Tomatoes, radishes, potatoes and cucumbers - a lot of vegetables can be grown in a small space. If you want to grow your vegetables on the balcony this year, you've come to the right place.
Homegrown always tastes best - this is true for cooking as well as for vegetables from the balcony. Anyone who has ever eaten self-harvested vegetables knows the difference.
More and more people grow their own vegetables. However, very few have their own large garden. The good news is that for many vegetables you only need flower pots or flower boxes.
A little soil, sun and water and soon you can harvest herbs, vegetables and fruits from the balcony. Sounds good, doesn't it?
You can also find a huge selection of vegetable seeds online. There are stores where you can order more than 5000 different types of vegetable seeds. From classics such as tomatoes and cucumbers to unusual varieties of peppers, chard, beans, peas and much more.
If you want, you can take a look around and stock up on a colorful mix of vegetable seeds. You can also discover growing kits, soil, planters and everything you can find for gardening on the balcony.
What vegetables balcony is suitable
This much is already said: Very many varieties can be grown in a pot or a window box. All those marked with an asterisk * I have already grown myself on the balcony.
- Leaf salads*
- Chili*
- Cucumbers*
- Potatoes*
- Herbs like chives, basil, rosemary, thyme
- Chard
- Carrots*
- Paprika*
- Radish*
- Spinach
- Runner beans*
- Celery stalk
- Sweet potatoes*
- Tomatoes*
- Sweet peas
- Onions (spring onions - see: How to regrow onions)
In the garden store there are special seeds and plants that grow well on the balcony and do not take up so much space. A good example of vegetables on the balcony are bush tomatoes. So that the vegetable is suitable balcony, the plants are bred so that they do not grow very high, but are particularly bushy and bear many small fruits.
You can also buy mini cucumbers, peppers or round little carrots at the garden center. Most often you buy them in the form of seeds and then grow them into plants yourself.
And if you love fruit, you can even grow strawberries and raspberries on the balcony.
This is what you need to know when you grow potatoes on the balcony!
7 great vegetables for beginners
It is a long way to become an experienced gardener. But there is a whole range of vegetables that are guaranteed to work even for beginners. Which vegetables are suitable balcony and beginners, I'll tell you now.
Radish
You can sow them between April and September. After 3-4 weeks you can harvest for the first time. Therefore, radishes are so good for those who are a little impatient.
They love a sunny to semi-shady location and can be sown in the flower box. If you want to grow them in a pot with other vegetables: radishes love the proximity of carrots, beans, peas, tomatoes and lettuce.
Did you know that you can grow radishes in a window box?
Pick lettuce
When you start urban gardening, lettuce should not be missing on a balcony. Lamb's lettuce, arugula, lollo rosso and cut lettuce are particularly suitable for the balcony. These lettuces will grow in any planter and have few requirements.
In a sunny to partial shade location, you can soon enjoy a large harvest.
Lettuce harmonizes with pretty much any plant. But keep it away from beets, celery and parsley.
Tomato
Without tomatoes vegetable balcony is incomplete. The taste of home-picked tomatoes is incredibly aromatic and can not be compared with store-bought fruit from the supermarket.
Tomatoes can be grown in tubs or large pots. For the balcony there are extra small bush tomatoes that grow only a few centimeters high and bear many small fruits. Tomatoes love sun and need plenty of water to thrive.
Attention: tomatoes are very sensitive to frost. They should not be outdoors before mid-May. And if they do, then only during the day, when it is already nice and warm.
Build a greenhouse out of an egg carton!
Cucumber
If one vegetable balcony is suitable, then it is cucumbers. If you give them enough water and sun, then you will enjoy a lot of fruits. You can grow cucumbers in hanging baskets and let them grow downwards or provide them with a climbing frame in a pot.
For the balcony there are special mini cucumbers, which are very unpretentious and produce a lot of fruit.
Bell pepper and chili
An absolute fixed starter on my balcony. The plants can be outdoors from mid-May and are very sensitive to cold until then. For them to develop a good taste, bell pepper plants need a lot of sun and heat.
By the way, a colorful mix of sweet and spicy pods will bring a lot of color to your vegetable balcony.
The great guide for growing peppers!
Carrots
Carrots can not get enough sun. You can start planting them as early as the end of February and keep reseeding until June. Note, however, a distance of about 5 cm between plants if you want to have a rich harvest.
Tip: There are small round carrots that do not grow in depth, so they are very suitable for planters.
