Garden checklist for an unpredictable spring
It’s April 1 - can I start gardening on my balcony yet?
3 things to do now to prepare your garden
Make plans
What are your garden goals this season? Spending some time now to plan and dream will help you meet your goals and make your garden dreams come true!
Photo credit: Sarah Dobec, Carrot Green Roof
Think about what you learned last year. What do you want to do the same, or differently? Which crops grew best in your garden? A combination of dreamy and practical will guide new garden additions for this season.
Always choose food plants that match your growing conditions. If you’re starting out, learn about how much sun your favourite crops need. It’s can be productive to experiment, but you’ll get best results from your small space if you focus on the plants that will thrive with the conditions you have.
If you’re gardening for the first time in a new space, this is a good time to observe the growing conditions: are there parts of your balcony with lots of sun, wind, or shade? If there places you prefer to sit or do other activities besides gardening, plan you garden around those areas.
Get inspired: cold weather is a great time to get ideas from other peoples projects. Talk to other gardeners, browse seed catalogues or if you like researching on-line, there’s no end to garden ideas on the internet.
Consider crop rotation - don’t grow the same foods in the same containers. Especially for ‘heavy feeders’ like tomato and cabbage-family plants, switch their locations with ‘light feeders’ such as beans, salads and herbs. Rotating your crops makes for stronger and healthier plants that are more resilient and resistant.
2. Start seeds
Indoor seeding: start hot weather plants that need 6-8 weeks of growth before planting outside in mid to late May. These include peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, tomatillos, ground cherries, herbs (such as basil, parsley, and shiso) and flowers (such as marigolds, calendula, and zinnias). I like starting peppers and eggplants in early March but it’s not too late in early April!
Photo credit: Sara Mrosovsky, 6th floor gardener
Grow lights are best for indoor seed starting but you can do without them if you have a South or West-facing window with lots of sun coming in.
Don’t start growing beans indoors - they grow fast and can be direct seeded outside when it’s warm. Cucumber family plants can be direct seeded outside or inside. If you’re starting cukes inside, wait until May, or 2 weeks before their planting-out date.
Don’t start celery, onions or leeks indoors from seed now - they are very slow growers so to maximize their growth this season start from seedlings (it’s best to seed them indoors in February).
Outdoor seeding: start cool weather plants like peas, lettuce, orach, kale, spinach, and cilantro. If it stays cool out they will grow really slowly at first! Growth of cold crops in spring is totally weather dependent. The good thing about starting seeds outside early is that these seeds will just be slowed down or frozen in time until temperatures rise. They still get a head start and thrive in the early part of the season. And keep in mind that raised planter boxes and balcony planters often thaw earlier than garden beds on the ground.
I have seeded snow peas under row covers or cold frames in mid-March, and I love when it snows on the snow peas! I usually wait until mid-April for leafy crops, roots and brassicas (cabbage-family). Fava beans also grow best in the cool weather of early Spring.
3. Get supplies
Photo credit: Fatima Saya, 28th floor balcony grower
Don’t wait until the weather warms up, especially if there are garden items you had trouble sourcing last year. Look for seeds, garden supplies and tools now! Why not pick up soil, compost, mulch or other materials before the garden centres get crowded and before supplies run out?!
Skip the smallest pots. If your small pots dried out too quickly last year or made plants crowded, replace these and size up for better results this year.
Feed the soil with a top-dressing of compost (layer of fresh compost or manure on top of the surface), especially if you are re-using last year’s soil. This way your planters and pots will be ready to go ahead of time. Don’t till or mix the soil too much - tilling is not needed and it breaks up and disturbs the soil life. A layer of nutritious compost on top of pots will allow plants to get new nutrients through the season. You can always add some liquid nutrients later on while plants are flowering or fruiting.
Think vertical! To maximize your small space, look for all the opportunities you can to grow UP. Is there space for a trellis you hadn’t installed before? Can hanging boxes be placed along balcony railings, or hooks put on a wall for hanging pots? Is there a shady space where a small shelf could be added that will lift plants up to grow in a sunnier spot? Now is a good time to rearrange and add vertical growing before you get busy planting and tending to the garden.
(Always abide by any rules and regulations your apartment building / condo may have about trellises on balconies. Some buildings only permit trellises against a wall, but not along the outer edge of balconies.)
Learn more about growing from seed
Understand seed starting success, and get a free seed starting chart.
Get tips and tricks for how to decide which seeds to grow in your containers.
Enjoy having a quick and easy reference through the whole season