Shade Balcony Gardening

Pots and Containers

• Choose the right pots and containers for plants. Use small 3-gallon pots for individuals annuals and small vegetables such as radishes. Graduate to 5-gallon pots for perennials and large vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, and use long, deep growing containers for row plantings. Always use pots and containers with drainage holes. Containers must balance the foliage and give roots room to grow.

Soil and Nutrition

• Flowers and vegetables need extra care and nutrition when they grow in the shade. Give them a rich mix of organic compost and quick-draining potting soil, or mix 1 part garden loam to 1 part sphagnum peat moss and 1 part perlite. Mix 5-10-5 granular fertilizer into soil for flowers and balanced 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 granular fertilizer into soil for vegetables.

Flower Selection

• Many flowers require full, bright sunshine for blooming, and fail on shaded balconies. Shade-loving flowers will thrive in this situation, though. Choose from successful shade cultivars such as impatiens, bleeding hearts, forget-me-nots, lily-of-the-valley, violets, primroses, begonias and fuschias. Pansies, snapdragons, astilbe and alyssum also thrive in shade.

Vegetable Selection

• Although most summertime vegetables require consistent, bright sunshine, cool-weather vegetables do well with partial sun and light shade. The Colorado State University Cooperative Extension notes that leafy vegetables tolerate shade best, with root crops tolerating partial shade. Leafy crops include lettuce, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard and endives. Root crops suitable for shade container gardens include radishes, beets, carrots and turnips.

Maintenance

• Keep the pots in areas with as much sun as possible for good success, and make sure all the plants get good air circulation. Avoid over-watering shade plants, as soil retains more moisture in this situation than it does in the sun. Give the plants 2 inches of water only when the soil begins to dry.