Balcony Gardening

At some point, I think all apartment dwellers have fantasised about a lovely little garden on their balcony. A smattering of fresh herbs to pluck and toss into dinner, some fresh and fragrant flowers and plenty of lush green vegetation. But it’s not so easy to achieve when you don’t know where to start and you have to fit it in between work, exercising, socialising and all those other commitments in life.

As one of life’s lazy gardeners I’ve jotted down some of my favourite tips for having a balcony garden without much fuss.

1. Know your balcony – which direction is it facing? If it’s south it’s likely to get plenty of shade, if it’s west, plenty of sun. Is it covered so that your plants will get shade during the day? How big is it? The main aim is to work out how much space you have and what type of plants will grow best in it. Different plants will thrive in different conditions, so good preparation will help you find the right plants to suit your balcony from the beginning.

2. Watering – it sounds fairly obvious, but it’s important! You need to understand your plants and water them accordingly. As a low maintenance gardener, I pick lots of succulents as they love dry sandy soil and little water. If I forget to water them for a few weeks they’ll be fine. Other plants are less forgiving. Some like lots of water, some like to be watered and their leaves covered in water too, others you should only water from the feet. Make sure your read the labels or look up your plants so you know how they should be watered.

3. Saving water - You can also look into getting water saving crystals that you water into your plant which increases their capacity to hold water. A gardener friend of mine also told me that, as cheap alternative, you can put a bit of dishwashing detergent on them and water that in with plenty of water and this will also help plants hold water longer. This has worked really well for me. Plants left on a balcony for a while can become water repellent. You can pick this when you water them and it simply runs straight through. One of the best ways to fix this is to take them into the shower or bath and give them a good soaking before you use the crystals or detergent.

4. Fertilise your plants – on a balcony your plants won’t generally be located near trees or other plants or animals which help a soil to naturally regenerate, so you need to give your plants regular nutrients. The low maintenance version of this is a slow release fertiliser like Osmocote. Alternatively, you can use a water soluble fertiliser fortnightly. I like Aquasol. This works well if you’re growing herbs or vegetables which like regular feeding.

5. Perhaps the best advice comes from my mum, who told me “don’t worry if you kill them”! They don’t cost much more than a bunch of flowers, and last much longer, so just give it your best shot and if something dies, simply throw it away buy a new one, or take a new cutting.

I hope these tips help you get started, or restarted, on a lovely balcony garden.