Pot Up Fruits and Vegetables Now, Feast All Summer

Even where outdoor space is severely limited—just a small deck or patio, a bright front stoop, or a patch of concrete along the drive—you can grow your own fruits and veggies. Just choose wisely and plant them in pots. Growing in containers makes some crops, such as strawberries and spinach, less vulnerable to snails and other ground-cruising predators. Others, including peppers, seem to relish confinement and produce more abundantly. Blueberries like more-acidic soil than other edibles, so they are easier to accommodate in pots. And container crops have fewer problems with weeds because they're raised off the ground and grown in weed-free potting mix.

Shown: Container-grown lemons, mustard greens, and lettuce rub shoulders with pots of flowering plants.