Small Balcony Gardening Notes

A few things learned from growing plants in pots on a narrow balcony.

A small balcony can hold more plants than you would expect. The trick is to think vertically, choose containers that drain well, and pick plants that suit the light you actually get rather than the light you wish you had.

Start with the light

Spend one weekend watching where the sun falls. Six or more hours of direct sun suits tomatoes, peppers and most flowering annuals. Three to five hours is fine for lettuce, spinach and pansies. Mostly shade still works for ferns, begonias and trailing ivy.

Containers and soil

Use pots with drainage holes and a light potting mix instead of garden soil, which packs down and stays wet. Larger pots dry out more slowly, so a few big containers are usually easier to look after than many small ones. Light-coloured pots stay cooler in summer.

Going vertical

Rail planters, hanging baskets and a simple trellis against the wall free up floor space. Climbing beans and sweet peas will happily cover a trellis in a single season, and trailing petunias soften the edge of a railing.

Watering routine

Containers dry out quickly, especially in wind. Check the soil with a finger each morning and water deeply when the top few centimetres feel dry. A saucer under each pot catches the run-off and protects the floor below.

An easy first season

For a first try, a cherry tomato, a pot of mixed lettuce, a rail box of marigolds and one hanging basket of petunias make a cheerful, forgiving combination. Add more once the routine feels natural.