5 Important Tips For Avoiding Balcony Food Garden Problems
Having a garden on a balcony is a great way to grow your own food in a limited space. But how do you avoid the most common balcony food garden problems?
The dream of many food growers is having a large backyard where they can grow lots of vegetables, herbs and fruit.
But the reality is: not everyone can afford to own a house, nor perhaps want the work of taking care of a large backyard.
It is quite doable to have a thriving balcony food garden right in the city.
But it can also generate it’s own problems.
You want your garden to do well and grow the most amount of food possible in the limited space you have.
And living with other people in close proximity requires you to be a good citizen and watch what you’re doing.
Here are 5 tips to avoid the most common balcony food garden problems, so that you can have a successful growing space.
Obey All Rules and Regulations To Avoid Balcony Food Garden Problems
No matter if you are renting an apartment, own a condominium or even live in a townhouse or row house, you’re living in close proximity to other people.
Closer than you would if you have your own property where there is some space between you and your neighbours (or at least a fence).
Rules and regulations are put in place in these multi-family housing units to ensure everyone is treated the same.
And one of the more contentious rules is likely what you’re allowed to do on your balcony. Many places for instance don’t allow drying of clothes on your balcony, especially in North America.
And when it comes to plants, you may be limited to what you can grow and how much.
So before you even think about setting up your balcony food garden, be sure to check what is allowed and not allowed. Hopefully these regulations are written down somewhere in black & white.
Not only can you have plants but are you allowed to have automated watering systems, grow lights, small greenhouses, etc?
If not and you do have a conversation with your landlord or property manager where they tell you verbally what is allowed, follow up and make sure you also get it in writing. This is to ensure less surprises in the future.
If you’re moving to a new place, it may pay to ask questions as part of your evaluation of where you decide to live. A place that doesn’t allow any plants on the balcony may be less attractive than a place that might be a bit more expensive but allows you to have a full food garden on your balcony.
There are many stories in the news where someone is told to remove their balcony food garden – don’t let that be you!
Your Balcony Food Garden Needs Good Sun Exposure
Plants do need light and warmth. Good luck trying to grow food on a balcony that is facing north (in the Northern Hemisphere) or one that is overshadowed by a neighbouring building for most of the day. While not impossible your plants will struggle.
Some greens like lettuce and kale can grow in as few as 2-4 hours of sunshine a day, but if you want to grow heat-loving plants such as tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers, you need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun a day.
Here’s a chart to help you figure out what you can grow, depending on how much sun your balcony gets:
So again this may be a criteria to look for when looking for a place to move to. Ideally if you can find a balcony that has south exposure, that is best, but west is good too as you get the heat of the afternoon sun. Even better is if you can find a corner balcony that faces both south and west.
What about facing east to the morning sun? Typically it won’t be as hot, but it’s still better than facing north and so you can make it work.
Just also be aware of any future building projects in the area. If there is an empty lot next door that has a development sign on it, you can be sure that in a year or two your sunny balcony may end up in shade most of the day if the future building blocks most of the sun.
But not all is lost if you do have a shady balcony. You can add supplemental grow lights (if allowed – see the previous tip) to make up for less sunshine and get a portable, small greenhouse to help keep your plants warmer. And lots of people do grow veggies and herbs successfully indoors, so that’s always an option as well.