I want a vegetable garden on my balcony, what should I do?

Contents

1. Basic advice
   1. What to plant in a vegetable patch on my balcony?
   2. Focus on our favorite species for a balcony vegetable garden

 Cultivating a small vegetable garden when you have a garden is (almost) easy! 

But when you're a city dweller, how do you do it? Well, it's a trick: every nook and cranny, from the windowsill to the balcony, can accommodate a little piece of nature, so you take advantage of it and start creating your own vegetable garden balcony.

Cultivating a vegetable garden when you live in the city and in an apartment is possible. 

If you have a green thumb, all it takes is a few simple tricks to grow your fruit and vegetables without taking your mind off it. 

Then, it's up to you to choose fresh cherry tomatoes to serve as an aperitif and aromatic herbs to flavour all your dishes! Get out the hoes and the potting soil, the gardening lesson to create a vegetable garden on your balcony is now.

Basic advice

To get off to a good start, you need to remember a few basic rules that will allow you to ensure the optimal development of your vegetable garden.

1. Be careful not to overload it: it's a bit of a mess, a vegetable garden weighs a lot. So limit its weight to a hundred kilos for a "dilapidated" balcony, and up to 300 for a top-of-the-range one.

2. The second point to remember is obviously the sun! Plants really need it to develop. The ideal: a South-East or South-West exposure. 

A full South will satisfy southern plants more. 

The ideal: a South-East or South-West exposure. A full south will satisfy the southern plants more.

3. The selection of pots is also a key point in the preparation of your vegetable garden. 

Plastic and metal are to be avoided, as they prevent the roots from breathing, and could even "cook" your plant because of the sun...

Prefer terracotta or stoneware pots (it's the most natural!). 

And don't forget to adapt the size of the pot to the size of the chosen species: they obviously need room to grow and develop their roots.

> Top of the line for a balcony? The smart pots, made of geotextile, a breathable and flexible fabric that lets air and water pass through more easily.

4. Then provide yourself with quality potting soil to meet the needs of your plantations. 

Choose a special vegetable potting soil because it must be rich in nutrients and remain flexible and aerated. 

It is advisable to mix 50% potting soil and 50% compost.

5. We take a few precautions with the sprinklers. 

You never water your garden when the sun is too strong: it is better to water in the morning, concentrating on the soil. 

Water on the leaves could attract the sun and "fry" them. 

However, be careful in summer: during the hot summer months, put your planters and planters inside to protect them from the sun.

All right, have you respected these 5 key points? 

Then let's go for the selection of your species!

What to plant in a vegetable patch on my balcony?

Many varieties can be grown on a balcony. 

Aromatic plants are the simplest to grow and it's always nice to have some on hand. 

Thyme, tarragon, mint, basil, chives, parsley: enough to give taste and flavour to all your dishes.

Depending on the exposure of your balcony, you will be able to choose more or less adapted species. 

With a south-facing balcony, you can go straight for the sun's vegetables. Eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, basil or rosemary, but also strawberries. 

You will make people jealous!

If you get less sunshine than the lucky ones in the south, then choose vegetables that grow in little light, such as radishes or lettuce for cutting.

Focus on our favorite species for a balcony vegetable garden

In addition to giving you delicious vegetables and herbs, your vegetable garden can also be beautiful to look at. 

To give it an aesthetic appearance and to make your crops grow successfully, there are certain species that are highly recommended... It's up to you to choose!

Zucchini

The starlet from large vegetable gardens can also be grown on a small piece of terrace. 

Give her something to play with: a soft container, a guardrail or a stake and let her run around a bit!

The secret of zucchini in shape and flowers is simple. 

Place 3 seeds in a small bucket filled with soil and compost. 

Water it regularly (the soil must always be fresh) and above all keep it warm. 

As soon as the first leaves appear, transplant your plants into a larger container, the bottom of which will have been covered with clay balls. 

When they reach a height of 8 cm, thin them out. 

Be careful to keep a certain distance between each plant. 

