Welcome to my balcony
Over the past decade I've grown lots of different things in containers on my balcony but mostly herbs and vegetables. Some years I start with seedlings from the garden center, other years strictly seeds. I do it for fun. A challenge. To see what I can grow. I don't get too concerned about having to eat everything I grow out there. I usually start with what looks like a manageable bunch of plants and by the end of the season end up with no space to move around.
We're on the 18th floor of a condo high-rise in hardiness zone 6 - Toronto, Canada. Our balcony faces west but is also open to the north. During the summer the sun starts to peek over the overhang above the balcony around 1 PM and continues to shine in until sunset. The half walls around the outside of the balcony are solid which prevent all but an hour or two of sunlight from reaching pots on the balcony floor close to the half wall.
It gets windy up here but it's not that bad. Usually in late spring and early summer we spend time on the balcony but we find by late afternoon it gets too hot. A long time ago we had pigeon netting installed. Once your neighbours all do it, you pretty much have to do the same as the birds all tend to flock to the few remaining uncovered balconies. And a balcony like mine tends to provide them with too many nesting opportunities.
On these pages you'll find ramblings about what I've grown in my balcony garden and how I grew it. Or in some cases, what I failed to grow and learned from the experience.