Balcony Gardening

greenhands

I have a big enough balcony which gets a good bit of sun. I want to start gardening on it. Putting out a few plants and growing some vegtables.
I see that both Aldi and Lidl have gardening specials today so might be worth a shot.
Was thinking of maybe a flowerbox, some seeds and maybe a pop up planter.
Completely new to all of this. Anyone got any advice?

looksee

Go for it! Suggestions -

use a mixture of general compost and john innes, and mix in some moisture retaining gel. (Ordinary compost dries out quickly then is almost impossible to wet again).

Use reasonably big planters - those narrow ones about 7 inches wide don't really hold enough compost to keep damp. Don't bother with one that claim to include a magic watering system with a funnel at each end.

Put a tray under the container to hold water when you are watering - if the weather is very wet you may have to empty the water out to avoid drowning the plants. Its a bit of a balancing act.

If you are buying seeds get annuals as biennials will not (usually) flower in the first year. It is too early for some annuals outdoors so check the packets.

doctor evil

If you have any styrafoam lying around you could put it in the bottom of the pots to help hold in moisture.

looksee

doctor evil wrote: »

If you have any styrafoam lying around you could put it in the bottom of the pots to help hold in moisture.

Would it though? It can be used to fill the bottom of a very big pot, to use less compost, or to assist in drainage. I don't think it would hold moisture.

kylith

I actually find the planters with the resevoir great, really stopped my window boxes from drying out.

OP, have a look for a variety of carrot, I can't for the life of me remember the name, but they grow into spheres rather than growing down, so they're great for containers with limited depth.

Sonnenblumen

looksee wrote: »

Go for it! Suggestions -

use a mixture of general compost and john innes, and mix in some moisture retaining gel. (Ordinary compost dries out quickly then is almost impossible to wet again).

Use reasonably big planters - those narrow ones about 7 inches wide don't really hold enough compost to keep damp. Don't bother with one that claim to include a magic watering system with a funnel at each end.

Put a tray under the container to hold water when you are watering - if the weather is very wet you may have to empty the water out to avoid drowning the plants. Its a bit of a balancing act.

If you are buying seeds get annuals as biennials will not (usually) flower in the first year. It is too early for some annuals outdoors so check the packets.

Planters with integrated irrigation systems can be very useful for balcony areas etc by providing water to plants when required.

OP, you should decide which suitable plants you wish to feature on the balcony area before deciding on the planters. As a general guide, the bigger the planter the better, but do choose a form which is stable, a material which is fadeproof and frostproof. The more porous the material the more likely the plant will dehydrate and require more watering. Select a material which is practical ie one which will not easily mark or scratch, and avoid ones which could chip, crack or rot. Avoid very heavy planters which can be very difficult to move as well as being a potential structural risk.

You decide what planter attributes are important and select one which will be most suitable for the intended planting scheme and will pose a threat or risk to the structural integrity of the balcony itself.

magicbastarder

looksee wrote: »

Would it though? It can be used to fill the bottom of a very big pot, to use less compost, or to assist in drainage. I don't think it would hold moisture.

since styrofoam floats, that would imply it doesn't allow water to seep in.

littleredspot

Just remember it often gets very windy on balconies, so don't use very delicate plants and make sure there's some weight in you containers or that they're tied down.

redser7

magicbastarder wrote: »

since styrofoam floats, that would imply it doesn't allow water to seep in.

I believe people use broken up bits of styrofoam instead or rocks and crocks to aid drainage in large containers. Also has the added benefit of being practically weightless and so makes the container easier to move around.

planetX

redser7 wrote: »

I believe people use broken up bits of styrofoam instead or rocks and crocks to aid drainage in large containers. Also has the added benefit of being practically weightless and so makes the container easier to move around.

Never again, it's really horrible when you go to change the compost. You end up picking bits of styrofoam from the garden for the next week, horrible stuff.

littleredspot

Re: styrofoam, I'm currently saving up lots of it to use as drainage for a roof garden, reckon it'll be light and great insulation.

Sonnenblumen

There are a number of drawbacks with using polystyrene foam board and in balcony/roof garden areas, the obvious problem is the risk of raising the centre of gravity of the planter. This will result in the plant or planter becoming top heavy, unstable and vulnerable to be blown over etc.

Northclare

Have any of ye seen the way some of those polystyrene fish boxes can be transformed into containers.

Some people paint them with sour milk and leave nature take its course but that might be undesirable to some.

More people paint them with a cement and sand mix which makes them look like old rustic containers such as those old concrete sinks.