Growing some of your own food: containers, community gardens and soil safety

A pot of cherry tomatoes on a balcony, a plot in a community garden, a pick-your-own morning at a farm: growing even a little of your own food teaches where food comes from in a way nothing else does. It also comes with two safety questions people rarely ask before they start: what's in the soil, and what's growing next to the vegetables. This guide covers getting started with containers and community gardens, then those two questions, drawing on the EPA, USDA and a university extension service, with a few lessons from Japan.

Containers: the easiest start

The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension's guide to container vegetables makes the key points:

• Plants can go "anywhere the plants will receive at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight and sufficient water."
• "Leafy vegetables (herbs, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage) can tolerate less light than fruiting crops (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, melons)."
• "Be sure to provide adequate drainage. Avoid containers that might contain toxic substances, e.g., treated wood or plastic buckets that may have stored chemicals."
• "Garden soil is too heavy for use in containers."
• "Because soil in containers tends to dry quickly, frequent watering is critical. Water thoroughly when soil dries to depth of 1/4 inch."

Our suggestion: on a shady balcony, start with lettuce or herbs; in full sun, start with one cherry tomato plant. One success teaches more than five struggling crops.

Community gardens and allotments

If you want more space, look for a community garden run by your city, a parks department, a church or a nonprofit, and read its rules on water, tools, chemicals and plot renewal before you sign up (our suggestion). Japan has a nationwide version, the "citizen farm" (市民農園, shimin nōen): small plots of farmland rented to non-farmers for growing vegetables and flowers for their own use. Japan's agriculture ministry counted 4,273 of them with 188,713 plots as of March 2025, run mostly by local governments and individual farmers.

Question 1: what's in the soil?

In older neighborhoods, the main worry is lead, from old paint and decades of traffic. USDA's National Agricultural Library says: "Soil tests are recommended for all new gardening sites. In areas with soil health issues, using raised beds or planting in imported soil may reduce the chances of contamination." The EPA adds that "Most laboratories associated with state university agricultural departments and agricultural extension offices offer soil testing."

EPA's guidance by soil lead level (ppm = mg/kg):

EPA's everyday habits for any garden near old buildings or busy roads:

• "Locate gardens away from potential sources of lead (like old painted buildings, and roads with heavy traffic)."
• "Adjust soil pH to near neutral (pH 6.5 – 7.5) to minimize lead absorption into plants."
• "Discard outer leaves of leafy vegetables. Wash fruits and vegetables. Peel root crops like carrots, beets, turnips, and radishes."
• "Wash your hands, toys, pacifiers, tools, and clothes after gardening."

Question 2: what's growing next to it?

Japan has a recurring problem with home gardeners eating toxic plants that look like vegetables, and its health, agriculture and consumer agencies publish a joint warning. Two examples:

• Daffodils (narcissus): leaves are often mistaken for garlic chives in spring, and the bulbs for onions. Eating them causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and headache within about 30 minutes. The advice: don't plant daffodils near chives in a vegetable garden. Garlic chives have a distinctive smell, which is one way to tell them apart.
• Autumn crocus (Colchicum): young leaves are mistaken for wild garlic (ramps), and bulbs for onions or potatoes. Severe cases can be fatal. The advice: don't grow it near a vegetable garden.

Japan's health ministry rule of thumb works anywhere: if you can't be sure a plant is edible, don't pick it, eat it, sell it or give it away. For wild plants and mushrooms, see foraging safely.

Growing food and being prepared

A balcony garden won't feed a family through an emergency, and we won't pretend it will (our view). What it does build is useful: a sense of how much water plants and people need, comfort with planning ahead, and kids who know vegetables don't start in a plastic bag. For the food you actually store, see emergency food supply and rolling stock.

Our Japanese edition has a separate article on growing food in Japan, including citizen farms and pesticide etiquette near homes: 育てて食べる.