How to Grow Veggies on Your Balcony

Step out into the balcony to determine the amount of sunlight it receives during different times of the day. Select vegetables accordingly. While most vegetables thrive in full sun, you may make use of parts of the balcony exposed to partial or full shade by growing shade-loving, leafy vegetables.

Sketch the balcony on graph paper so you determine the placement of containers. Decide whether you want a privacy screen or trellis along the front of the balcony. Consider growing leaf and root crops on shaded and partially shaded parts of the balcony. Vegetables that fruit from flowers thrive in five to eight hours of sunlight every day.

Mark the locations of containers in the sketch, keeping the mature size of the plants in mind to avoid blocking passage through the balcony. Use 5-gallon containers for cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash and cabbage, and 2-gallon containers for carrots, beets, peppers and radishes. Make use of vertical space with bamboo trellises and hanging baskets.

Drag the containers to their locations marked on the sketch. Ensure the bottoms of the containers have drainage holes. Refer to the detailed sketch for the placement of containers. Insert hooks in the ledge for hanging baskets.

Fill the pots to within 1 inch of the top with commercial lightweight potting mix and water deeply until excess drains out through the holes in each pot.

Plant seeds or seedlings in the pots at the time you would plant them in the garden. Construct lattice or tepee trellises using 1-inch bamboo poles to support climbing vegetables such as beans, peas, cucumbers and tomatoes, or use commercial trellises and cages. Hang baskets containing herbs or dwarf vegetables from hooks inserted along the ledge.

Check the containers and irrigate them regularly, since container soil exposed to sunlight dries out sooner than garden soil. Avoid over-watering the soil or causing standing pools of water along its top.

Feed the plants a water-soluble fertilizer every two to three weeks according to label directions. Inspect the growing vegetables for common foliage- and fruit-feeding pests. Remove them with tweezers or spray horticultural oil or insecticidal soaps to deter them.