Veggies That Grow On Balcony
Living in an apartment should not remove any prospect of indulging in gardening at home. The small space is by no means a barrier to a hobby. With little gardening knowledge and easy to meet conditions, such as space, light and temperature, you can grow veggies at home, be it an apartment or not. Below are some practical tips teaching you how to put home-grown veggies on the table. Here is more on veggies that grow on balcony.
Go for easy to grow plants, such as carrots. Rich in vitamin A, biotin, vitamin K, carrots are simple to grow, but they do require a great deal of light and a decent amount of space. Plant the seeds 1 inch apart in fertile soil containing plenty of nitrogen-rich humus. If you plant several rows of carrots, be careful not to crowd the roots, which are quite fragile. Use a deep container (up to 2 feet) where you can mix composted food scraps into organic soil6 to create a nitrogen-rich blend. Ensure the soil stays moist, but not drenched, and watch the seeds germinate within a couple of weeks. Radishes, another root vegetable, are also a good fit for indoor gardens.
Seed tubers used for outdoor plantings are easily grown in large pots, buckets or even plastic sacks, and produce worthwhile yields of tasty new potatoes. When planting the tubers, leave space at the top of the container for adding more compost to earth up the plants as they develop. The top of the sack can be rolled down to start with, then rolled up, as required.
If you like aromatic herbs, then you should also they are also easy to plant and grow indoors. Basil, parsley, oregano or thyme can be grown on the windowsill or on the balcony by following a few easy steps. Water regularly without drenching and make sure there’s plenty of natural air circulating so plants can breathe. Note that some herbs, such as the rosemary, grow better in cooler conditions.
Herbs go hand in hand with leafy greens which can also make it onto your table directly from makeshift planters. Specialists recommend scattering seedlings in plastic berry containers lined with several layers of moist paper towels and then placing them in a brown paper bag in a dark area of the home. Spray with water occasionally to maintain a moist environment. When the seedlings reach about 1 inch in height, remove them from the bag, and relocate to a lighter area, but not in direct sunlight. Harvest the greens when they reach two to three inches.
Dwarf French beans can be sown in pots from late winter onwards for early pods. Dwarf broad beans and dwarf runner beans crop well indoors, too. Tall runner beans grown on cane wigwams or on string up the side of a sunny conservatory are decorative as well as productive, and both dwarf and tall mange tout peas will do well as houseplants. Pick the pods while they are young, tender and juicy.
