Tips for Having a Balcony Garden

If you love gardening and you do not have enough space to start the garden of your dreams, then you can always try for having a balcony garden. A great way to use more of your outdoor living space can be by having a balcony garden, even if it is small you know it won’t be enough to keep you from having the most beautiful garden that is just few steps from your door. Adding a green space to your house is therapeutic and adds to the beauty of your living space. Balconies or terrace gardens are perfect options to make this happen. So if you value plants and are looking for ways to include some greenery to your home, here are some tips for you to help set up your balcony garden.

1. Soil testing – First and most important tip: Soil testing helps in finding out the pH level and micro-nutrients present in your garden soil. You can send soil for testing in your nearby garden center or test it at your home.
2. Best Planting Time – Do you know what the best time to transplant your plants is? It depends on the day you’re planting— if it’s a sunny and windy day then late afternoon is best. On a cold and cloudy day, morning time is perfect, if it’s a hot and humid day, evening time is better.
3. Water in Morning – Water your plants in the morning to avoid water loss from evaporation, another benefit of watering in the morning is that it allows plant’s leaves to dry up before evening, this helps in restricting mealybugs and fungus to develop.
4. Water Plants Deeply – Deep watering develops deep roots that are important in the healthy growth of the plant, whereas shallow and frequent watering develops shallow roots and weaker plant.
5. Reuse water – Reuse drained vegetable water to water your plants that are growing in the container. This water is rich in nutrients and absorbed by plants easily.
6. Planting in odd numbers – Plants planted in odd numbers like 3-5-7 look more natural than those planted in even numbers, plus an odd combination draws attention towards it, too.
7. Art of Recycling – Learn the art of recycling; a true gardener knows how to recycle things. You can use your creativity and take help of internet to make a smart reuse of things you find wasteful in your garden. Read about recycling broken pots.
8. Use Gloves – Many gardeners like the feel of soil on hands and love getting muddy, but hands on gloves save you from hard callused hands, insects and possibly many soil-borne diseases.
9. Pull Weeds in Moist Soil – Always pull weeds in moist soil, moist soil makes the process of weeding simple as the weed’s roots pull off easily in damp soil.
10. Cover the weeds – Cover weeds with black plastic, tarpaulin or other material for at least 15 days, if weeding is a tedious job for you. This way these pesky plants don’t receive sun light and die off without any hassle.
11. Use Well-Drained Pot – Use a well-drained pot to ensure healthy growth of plants, a pot with good drainage save plants from root rot, fungus, and other diseases.
12. Use Large Planters – Large planters are deep; they don’t dry up quickly and provides optimum growing space. Although, large planters take a lot of space but they look less cluttered than small planters.
13. Type of Planters to Use – Use the types of planters according to their nature and how much they suit to the growing conditions you have. Wooden planters remain moist and cool, terracotta remains moderate and plastic planter are lightweight and colorful but gets hot quickly. Clay planters are fragile but more natural.
14. Label your Plants – Labeling helps in remembering plant’s name and it makes the garden more accustomed and well managed. You can paint stones and label it or use pieces of the broken pot.
15. Feed the Soil, not Plants – Feed the soil, not plants; this is one of the most important rules to remember. Don’t water the leaves to wet them. Give treatment to roots and fertilize the soil properly.
16. Companion Planting – Promote companion planting in your garden; learn which plant you can grow with another one. For an example, growing basil near to tomatoes enhances its taste and keeps both healthy.
17. Make your Own Compost – Don’t throw away the peelings of fruits and vegetables you eat. Fruits like banana, peaches and pomegranate are high in potassium and become a good organic fertilizer when used as compost.
18. Use Manure, Tea, and Coffee – Manure has lots of benefits and recommended in organic gardening. Every time you prepare a potting soil by yourself add manure and compost in it. You can also use coffee grounds and used tea bags after composting them to make your garden soil more fertile and loamy.
19. Use Organic & Slow-release Fertilizer – Organic fertilizer supports Ecosystem and provides healthier crop than chemical fertilizers. Slow-release fertilizers provide slow and steady nutrition to plant, which is important for its healthy and constant growth.
20. Color Composition – Every color you use in your garden has its importance, cool colors like blue, green, white are appealing and blends in space. Warm colors like red, orange, yellow are eye-catching and attractive. Learn more about color composition.
21. Pruning and Deadheading – Pruning makes a plant bushier and controllable; prune your plant to give it a shape or when it seems lanky. On the other hand, deadheading is the secret of getting more blooms in your garden. For example, pull every spent flower from plants like petunias and pansies, this encourages blooming and plant gets plenty of flowers.
22. Use Gardening Apps – Take help of your smartphone in the garden, too. Use gardening apps that help in identifying plants, in designing and scheduling your gardening chores. Read this article to learn more.
23. Buying Plants from Nursery – Don’t buy a plant that is full of flowers, instead look for its leaves. Choose vigorous, bushier and thick plant.
24. Don’t Sow Seeds too Deep – Sowing seeds too deep decrease the germination rate, always find out before sowing seeds that how deep you need to sow. The best move is to read the seed packet carefully and checkout information about the plant you’re growing on the web.