I just moved in to a new home that has a 2nd floor balcony facing south. It gets plenty of sunlight during the summer, so I'd like to use it for a small herb and vegetable garden (I live alone, so I don't need all that much). A couple questions: 1. What kind of vegetables will grow well in this kind of environment? 2. What kind of planters should I use? How big should they be? 3. What kinds of fertilizer should I use to keep the soil rich enough for them to grow? 4. What are the pitfalls/things to avoid for this situation? In terms of vegetables, I'd like to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks and a couple varieties of peppers. I've got about twenty lineal feet of space for railing planters, and about 50 square feet for standalone planters. Any advice would be appreciated.
Patio tomatoes, bell peppers, and hot peppers should do well in a five gallon nursery container. You need a well drained soil. I like to use a soil blended for container gardens. Pro-mix or Bacco should work well. As for fertilzer, I use Miracle Grow diluted to about 1/4 strenght and use it everytime I water. The main pitfall in container gardening is water. There is an art to watering. If you water too much you get root rot and bugs. If you water too little you have poor producing plants. I like to water in the afternoon about dusk. Sometimes your plants will wilt in the hot sun and they look like they need water when they don't. If they still wilt after the sun goes down they probably need water. Another way to check for water is to look at the bottom drain holes. When they look dry I water. To get good tomatoes use manure. Mix composted manure to about 1/3 of your mix. And water and fertilze as usual. I know I am going on and on about water but it is very important. When you water your plants the water should run out of the bottom of the pot quickly. This should be tried at least once even if you decide to bottom water. Good Luck and happy gardening!!!!
Picking type lettuce are good too and Swiss Chard [Silver beet] Not sure how many pots you are thinking of but might be worth checking to see what sort of weight your balcony can take. I use polysyrene (sp) boxes from the green grocer with great success. Sun is reflected off the white and roots stay cool. http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1251.htm http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenbegin_veg1.htm Liz
