What Kind Of Vegetables To Grow On The Balcony

Pesticide residues on vegetables are one of the food safety issues that people are most concerned about. If there is a small balcony at home, you might as well transform it into your private garden! You should know that if you plant good vegetables, you can eat pollution-free vegetables, fragrant melons, and fruits and green branches and leaves. What’s good on the balcony? What are the precautions for growing vegetables on the balcony? Here’s how to create a balcony garden.

What Kind of Food Plant is Good on the Balcony

Fast growing vegetables with a short cycle

  • Small rapeseed
  • Green garlic
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Mustard
  • Oilwheat

Vegetables with a long harvest period

  • Tomato
  • Pepper
  • Leek
  • Coriander
  • Onion

Space saving vegetables

  • Carrots
  • Lettuce
  • Green onions
  • Ginger
  • Coriander

Easy to grow vegetables

  • Balsam pear
  • Carrot
  • Ginger
  • Onion
  • Lettuce
  • Cabbage

Vegetables that are not easy to bear insects

  • Onions
  • Leeks
  • Sweet potato leaves
  • Ginseng grass
  • Aloe vera

What Container is Suitable for Growing Vegetables on the Balcony

Basil Plants

Material

Ceramic and wooden containers drain faster than plastic containers and need more watering. In addition, the plastic is light and easy to be blown down by the wind. Therefore, do not put it beside the window.

Size

Larger containers are better than smaller ones. This is because larger containers have sufficient places to put fertilizer and have a large water storage capacity, which is not easy to dry up in summer.

Color

Use black with caution, which may damage plant roots. If you choose black, you’d better paint a layer of lighter paint or covered it.

Drainage

There must be a drainage hole at the bottom of the container, and the root system of poorly drained plants is easily spoilt. On the other hand, too fast drainage will make the plants wither due to a lack of water.

Cultivation Method of Growing Vegetables on the Balcony

Soilless culture

The so-called soilless culture is the technology of cultivating plants with substrate and nutrient solutions without soil. Soilless culture has fast growth, high yield, and good quality and has few pests and diseases. It is clean and tidy. It only needs to irrigate nutrient solution, which is very convenient for management.

If it is difficult to identify whether the soil quality is qualified, it is recommended to use soilless cultivation and tap water for cultivation. Soilless culture has the advantages of fast growth, high yield, good quality, and fewer diseases and pests.

Soil culture

Soil cultivation can also be used for household vegetable planting. Compared with soilless culture, soil culture also has its advantages, such as the good ability to keep fertilizer and water, which is conducive to plant growth.

To grow vegetables in the city, we should confirm the history of the soil used. It is best to dig some safe soil in the suburbs instead of the contaminated soil. The best way is to select particular culture soil according to the types of vegetables in the market.

Selection of Fertilizer for Vegetable Planting on the Balcony

Tomatos on tree

Nutrient solution

According to the instructions, there are many nutrient solutions in the agricultural market, which you can water after proper preparation. The principle of standard nutrient solution irrigation is to irrigate on sunny days and not on rainy days. Less watering at the early growth stage and more watering at the fruiting stage.

Tip: The nutrient solution can be recycled. Generally, the nutrient solution is completely replaced every 20 days or so.

Fertilizer

It is best to use organic fertilizer when using traditional fertilizer because the fertilizer will leave acid or salt roots, and the potting soil will become acidic or alkaline, which will hinder the growth of plants. There are all kinds of special organic fertilizers in the agricultural market. You can choose the appropriate organic fertilizer according to the types of vegetables.

Tip: Rice washing water is an excellent natural fertilizer if the planting area is not large.

Seasonal vegetable planting on the balcony

Spring

  • Spinach
  • Small green vegetables
  • Amaranth
  • Lettuce
  • Eggplant
  • Cucumber
  • Water spinach
  • Leek
  • Sweet potato vine
  • Chrysanthemum
  • Pepper
  • Tomato
  • Loofah
  • Wax gourd
  • Pumpkin
  • Balsam pear
  • Watermelon
  • Lentils
  • Agaric

Summer

  • Water spinach
  • Watercress
  • Cauliflower
  • Oilwheat
  • Cucumber
  • Winter melon
  • Pumpkin
  • Watermelon
  • Vegetable melon
  • Pepper
  • Balsam pear

Autumn

  • Spinach
  • Cauliflower
  • Garlic
  • Coriander
  • Vegetable moss
  • Chard
  • Radish
  • Green onion
  • Lettuce
  • Celery

Winter

  • Green vegetables
  • Cabbage
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Coriander
  • Lily
  • Radish
  • Mustard
Cabbage

Select Balcony orientation when growing vegetables

South-facing balcony

The ideal vegetable-growing balcony. General vegetables can be planted on the balcony facing south all year round, such as cucumber, balsam pear, tomato, kidney bean, day lily, apricot, mustard, zucchini, green pepper, lettuce, leek, etc. In addition, lotus root, water chestnut, and other aquatic vegetables are suitable for planting on the balcony facing south.

