a Sun Log

If you’re still deciding on a spot, start today with a simple sun log. Check the location a few times over the course of the day, note when direct light hits it and when it moves off, and repeat that on more than one day if you can, since shade shifts with the season. Combine what you find with how easy the spot is to water and how much time you realistically have each week, and you’ll have what you need to choose between a container, a raised bed, or waiting for a better spot.

Plan how you will use the harvest around your GAPS phase. In Stage 5, after earlier foods are tolerated, Dr. Campbell-McBride introduces raw vegetables in small amounts, starting with softer parts of lettuce and peeled cucumber. Chew them well and increase gradually if tolerated. Diarrhea or constipation means you are not ready for that step yet. A useful garden can also supply foods you cook. The Stage 5 guide and Full GAPS guide help you match the meal to the current phase.^[8]

My Seasonal Meal Plans help connect seasonal food to a week of GAPS meals. Look for them in the WFLI Shop. You can start with the two-planter example and a simple sun log while you choose what to grow.

References

1. University of Maryland Extension. Growing Vegetables in Containers and Salad Tables.
2. OSU Extension. Container Gardening: Grow Vegetables Even Without Yard Space.
3. UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County. Growing Vegetables in Containers, spacing and depth table.
4. University of Minnesota Extension. Growing Radishes in Home Gardens.
5. OSU Extension. Reducing Lead Hazard in Gardens and Play Areas.
6. FDA. Selecting and Serving Produce Safely.
7. University of Maryland Extension. How to Start a Vegetable Garden.
8. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “Non-starch fresh vegetables” and Introduction Diet Stage 5: organic vegetables, food forms and gradual introduction.