Two months after sowing, you should pick up a few of the seedlings. 

Tarragon

Make way for tarragon, a rather perennial aromatic plant used to awaken small dishes, heal teething words, dissipate hiccups... 

So in a flowerpot between pretty bouquets of mint and flowers, on the balcony or even a window sill, it's bound to look good.

With more than 300 varieties, French tarragon is by far the most fragrant and tasty. 

But despite its origins (the great Siberian steppes), tarragon fears the cold and does not like too wet soils. 

Let's now move on to its health secrets: prune your tarragon to boost its growth, and above all don't forget to take a small cut as soon as the weather returns to multiply your plants. 

One last thing: when planting, think about how much space you have available.

Tarragon grows like quackgrass...

                                            

Purple row beans

Climbing beans in bloom as a welcome breeze, it's quite practical: you can sunbathe away from the neighbours' gaze.

Be methodical, fill small pots with soil and compost first. 

Take advantage of keeping them between 16 and 18° (if necessary improvise a greenhouse with a glass bell) during germination to install tepees in your planters. 

Transplant your plants into these. 

Water the soil regularly. 10 days later, work the soil lightly to aerate it and remove weeds. 

Count 2 to 3 months after sowing before you can move on to harvesting. 

A notable advantage is that because velvet beans are climbing you will not have to bend down to pick them up. 

Sow the beans after frost and enjoy them as early as July.

Elongated cherry tomatoes

In a small pot, place 2 cm of clay balls to facilitate drainage and prevent the roots from rotting, add some compost, a few seeds in the middle, again compost and water. 

It is in the first weeks that the seedling needs light and heat (20°). 

From April onwards, when there is no longer any risk of frost, put the plant in a planter, then head the plant off at the 2nd leaf after the 5th bunch of flowers. 

But to enjoy these Aligote tomatoes you will have to be patient and wait 3 to 4 months. 

When the plant has reached its maximum height, get rid of the greedy, small sterile twigs located between the stem and the leaf.

Lettuce to cut

You don't have to be a great gardener to grow salads. 

If you sow them in February you should pick them in July. 

However, some varieties can be harvested all year round.

Place your seeds (3 cm apart) in a 20 cm high tray filled with light soil, a little water and heat (1/2 day of sunshine). 

Keep the soil always cool and thin them out. Once a month, add a little more soil. 

In less than a month you should harvest a few leaves!

Basil pesto

Surprise neighbors and friends by planting this basil and pistou flavoured bouquet in a pretty classic or colourful cylindrical pot. 

A totally new composition.

Prepare your seedlings in very small pots, by putting a few seeds covered with a little soil. 

Like other basilics, this variety has very specific needs, namely light, water and heat. 

Keep your shoots well away from the cold, you will take them out and plant them alone or close to your tomatoes (it keeps insects away) during the day. 

Regularly harvest the leaves at the bottom of the stem so that the plant branches better. 

Thin out the basil regularly so that it keeps its ball shape and cut a few leaves as needed. 

Don't forget to freeze branches to season your winter dishes.

Small peppers

Like its cousin the pepper, the chili likes heat. 

The idea is to sow them during the winter in a mixture of soil and compost and wait for good weather (May) to pot them and let them get some fresh air. 

Don't forget to prick a stake to keep them upright. 

As far as maintenance is concerned, these small trees love sunbathing (the ideal remains that they are facing south) and need to be hydrated every 2 days, from June to October. 

Always cut the vegetables with the stalk, it is better for their conservation.

The radlshes

We don't think about it enough, but round radishes not only grow quickly, they are also lovely in their "little" pots.

Sow your round radish seeds and leave 2-3 cm between each one, all in a small planter full of light, slightly sandy soil. 

Pack the soil and water it in a fine rain. 

To facilitate their growth, don't forget to thin them out, you will see in less than a month, they will be ready to bite!

Note: radishes that lack water can be smelled... especially with their little pungent taste. Once the Holy Ice has passed, sow your radishes, you will harvest them in the spring.