Balcony gardening for beginners

Jodi’s 11th floor balcony garden in June, 2020 [photo: Jodi Pudge]

Hesitant about gardening on your balcony?

Avoid garden failure by growing easy plants

As a new balcony gardener, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choices and information. It’s also common to delay getting started because of past disappointments or fearing the worst.

At the start of last season, Jodi didn’t want her garden to fail again. She was “a complete beginner who had tried to grow potted grocery store tomatoes and basil before and failed miserably.” Her garden containers were too small, and she continuously ran into watering and plant health problems.

Then I supported Jodi's gardening with advice and selected resources to help her make good choices. Her garden thrived as she learned first-hand that “with some good sized pots, soil, nutrients and love …one can create their own little edible oasis deep in the heart of a big city.”

Fill your own balcony with fresh food by making the right choices the first time around! Try small leafy crops like these ones that thrived in Jodi’s 11th floor balcony: chard, kale, arugula and basil. She also grew mint, marigolds, beans, strawberries and tomatoes in her sunny space… all great choices for beginners.

Top 5 container plants for beginners

If you’re new to balcony gardening, keep reading for the top five easiest plants to start with!

1. Mint

• Grows in all light conditions, even deep shade. A perennial that grows back every year and spends the winter outside.

• Start from cuttings or divisions of existing plants (ask a neighbour!) or new transplants.

• Needs to stay well-watered and will expand to fill its pot, no matter how large! Deep window boxes or large pots are recommended. If pots get over-crowded, harvest more mint more often!

2. Chives

• One of the easiest herbs to grow. Comes up very early in Spring and stays green all season long. A hardy perennial which stays outside all winter in its pot.

• Starting from divisions of existing chives is easiest. If you’d like the challenge of growing from seed, start indoors at end of February and be patient!

• Grows well even in shade.

3. Chili peppers

• Grow best in part sun to full sun, and love hot conditions.

• Start indoors from seeds in mid-March or transplant seedlings at end of May.

• Need rich soil, to stay well watered, and a large pot (12L / 3 gallon is best).

• The variety of heirloom chili peppers available, from seeds or plants, is endless!

4. Kale

• A long-lived garden green that’s super nutritious for salads or cooking.

• Grows well in sun or shade, hot or cool weather. Kale lasts late into the year and tastes even sweeter after a frost!

• Easy to grow from seeds anytime from early spring through summer.

5. Lambsquarters

• A weed or what I call “plants that grow themselves.” It may appear all by itself in your garden boxes, or look for the seeds to plant - it’s also called Goosefoot, Wild Spinach and Fat Hen.

• Cut the whole plant when it’s young for repeated growth and harvest. Larger plants have tough stems so strip and cook the leaves.

• Tasty and nutrient-packed, it grows well in all conditions.

Pro tip: Grow herbs on your balcony

Herbs are another great choice for container gardens. The benefits of growing herbs on your balcony include:

• Adaptable to small spaces.

• Many herbs grow well in partial shade OR in sunny heat (such as those pictured above)!

• Plants and seeds are easy to find in garden centres and seed catalogues.

• Harvest is ready almost as soon as you plant them, and continues through to the end of the season.

• They’re packed with nutrition and flavour, and home-grown always tastes best!

• Expensive to buy whenever you need some, compared to the constant supply from your garden.

“All of this on an 11th floor condo balcony.” [photo: Jodi Pudge]

It’s easier than you think!

With the right plants, you too can harvest fresh food from a small space!

Jodi “no longer sees growing food as an impossible task.“ At the end of last season she said, “I've gone from having ZERO growing success, to having two balconies filled with delicious food! I have grown something from seed for the first time. I have also eaten my first 'home grown' food.”

Start your garden with the right plant choices! Build your confidence and savour the results.

Keep track of all the easiest plants to grow!

Quick and easy visual guide including Top 5 vegetables and Top 5 hardiest herbs for containers

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