#28 Essential Tips for Starting a Balcony Vegetable Garden | Urban Gardening

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. There is a beauty in life that does not fade. Winter, it's time to come home. January and February are a good time to plan your

balcony

garden

. Oscar Wilde once said, "Wisdom comes with winters." Preparing our growing space, but more importantly, preparing our mind is the key to a successful and fruitful

vegetable

season. Read your building's rules and regulations if you live in a rental. How much extra weight can your

balcony

/patio support? The weight of the pots filled with soil plus water and last but not least the plant itself.

You can use lightweight containers made of plastic, fiberglass, or fabric grow bags combined with lightweight mixes. If your balcony can support a heavy load, you can use wooden raised beds to use your space more efficiently. 2. Calculate the time you have Maintenance is important, even in a small

garden

. There's just one simple rule: if you don't have time, grow low-maintenance

vegetable

s. Tomato, lettuce, herbs, beans, zucchini, cucumbers... But even they must be careful. Even if your balcony is large, I recommend

starting

small and slow. You can always buy and plant more, but

starting

slowly allows you to get a feel for what works and what doesn't before making too big an investment/commitment. 3.

Set a budget before you start. Don't just buy ready-to-plant vegetables unless you want to spend a fortune. Buy seeds or ask friends or gardeners in your community. Try to find pots for sale or make your own container. The only thing you should spend good money on is good quality potting soil. Common "dirt" and cheap soil are not sterile and cause illness and problems. A balcony garden with some pots may not be very expensive, but it also depends entirely on what you want there. That's why it's best to take your time to avoid going over budget. 4. Choose the right plants for your balcony.

Don't waste time and time on plants that won't thrive. Here, the three most important factors are: how much sunlight, wind and how hot your balcony will be. And, of course, choose the right vegetables for the season. The most important issue is the amount of sunlight. Determine the exact amount of sun your balcony receives during the growing season. Keep in mind that most vegetables need at least 6 to 8 hours of sun per day. Does your balcony face south and receive direct sun all day? If so, you have the ideal balcony to grow vegetables (like mine). Many flowers and most vegetables will like it, if watered well.

If your balcony faces north or is shaded by other buildings most of the day, look for herbs or vegetables that can grow in partial shade. There are also vegetables that prefer more sunlight, but can grow in the shade; They will grow more slowly. Meanwhile, the shade receives no direct sun or reflected light during the day. It's just not a good place to grow vegetables. Most plants need light to grow. But I have heard success stories of people with white asparagus, chicory, sprouts, microgreens, wheat grass... Is it windy on your balcony or terrace? Be careful with extreme conditions.

The higher you are, the more wind you are likely to have, and hot, dry winds can dry out your plants quickly. Build a trellis or netting that can block the prevailing wind while helping the vines climb. If the wind dries up, it is really necessary to stay on the water. There are ways to create windbreaks to protect fragile plants by planting larger, wind-tolerant plants in front of softer ones. You can also place plants that don't like wind in low pots near the ground to give them more protection. How hot is your balcony? Balconies and roofs in

urban

areas can be hot at night in summer.

Not all plants thrive in extreme heat, e.g. Lettuce, so it is best to keep this in mind when planning. I've had success with lettuce under a raised bed of other greens in the summer! It is also important to cover the soil to retain water. If done correctly, mulch reduces the time needed for watering, weeding, and pest control. This generally results in better, healthier fruits, vegetables, and flowers. 5. You need a plan beforehand. Prepare a layout in advance according to the size and shape of your balcony. A small sketch on paper is enough to realize the opportunities you have in your space.

Arrange beds and larger containers around the outside to determine spacing and distribute weight evenly. Balconies are usually microclimates that differ significantly from the ground climate. On a small balcony there can even be different microclimates. If an area is shaded it may be one climate, if another area is exposed to the wind, it is another climate. Therefore, choosing which vegetables to grow is the key to a successful harvest. Vegetables that sprout from a flower, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and squash, do not like shady areas. Plant it in full sun areas that receive the most direct sunlight per day.

Root vegetables like beets, carrots, and potatoes can also grow in partial shade with less direct sunlight, but appreciate at least half a day of full sun. Leafy greens, such as spinach and lettuce, are the most shade tolerant. Keeping these plants in the shade as the season progresses will help them last longer. 6. Healthy soil is the key Healthy soil is the key to growing strong, vibrant plants that resist pests and diseases and produce abundantly. Soil is living and is made up of many parts, including mineral particles, water, organic matter, air, and microorganisms. The balance between these parts is what must be maintained for a healthy garden.

Like all living things, soil needs to be fed to provide a nutritious environment to grow vegetables. Do not feed it with cheap chemical fertilizers. Well before the new growing season begins, I empty the previous season's pots, sift the soil and remove the root system, any hidden insects, weeds or debris. The soil was baked in the sun to ensure the destruction of weed seeds, insect eggs and pathogens. And most importantly, you are returning the nutrient content to your soil. I used Bokashi compost to make fertilizer from organic kitchen waste. I even added plant scraps to the Bokashi.

The life cycle is complete :) Mixed compost also helps kill pests and weeds. Cover or wrap it, keep it incubating for several weeks. 7. Sow indoors and use a mini greenhouse to sow early. With the cold weather in Germany, it is also necessary to harvest in early July. If you have a greenhouse, some types of vegetables can be sown at the end of February, mid-March: carrots, pakchoi, some herbs... If the night temperature is above 10°C, the seeds can be sown outside. That way you can have more harvest than usual. 8. Polyculture is the healthy way to grow vegetables. Growing different or more crops of different plants in the same environment gives you higher yields and less work.

All plants will wonderfully support each other's development and will also protect each other from pests if they carefully choose their companion. It can be overwhelming at first, so we must have a good plan before we start planting. I sow carrots with quick radishes together in one bed. Carrot seeds take forever to germinate, while radishes only take a month to harvest, and you can shred them, which then leaves room for the roots to grow. Or a large plant like kohlrabi. Although it starts small, it grows very thick. In between and in between, plant quick crops such as radishes, arugula or lettuce.

By the time the main plants are growing in their environment, you will have harvested all the plants in your crop. 9. Rotate crops each year If crops are planted in a different soil each year, nutrient depletion is prevented and pest and disease cycles are interrupted, so the garden soil remains healthy. Meanwhile, monoculture goes against any form of traditional crops and food growing. They replant the same types of crops in the same field, without any other types of plants. This is the basis of large-scale agricultural corporations that have been trying to control our food sources for decades. I follow the three year rule for all vegetables.

Members of the same plant family should not be planted in the same soil more than once every three or four years. For example, broccoli should not be grown after cabbage, as both are members of the cabbage family. Is all for today! See you in another

gardening

vlog :)