If you have the room, you can plant a balcony garden in 12 inch containers or window boxes. Some flowers and dwarf tomatoes will grow in 6 inch pots.
Before you can plant your garden, you need to choose which type of flower pot or container you will use. There are many different kinds of containers available. Here are some of the most popular:
Terra Cotta and Ceramic-I don’t like using either of these outdoors since they crack too easily and the soil dries out quickly in the sun. I do have some of these pots indoors since they are so decorative.
Plastic Flower Pots-I started out with these and soon found out I was not good at judging how much to water. They did not dry out as quickly as the terra cotta and ceramic pots. Since I still have some of these, I am going to try them with the watering cones that I bought from Gardener’s Supply. Look below for more information on watering cones.
Self-Watering Containers-To date these have been the best choice for my balcony garden. They are made of plastic and have reservoirs on the bottom to hold water so the plant can basically water itself. Not everything will grow well in these containers, but I’ve had the most success with them. I own two Earthboxes and a number of self-watering containers that I bought from Wal-Mart.
Watering Cones-This is something new that I’ll be trying from Gardener’s Supply. It’s a ceramic cone with plastic tubing attached. The tubing is placed in a container of water. You bury the cone in the soil and it siphons water through the tubing into the soil. The plant draws only as much water as it needs. It has gotten good reviews. I tried something similar that worked.
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Linda Nicastro
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