The Best Vegetables For Patio Gardening

[Novelangel]

I live in a second floor apartment with a balcony and I'm wondering if any of you have thoughts on which vegetables would work the best in pots. I've been quite successful with tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes and peppers, but would like to branch out a bit more. I get a lot of direct sun for several hours each day on my South-facing balcony. Any ideas?

 

[fuumarumota]

You could try with onions, carrots, chili peppers or herbs like basil (it smells great). It's a real advantage that you have several hours of direct sunlight, now the only limitation you'd have is space. Also what is your hardiness zone (climate)?

Cheers!

 

[arthnel]

There are many options available now to grow right there on your balcony. My advice is to start with veggies you like to eat. Those you can just pick off the stems and enjoy right then and there. That way you end up putting more love and affection into your gardening. Go for tomatoes, sweet peppers or hot peppers. Depending on the amount of space you have you should find a good variety. Don't worry too much about the sun. Too much will kill them anyway.

 

[headfullofbees]

Beans. Any climbing bean will give you a large crop for a small area.

 

[Novelangel]

I'm in zone 6a, so whatever grows best in that zone is perfect for me. Sorry it took me so long to respond to that question. Thank you for all of the comments so far. I will consider all of them and pick out the best for my limited amount of space. I have actually just been given the gift of a dwarf orange tree and a dwarf banana tree, so those should be interesting to try to grow indoors. I've heard that the orange will be a babysitting nightmare as it does best outdoors. Of course, the climate in Michigan isn't conducive to growing citrus, so that will be a problem. I am already giving it as much sun as possible, feeding it regularly, misting it every day and keeping the soil drained and moist. Any other ideas for how I should grow my orange and banana trees?

 

[Beth_B]

I grow greens in containers - kale and rainbow chard (which has the advantage of being quite pretty as well as edible!)

No clue about the orange and banana trees. I'd imagine you'd need to give them supplemental lighting, especially in winter.

 

[Autumn_Hearthwitch]

I have a very small garden with tomatoes, carrots, onions and peas and someone told me that peas do well in railing pots so I put one railing pot on my deck and planted peas to see if they'll work. So far so good as they're sprouting and I can't wait to see if they'll turn out. If they do, then I might plant other things next year. I have some herbs in my other two pots and haven't have any problems with those. I planted basil, sage and lemon balm in those. This year though I only planted cat grass and marigolds as I hear they're a good mosquito repellent.

 

[RamblingChicken]

They're probably not very productive in a container, but strawberries are one of those crops that is infinitely better when home-grown, since you can let them ripen to the point where they're too fragile to ship.