Balcony Gardening?

[EJ]

Any thoughts on what might grow on a balcony that doesn't get any direct sunlight? I'm also a newbie (I've only owned 1 houseplant so far...), so it would have to be super easy so I don't kill it

[lorriegray]

Herbs are a great place to start, especially since they are expensive to buy at the store, and it always seems like those packages go bad before you can use the whole thing. When you grow herbs at home, you just snip off what you need at the moment, so no waste! Some of the ones that are shade tolerant are: dill, parsley, cilantro, chives, oregano, thyme, and mint. And just about any herbs will do well inside in a sunny window. This is the exact way that I got my gardening start, way back in my college days.

[Carolyn]

Apr 10, 2014 17:35:59 GMT -5 EJ said:

Any thoughts on what might grow on a balcony that doesn't get any direct sunlight? I'm also a newbie (I've only owned 1 houseplant so far...), so it would have to be super easy so I don't kill it

Lettuces and kale! They are both cool weather crops and will do well in the shade. Kale is amazingly resilient and you can sow lettuces like arugula or spinach every 10 days for a continuous supply.

[Karin]

I'm not an experienced gardener, but I have recently started balcony gardening too. One balcony faces north/east, so it doesn't get a whole lot of sunlight. I'm currently growing chives there (I'm told those will pretty much grow anywhere) and I've planted arugula.

I was thinking about kale too, but I'm wondering if that doesn't get too big for a pot.

[Carolyn]

Hi Karin, you will be fine with Kale in a pot. As long as the pot is deep to give room for the roots.

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[Carolyn]

Other great balcony plants would be peppers and tomatoes (if you aren't following AIP or have others in your house that aren't).

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[Karin]

I am so enjoying balcony gardening! I keep expanding and adding more pots and plants. On the north/east balcony I've got parsley, chives, mint and lettuce, arugula and radishes and I'll add a pot of spring onions next week.

On the south/west side I've got 2 tomato plants (with lots of flowers, yay!) and I was recently given a yellow bell pepper and a gherkin plant! Tomatoes I know will work, bell peppers and gherkins are new, so I'll have to see how that develops. 
And since I was having so much fun I planted some seeds for pot sunflowers and spaghetti squash. Now those will take up way to much space for a balcony, but I can plant them in a friends garden. Two out of three sprouted, they're proudly growing in my windowsill. I'm getting ever more excited about this. Hope to post pictures soon.

[salixisme]

another plant to consider is radishes - they grow well in pots and don't take long to get from seed to harvest. You could have several batches on the go. the seeds are cheap and one packet may well keep you going all summer long. You can eat the radishes themselves, and cook the greens just like you would cook other greens (spinach/kale etc)... double the meals from the same plant.

[Carolyn]

Great idea on radishes. I wonder if you could do the same with beets in pots (same idea using the greens to cook too). You might have to keep them on the smaller side, but could work!

[gabby]

I agree, mint and greens will both do well in the shade, put the mint in a self watering pot as it loves being damp, and watch out for catepillars on mint and kale, or any other brassicas also. I use planter bags like these planterbags.com.au/green-woven-planter-bags-20-ltr-45-ltr/ for my kale as I live on a main road and am worried about the lead (from old pre 1990s petrol fumes) in the soil, kale is very good at sequestering the lead from soil. The tuscan kale can get huge, over 2m tall when you let it go to seed, but you get a good 4 months of cut and come again leaves before it becomes too big and top heavy for the 45L bag. You could try putting a brick or 2 on the bottom of the bag before planting to make it last longer before falling over due to top heavyness.