6 Steps to a Balcony Vegetable Garden That Actually Produces Food

6 steps · by Homeknacks Editorial

Balcony gardens fail for boring reasons: pots too small, compost too cheap, water too irregular, and crops chosen for the picture rather than the conditions. Fix those four and a space of about 20 square feet — roughly two square metres — can produce salad from April to November and enough herbs to stop you buying them.

This is a plan for edible output, not for a display. It assumes a hard floor, a weight limit, no hose, and a landlord who would like the wall left unpainted. Costs land around $120 to $180, CA$170 to CA$250 or £90 to £140 for a first setup, most of which is reusable for years.

1. 1. Read the light honestly before you choose a single plant
2. 2. Buy fewer, bigger pots
3. 3. Use proper potting compost, and refresh it each year
4. 4. Choose crops by yield per pot, not by what looks appealing
5. 5. Get watering and feeding on a system, not on memory
6. 6. Keep it going: succession, pests and the end of the season

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