They don't grow quite as luxuriantly as outdoors. Nevertheless, with a little skill and a talent for improvisation, you can grow many delicious types of vegetables in the self-built greenhouse for balconies. The necessary utensils are quickly procured, so that harvesting can soon take place even without a garden of your own.

A simple glass cabinet can be wonderfully converted into a balcony greenhouse

There are many people who would love to grow their own crunchy, healthy vegetables or a few fresh herbs for the kitchen instead of having to constantly subsist on industrially produced foods. But the garden is missing for their own rearing. However, that does not mean that parsley, cucumbers or aromatic tomatoes have to be avoided entirely, as long as they are used a balcony is available or at least a few light-flooded window sills are free in the rented apartment.

Mini in size, max in yield

There is space in the smallest hut and in principle you have the opportunity to grow many of the common types of vegetables yourself on the narrowest balcony and with simple means. But a greenhouse on the balcony (?), one or the other might be wondering. Yes, that is possible and, as with the larger models, you can buy the small mini oases ready-made or, what is even more fun, assemble them yourself cheaply or for free.

Special features of the balcony minis

Since space is scarce, a greenhouse on the balcony becomes a priority:

  • for growing young plants (cuttings) from seeds;
  • for the cultivation of small vegetables (e.g. lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers would be conceivable);
  • to create an assortment of fresh herbs (for eating or tea).

In principle, plants behave in small greenhouses are naturally no different from those in large ones. Since a balcony greenhouse usually does not have a heater, the usage time is essentially limited to the frost-free part of the year. But let's go a little deeper into the matter and simply rename our greenhouse on the balcony to "greenhouse cabinet" and combine it with a free window sill in the house.

Grow vegetables on balconies

Take an old kitchen cupboard (an upper part will suffice if necessary), which ideally has one or, even better, two glass cupboard doors. You can often find this basic equipment in your own attic. If not: Just ask friends or acquaintances and if you still haven't had any success, look in the classifieds market of your local newspaper or go to a flea market nearby. Anyone who finds what they are looking for mounts their new mini greenhouse (€7.95) with dowels and sufficiently long screws exactly on the balcony wall on which the most intense solar radiation during the day is to be expected. In our photo, the cupboard is hanging under a covered porch, which is open on one side, instead of on the balcony.

Cupboard with space for 50 to 60 beakers

Growing plants in tomato cups

Our example uses empty plastic tubs of mini tomatoes (250 grams with a four-hole plastic lid) filled with a mixture of garden soil, compost and sand to about an inch below the rim. To be on the safe side, two seeds were placed in each bowl and then covered. After watering very cautiously and removing the caps several times a week, the first green leaves came to light after seven days.

The cups remained open during the day in a room with a temperature of approx. 20 °C and were covered at night.

The first tentative green appears after seven days.

Almost three weeks after sowing, it's off to the mini greenhouse cupboard.

Climatic conditions in the greenhouse for balconies

  • to the beginning day and night under protection (with a cap) in a closed cupboard.
  • After five more days of sunshine without a cap and with the cabinet door open and little water.
  • After another two weeks the seedlings will come only at night in the closet.
  • Finally, a good five weeks after sowing, it's time to go outside.

Whereby Freiland means these very useful yellow plastic boxes from Deutsche Post, which were kindly made available to the author.

Instead of these transport containers, you can of course also use other containers, such as wooden fruit boxes, which fit on every balcony and also look very decorative. Not to mention the aromatic scent of the plants, which is really unique.

The tomatoes can develop even better on the (prepared) compost heap. The disadvantage here, however, is the larger amounts of precipitation, which tend to lead to the dreaded brown rot just before harvest. However, these tomato plants were not grown from commercial seeds, but were a gift (so-called "old" varieties and disease-resistant) from a breeder.

Small time lapse, towards the harvest. Now without words, because the taste is simply indescribable!

Greenhouse, balcony, fresh insecticide-free vegetables?

It runs, you can say, and it works in the smallest space, with little work but with a lot of fun also on YOUR balcony. And the question of costs? You can safely ignore it if you walk through the world with your eyes wide open. Even the work that such a miniature greenhouse entails is hardly worth mentioning, because the taste of the first home-grown tomatoes makes up for even the greatest effort.

tips

It is best to plant plants in your balcony greenhouse that grow taller than wide. Cucumbers are also ideal for small areas if the plants are lured into the air with the help of a broomstick to sprout.

Category:

Garden design