Nice ideas to imitate

The vegetable patch in the bucket

Flowering potted plants can be found on almost every balcony. So what could be more obvious than converting the already existing planters next year and planting vegetables in them. Bowls, troughs and boxes only have to be large enough for this purpose and, for example, if you want to grow carrots in them, deep enough.

When it comes to planting, you can draw on abundant resources: tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers thrive excellently in pots or boxes. Carrots, salads, radishes and even the popular sweet potatoes are also wonderfully suitable for the vegetable patch on the balcony.

Build a raised bed for the balcony yourself

You can get ready-made ones in many hardware stores Vegetable raised beds also for the balcony. These hold less substrate than models for the garden, so that the balcony slab is not burdened with unnecessary weight.

Especially when the architecture of the balcony is difficult, for example because the patio is very long and is narrow, it makes sense to build the raised bed yourself and thus make optimal use of the available space.

building instructions

Material list:

• 2 wooden boards in the desired width, 40 cm high
• 2 wooden boards in the desired depth, 40 cm high
• 1 matching floor board
• 4 not too thin square strips as feet
• 2 bars to stabilize the feet
• 4 to 6 strips to secure the floor
• Pond liner
• Screws
• Cordless drill
• Stapler

execution

• First screw the side parts and the base together.
• The thin strips are attached under the floor as a safeguard.
• Screw on the feet and connect two feet with cross bars for additional stability.

Even though the wood on the balcony is not as exposed to the weather as in the garden, it is advisable to coat the raised bed with a protective coat of paint before planting it.

Then lay out the pond liner in the planter bowl. The material should completely line the vegetable patch for the balcony and not be cut up so that the wood does not come into permanent contact with the water. Tack the foil all around.

The finished raised bed can now be filled with soil and planted.

Which substrate is suitable?

For the balconyVegetable garden is a mixture of soil and ripe compost, which provides the vegetables with all the nutrients they need. A drainage layer filled into the bottom of the planter has also proven itself Expanded clay,(€ 16.36 at Amazon *) which serves as a water reservoir and prevents waterlogging.