Green beans
I plant green beans in flower pots for many years. Per 20 liter pot I take 3-4 beans, quickly they begin to wrap around the balcony area, providing optimal privacy screen. If you want, you can also let them climb up trellises.
Or opt for bush beans, which do not climb.
How to plant pole beans on the balcony!
The right location for the balcony vegetables
Is it very windy where you live? Then you should not grow high growing plants. Peppers and tomatoes tend to fall over in the wind. Place them either all the way up against the wall, in a corner, or build them a solid framework so that nothing can happen.
It makes a very big difference in which direction your balcony faces.
The south balcony
In the south, your plants get a lot of sun, heat and even sunburn in the summer. A southern balcony is optimal for
- Tomatoes,
- Chili,
- Zucchini,
- Cucumbers,
- Strawberries, currants and raspberries,
- Eggplants,
- Potatoes
- Rosemary,
- Basil
- and all Mediterranean herbs
On warm days you need to water the plants on the southern balcony every day.
On the south balcony you can even grow a watermelon!
The east and west balcony
Here, the plants do not dry out as quickly. But on the other hand, they also have less sun available.
On an east and west balcony thrive plants that like sunny and partial shade like
- Radish
- Kohlrabi
- Broccoli
- Mint
- Beans
- Salads
The north balcony
On a balcony facing north fit plants that can grow in the shade, such as.
- All cabbage
- Chard
- Herbs like dill, chives, tarragon, caraway seeds
- Lamb's lettuce, arugula
- Beet
- Leeks
I recommend you be experimental in your choice of vegetable plants. You will develop a feeling for what thrives well with you and what less.
These plants love coffee grounds as fertilizer!
What planters grow vegetables on the balcony
Vegetable plants are very unpretentious when it comes to their housing. Pot, box, bag or an old bucket - if the location is right, the plants will grow anywhere. Depending on the variety, the plants need larger or smaller planters.
Important: If you buy plants, be sure to transplant them and not leave them in their mini pots.
Flower pots for balcony vegetables
Pots come in all sizes, depths and shapes. The larger the pot, the better the plant can develop. Make sure your pot has holes at the bottom so that excess water can drain away.
Tomatoes, chilies, cucumbers and peppers do especially well in pots. I recommend you one plant per pot.
- Peppers, chili and cucumber need a 10 liter pot.
- Tomatoes at least 20 liters, better - 40.
Those who have a very large balcony, can grow zucchini. But this requires a pot with at least 40-60 liters of soil. I have not tried it yet, because I have little space.
If you want to grow mint, then you should know that the plant is a shallow rooter. So it does not spread in depth and therefore does not need a deep pot, but a shallow and wide.
For many herbs is enough pot from about 15 cm in diameter. However, they become more beautiful and aromatic in larger planters.
The flower box for urban gardening
If one vegetable is suitable balcony, then it is radishes! They grow wonderfully in the window box and have few requirements for the location - the main thing - sun and moist soil.
Then you can soon harvest the first spicy radishes and no longer have to settle for the tasteless radishes from the supermarket.
Herbs and lettuces also thrive in the flower box. You can attach this planter to the balcony railing with special hooks and save additional space.
Many flower boxes have an integrated water reservoir. So the plants get the water themselves and you do not have to water so often.
Upcycling! Craft grow pots yourself!
Sacks, bags, planting bags
If you want to save yourself work, you can buy a bag of potting soil, and make a slit right at the top of the bag. Plant in it, water it and you're done. This method is very good for zucchini and cucumbers. I tried it once with tomatoes, but the potting soil bag doesn't provide enough support for them. So on a windy day they all bent over.
In stores you can buy special planting bags. They are made of sturdy fabric and hold a lot of soil. When the garden-balcony season is over, you can store the bags in the cellar to save space.
The upcycling vegetable balcony
You can also take old wooden boxes and line them with a garbage bag. Just do not forget to make holes in the garbage bag so that the water does not collect.
Also suitable are plastic buckets, which have passed their best time. Or boxes made of plastic and much more. Look around at the flea market, there you can find very cheap beautiful planters.
Some also plant flowers in old tetra packs or plastic bottles, but I have not had good experiences with them. The soil is simply not enough for this, the plants become puny and you have to water them constantly. However, they are well suited as growing containers.
Our conclusion
Whether a vegetable balcony is suitable or not, it is mainly determined by the orientation of your apartment. Some plants need direct sun, others are content with partial shade. So before you start the project, you should inspect your balcony very carefully, then you will surely find the right vegetable variety for your urban gardening project.
Have fun gardening!
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