Getting Started with Balcony Gardening

Hey balcony newcomers! Welcome. Today we’re gonna cover six things to think about right as you get started.
The first thing you wanna consider is wait. What’s your balcony made of and how much weight can it sustain. Remember that as you start planting, your planters are extremely light but you’re gonna add soil and a lot of water which makes them very heavy. I’m very fortunate in that my balcony is all concrete so weight is not a real issue for me.
The second main consideration is how much space you have available. You want to use your space wisely, but also make sure that your balcony is still functional. You can get these great wooden plant shelves from Amazon or from Target. Remember vertical growth is your friend. Another thing you can do is make sure you’re using window boxes or balcony wall planters.
A third major consideration is how much light you have available to you or the light shade balance. The first step is to consider which direction your balcony faces. I’m really lucky that we have a west-facing balcony so we get a beautiful view of the mountains. That also means that our sun comes in the evening so it’s a little less intense so it’s not as harsh on my plants.
When you’re thinking about your light/shade availability make sure that you’re selecting plant that are good for your light. Because my light comes only in the evenings and isn’t as intense I could plant a lot of things that needs sun but also can do well with some shades. So we got some zucchini and some cucumbers and tomatoes that are pretty resilient.
The next thing you wanna consider is wind abundance and strength. Our wind gets pretty strong here. We’re coming in directly from the mountains and on the sixth floor. So what you wanna consider with that if you’re gonna have strong winds is make sure you have really secure planters like these ones that are on my balcony wall here. They mount really well. And then make sure you don’t have extremely tall plants that can be caught by the wind.
Additionally, you wanna go with heavy bottom pots or as you see I have relatively light-bottom pots that I got for pretty cheap. However, my balcony is very well protected by that concrete wall so the wind doesn’t play a huge factor as far as pot weight.
The next thing you wanna consider is water. A great thing to have especially here in Colorado where it’s extremely dry are self-watering planters or waters that have water reservoirs. This blue one has a water reservoir at the bottom. My balcony wall planters are extremely great in that they hold water all the way down at the bottom. Additionally, as we travel a lot we have to consider how we’re gonna water our plants while we’re away. We ordered these great little watering spikes that plastic water bottles attach to from Amazon. So when you’re travelling you can set a drip and have self-regulated watering system. You can use them just when you’re traveling or when you’re home then really takes away a lot of that consideration.
The last thing you wanna think about is being really considerate of your neighbors. When you’re watering, you’re sweeping, you’re picking, and you’re carrying your plants. This is especially important if you share balcony space. I’m really lucky in that we don’t share balcony space, however I have five floors below me so I like to make sure that I use a watering can that has a pretty good control so I’m not flooding the lower balconies. And I make sure that that one space that does reach out into an opening to the floors below, I don’t sweep dirt off and make sure that my pot plants are large enough not to fall and become human missiles as they go through.
Thank you so much for joining us. These are our six most important tips as you head into your garden balcony. Have a great day!