Urban gardening - a trendy balcony garden
10.3.2016
Translation: machine translated
Urban gardening is a worldwide trend that is gaining increasing popularity in Switzerland. Urban gardening teaches you how to find growing areas for fruit and vegetables without having a garden. Your own balcony is ideal for this. We'll show you which plants you can use.
Urban gardening is for everyone - or at least everyone with a larger or smaller balcony
Chard, kohlrabi, tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, squash or cucumbers and aubergines are easy-care plants and love sunny spots.
For less sunny spots, we also recommend spinach, various types of lettuce, kale or runner beans.
Generally, I advise against buying species that get huge, but rather smaller species ideal for pots.
Container:
From bathtubs to milk cartons: almost anything can be used for urban gardening as long as you have the right space and can make drainage holes for the water.
Carrots, for example, need very tall pots and it takes time before they can be harvested. Another possibility is potatoes. Here, it's handy to do a sort of layer culture. All you need is a very tall pot filled with soil and a few sprouted potatoes. As soon as the first shoots appear, add a new layer of soil. In this way, different layers appear. Hessian sacks are also a good alternative and can simply be unrolled to the top.
The raised flowerbeds make harvesting plants massively easier. A raised bed can also consist of crates or barrels. However, water drainage must be provided.
Plants such as dwarf trees or columnar trees that don't become too wide lend themselves perfectly to pots. This applies to various types - apples, plums, apricots. Small fig trees are also an option, provided they are winter hardy. Blueberries, cameris or dwarf kiwis on a wall are another option. A good solution is the four-season strawberry, as they grow well even in conventional balcony tubs.
Herbs can also be planted in all variations. Chives, basil, rosemary or oregano are ideal, as they work perfectly well in cooking. For drinks, mint, lemongrass or monarde are very popular. These plants are easy to grow in pots and like sunny spots.
Irrigation:
In strong sunlight, some plants need a lot of water, often even twice a day. Another factor is the size of the pot and the material. In bad weather it is advisable not to give too much water. Pots are often dry at the top, whereas lower down there is still enough moisture. You can check the condition of the plant using a plant sensor. This device measures sun exposure, the amount of fertiliser, soil moisture and temperature. With the free companion app, you get notifications on your smartphone as soon as your plants need something.
Here you'll find all watering cans
Some pots already have a built-in irrigation system so your plants never run out of water.
Here you'll find all flower pots
Beautiful and fertile:
For a good harvest, lettuce and chard are ideal. Cherry tomatoes and aubergines are easy to harvest. What's more, chard makes your balcony look great: it comes in different colours and freezes well. So you can enjoy them all year round. Beautiful on a plate and the balcony are also plants with edible flowers such as marigold, nasturtium, borage, monarda or blue mallow.
Madeleine Bello
Senior Brand Communications Manager
Madeleine.Bello@digitecgalaxus.chI draw inspiration and energy from nature – whether I'm hiking, skiing in the mountains or travelling to new places. I also have a passion for photography, music, TV series and good food.