Balcony facing east and West

It is suitable for planting light-loving and shade-tolerant vegetables, such as onion, oatmeal, rapeseed, leek, towel gourd, coriander, radish, etc. Pay attention to the high temperature when facing the west balcony in summer. It is best to plant vines and high-temperature resistant vegetables in the balcony corner. In summer, try to defend against the strong light and radiation reflected from the back floor.

North facing balcony

There is almost no sunshine all day, and the selection range of vegetables is the smallest. Therefore, shade-tolerant vegetables should be selected, such as lettuce, leek, asparagus, dandelion, water spinach, agaric, etc. In summer, try to defend against the strong light and radiation reflected from the back floor.

Germination of vegetable seeds on balcony

Coriander

Coriander likes cold climates and is cold resistant but not heat-resistant. Therefore, it is suitable for cultivation in spring and late autumn. However, in summer and autumn, the temperature is high, there is much rain, the cultivation is difficult, and the yield is very low, so there is little cultivation in various places. Before sowing, rub the seeds and fruits, soak them in a large bucket of water for 12 to 24 hours, and set the temperature of 20-32 ℃ to promote germination. After most of the seeds germinate, you can sow them.

Spinach

Spinach seeds have thick skin, poor ventilation, and water permeability and are not easy to germinate. Therefore, the seeds were first peeled with hand or wooden stakes, soaked for 12 hours, then placed in a 4 ℃ refrigerator for 24 hours, and then germinated at 20- 25°C.

Carrots

The outer skin of carrot seeds is leathery and thick, with thorns on the surface, which is not easy to sow evenly, and it is also unfavorable for the close contact between the seeds and the soil. Therefore, after harvest, it should be dried for 1-2 days, and the hair should be rubbed off immediately and then soaked to promote germination.

Celery

The celery seed coat is thick and hard, with oil glands, which are difficult to penetrate water, and sprouts slowly and irregularly. You can wash it with clean water, gently rub it, open the seed coat, and then promote germination at a low temperature. It isn’t easy to sprout above 25 ℃.

White gourd, bitter gourd, eggplant

The seed coat is thick, and it is easy to crack when soaking for a long time, but it isn’t easy to sprout when soaking for a short time. Therefore, seeds can be mixed with wet sand one week before sowing, placed under wet and low-temperature conditions, and then germinated at 28-30 ℃. In addition, soaking seeds with 2% potassium nitrate solution for 3-4 days can significantly improve the germination rate.

Precautions for Growing Vegetables on the Balcony

Balcony vegetable planting environment

This refers to the balcony orientation and closure. Orientation determines the light conditions, while closure determines the temperature conditions. The temperature of the fully enclosed balcony is high in winter, the temperature limit is small, and the range of vegetables that you can select is also relatively wide. Therefore, you can plant vegetables all year round.

Sow seeds by the season

Some people ask why I choose vegetables that are easy to grow but can’t sprout? First, you should know that although the time limit for growing vegetables on the balcony will be less, it is better to plant all kinds of vegetables according to the season.

Do not use waste foam box

Suitable foam boxes should be harmless for growing vegetables. However, if it is a waste foam box, it may contaminate the box with harmful ingredients, and growing vegetables in this foam box are harmful to health.

How to water vegetables on the balcony

Vegetables don’t need to be watered every day in terms of watering time. First, check whether the soil is wet or dry. If it is still wet, it doesn’t need watering. Wait until it is dry. It is better to water Thoroughly, and even water comes out from the bottom of the basin. Wait until the soil is completely dry before watering.

Proper watering is beneficial to the growth of vegetables and their growth. Don’t water at noon in summer. You can choose to water in the evening.

Don’t water too much in winter. It is best to water when the sun is to avoid frostbite of vegetable seedlings caused by too much water.

Insect Prevention of Planting Vegetables on the Balcony

Vegetables

Spicy

Take 50g of green onion, garlic, and green pepper respectively, wet mash them, wrap them with gauze, immerse them in 15kg of water for 24 hours, and use the extract spray to control aphids and red cotton spiders.

Potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate is very cheap. It is sold in general drugstores. You can use it for soaking seeds with spray in one fell swoop. After soaking seeds with 0.2% potassium permanganate diluent for 20 minutes, you can wash them with clean water, killing the pathogenic bacteria carried by the seeds and reducing the harm of bacteria in the later stage.

Plant ash

Use 10kg of plant ash, add 50kg of water, soak for 24 hours, and spray the filtrate to control aphids. Moreover, if you plant vegetables on the balcony, such as onions, garlic, and leeks, they are vulnerable to the harm of breeding flies and onion flies. You can sprinkle plant ash, preventing maggots and growing wildly, with obvious effect.

Urea detergent and cooling agent

Using detergent, urea, and water in the ratio of 1:4:400 to prepare a water agent to control tobacco aphids, the effectiveness is better than that of chemical pesticides. This prescription also has the effect of topdressing outside the root and is pollution-free.

Citrus peel

50g, add 500ml of water, soak for 24 hours, filter, spray, control aphids, red cotton spider, leaf miner, pour it into the soil, and control aphids.

Sam Perera

I’m Sam Perera, a nature lover. During my leisure time, I love Gardening, Blogging, and traveling. I grow everything I can, from veggies to plants. I am sharing my experience knowledge with these articles, and I hope you enjoy it.

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