Can I grow vegetables on a shady/ish balcony? Which would be best?

Swift66

Hello,

I have a balcony which receives direct sunlight for a few hours a day , can I grow vegetables here? What are my options what would you recommend?

Cheers

tringle

Pots will grow salad stuff easy, letuces, radishes, scallions, and some herbs aswell. I find courgettes grow like weeds and the more common varities will tolerate shade, but they need above 20 degrees to germinate so its best to do that indoors and then plant them out. There are loads of different lettuces but Mizuna is a JApanese green that grows really quickly and well. Eat small leaves as a lettuce, tastes like rocket and when they get bigger add to stir fries or use a bit like spinach. Some small tomatoes will grow in pots but prefer a lot of sun.

Swift66

Thanks Tringle that was really helpful what kind of soil would be best?
Is peat-moss ok?

niceirishfella

tringle wrote: »

I find courgettes grow like weeds

+1, I have one in a polytunnel, and it's TAKING OVER!:D
@OP, re soil, Peat Moss mixed with some decent clay should see you right. Peat Moss on its own will dry out far too quickly.

tringle

I agree, peat ,moss on its own isnt a good growing medium. But you could get multi purpose compost and still try to add some clay if you can. I put some broken pots in the bottom of the planter and some sand. But an idea if you are concerned about weight is to use some broken polystyrene, you know the white things that you buy plants in, and put that in the bottom of the pot. You need something to help with drainage. A small balcony is plenty to provide salads from. And dont forget about edible flowers, I grow calendula (marigolds) and add the petals to salad. It adds ;lovely colour and calendula is good for ridding the body of toxins. Some people also grow chillis, peppers and aubergines in pots on windowsills but that have never worked for me.