A balcony can grow a surprising amount: herbs, salad, tomatoes and beans. Start small, choose the right containers and pick crops your family likes to eat.
Check the basics first
- Light: watch how many hours of direct sun the balcony gets. Fruiting crops want most of the day; salad and herbs cope with less.
- Rules and weight: check your lease or building rules, and keep heavy containers near walls rather than at the edge. Wet soil is heavy.
- Wind: high balconies can be windy, so choose sturdy plants and secure supports.
- Safety: keep pots well away from the railing edge if children use the balcony, and never put anything children could climb near the railing.
Choose large containers with drainage
Bigger pots dry out more slowly. Tomatoes need a large pot, around 5 gallons (20 liters) or more; herbs and salad can share window boxes. Make sure every pot has drainage holes and a saucer.
Easy crops to start with
Cherry tomatoes, pole beans up a trellis, lettuce and other salad leaves, radishes, spinach, chives, mint (in its own pot) and basil.
Water and feed
Containers can need water every day in hot weather. A watering can that children can carry makes it a good daily job. Feed fruiting crops as the label recommends.
Grow up
A trellis or wall planter turns a narrow balcony into a vertical garden. See vertical vegetable gardening for small spaces.
Make it the children’s project
Give each child one pot to look after. Gardening with kids has more ideas.
Adapt these ideas to your household. Organization guidance is general information, not medical, safety or financial advice.
