Growing veg on my balcony..

del88

As the title suggest I'm planning to grow some veg on my 3rd floor apartment balcony. I have zero experience with growing anything.
So the plans is to grow most in pots and maybe a small green house.
I'm hoping to grow carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, peppers and chillies. Also open to any suggestion.
I have a 6m by 1.6 meter balcony that's west facing and about 4m of floor to celling window that I can put pots indoors.
So that's the rough plan. I'm hoping to keep a weekly diary with progress and plans for the week ahead.
Would be great to get some advice and feedback.
Cheers
Ps...Here a few pics of the space and some the pot I have..
image.jpg

Sgt Pepper 64

del88 wrote: »

As the title suggest I'm planning to grow some veg on my 3rd floor apartment balcony. I have zero experience with growing anything.
So the plans is to grow most in pots and maybe a small green house.
I'm hoping to grow carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, peppers and chillies. Also open to any suggestion.
I have a 6m by 1.6 meter balcony that's west facing and about 4m of floor to celling window that I can put pots indoors.
So that's the rough plan. I'm hoping to keep a weekly diary with progress and plans for the week ahead.
Would be great to get some advice and feedback.
Cheers
Ps...Here a few pics of the space and some the pot I have..
image.jpg

Yep you can grow all that and more.
You can get quite a cheap small plastic greenhouse, different types, some for tomato's that take the grow bags and you can buy special water "collars" as they like a lot of water
A lot of garden centres and national gardens run lectures and advice on growing veg so check ones near you.
Peas like thinks to climb up so a big pot with a wigwam of canes will do nicely and runner beans the same. very easy to grow
Carrots generally like a deep pot, very easy to grow as well
lettuce (cut and come again) is the easiest as well

Many places like dealz, 2 euro shops, lidl and aldi have cheap seeds and garden stuff
And Thompson seeds etc do packs of veg seeds with help in one handy pack
Many magazines exist as well with "free seeds" and advice

Homebase also do seeds etc and actually sell young plants you can bring on yourself

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=527

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7201981.htm

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7201833/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C19285823%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7204452/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C19285823%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

del88

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Yep you can grow all that and more.
You can get quite a cheap small plastic greenhouse, different types, some for tomato's that take the grow bags and you can buy special water "collars" as they like a lot of water
A lot of garden centres and national gardens run lectures and advice on growing veg so check ones near you.
Peas like thinks to climb up so a big pot with a wigwam of canes will do nicely and runner beans the same. very easy to grow
Carrots generally like a deep pot, very easy to grow as well
lettuce (cut and come again) is the easiest as well

Many places like dealz, 2 euro shops, lidl and aldi have cheap seeds and garden stuff
And Thompson seeds etc do packs of veg seeds with help in one handy pack
Many magazines exist as well with "free seeds" and advice

Homebase also do seeds etc and actually sell young plants you can bring on yourself

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=527

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7201981.htm

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7201833/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C19285823%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7204452/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7C19285823%7CSheds%2C+greenhouses+and+storage%7C14418827/c_3/4%7Ccat_14418827%7CGreenhouses%7C14418830.htm

Brilliant ... Just the sort of advice is was looking for .
The large greenhouse looks the job..;-)

redser7

Best of luck, you can grow pretty much everything in pots that can be grown in the ground. Tricky bit is getting the watering and feeding correct. Stuff in pots are 100% reliant on you to provide these.
I would think twice about the spuds. They grow very big and would take up a lot space. Unless you do just one pot for the sake of interest. Go with an early baby potato like annabel or Charlotte.

redser7

For tomatoes, Maskotka is the one you want but you really need to get sowing now. It's getting late or starting peppers so think about buying in some plants this year and look for one of this blow away mini greenhouses. Weigh it down with blocks!

greasepalm

i would also take into account of growing tall stuff will effect light levels into apartment,go for stump rooted carrots as a very deep container is then not needed,some carrots can measure 2 foot from tip of carrot to end of tail.
think i would leave peppers and chillies out for the moment.best of luck.

looksee

greasepalm wrote: »

i would also take into account of growing tall stuff will effect light levels into apartment,go for stump rooted carrots as a very deep container is then not needed,some carrots can measure 2 foot from tip of carrot to end of tail.
think i would leave peppers and chillies out for the moment.best of luck.

You are not growing 'show' carrots! There is no point growing carrots to that size if you are proposing to eat them - you are looking for flavour and texture. Agreed about growing short -stumpy - carrots, but even if you grow the ordinary ones you will pull them long before they get to anything approaching that size. Not sure why greasepalm would say don't grow peppers and chillies - they are no more difficult than tomatoes - in fact I would say they are easier.

I think its a great project - it will require a lot of attention but that is at least half the attraction!

greasepalm

been there and done that but in the open with carrots,i meant dont go overboard as space and light will be tight when things grow up and they will need room to get around ,if they want to try peppers and chillies go for it