How do you grow vegetables on your balcony? Find out effective ways to enjoy the highest quality crops. As it turns out, growing your own vegetables on your balcony isn’t all that complicated!
If you want to enjoy vegetables from your own cultivation, it is necessary to choose the right plants. In this way, you can take care of their gradual maturation. In addition, it is essential to find out how the different species interact with each other.
The interspecies interaction is called allelopathy. By considering it in our crop plan, we can ensure optimal conditions for growth and development. This knowledge of plants will also enable us to ensure the right position and substrate, the careful selection of containers and the correct watering and fertilizing of plants.
We know that a balcony is a very special place for growing plants. Therefore, vegetables that need a lot of space for proper growth and development are not suitable for it. These vegetables include cabbage or pumpkin.
In addition, vegetables which have an extensive root system are not a good idea on a balcony. These include carrots, parsley and beet . We should also not choose those species that require a large cultivation area. We are talking about such vegetables as potatoes, asparagus and spinach
We already know which vegetables not to grow. And which species can work well? In containers we can successfully grow such vegetables on the balcony as:
A great solution for the balcony are also climbing strawberries and all kinds of herbs. In this way, we can take care of the variety of species, and also choose plants that will mature gradually.
Some vegetables can also be grown throughout the growing season – just make sure to sow new seeds into selected containers every 2-4 weeks. Such species include lettuce, radishes, dill and chives. Others of the vegetables bear fruit gradually, but not until late summer. These include peppers and tomatoes.
In most cases, the species you can successfully grow on a balcony are light-loving species. When given the right level of sunlight, these plants can bloom profusely and produce a variety of fruits. However, when the sun heats up too much, the plants can be at risk of burning and withering. Therefore, in the case of hot summers, it is advisable to use systematic shading
Vegetables grown on the balcony should be sheltered from the wind. This will ensure that strong gusts do not break their fragile stems
If you decide to plant plants on a terrace or balcony facing north, you have to reckon with the fact that they will have limited access to light. The sun appears in these places only in the early morning and late afternoon. During the day, plants will enjoy an even spread of light.
A northern exposure helps ensure an even temperature and reduces the danger of overheating or root damage. An invaluable advantage is that in this situation the soil loses moisture more slowly, so we can water the plants less often.
When choosing the right substrate for vegetables on the balcony, it is best to use this for balcony plants or soil for growing vegetables. Such mixtures are fertile, rich in nutrients and humus. Earth for balcony plants is characterized by the right lightness and plumpness, it is possible to buy it in any gardening store.
