Growing food in pots can be easier than planting

Two of the hottest trends in gardening are containers and cultivating fresh food, and many savvy families are beginning to combine the two. They're growing their vegetables in pots. Improvements in potting soils and fertilizers have made this a straightforward and generally successful exercise, said Pamela Crawford, a landscape architect from Canton, Ga., who has written four books about container gardening. "It's so easy to put a tomato into a pot. It almost grows itself," Crawford said. "It's a whole different ballgame than putting one in the ground. There's less weeding involved and fewe...