I have a balcony in East York facing south. I would like to start gardening in the container(the size of Home Depot pale). I would like to know what kind of vegetables that are easy to grow.
The spring weather definitely inspires us to start growing!
Happy to hear you are looking for vegetables that are easy to grow on your south-facing balcony and have asked Toronto Master Gardeners where to start.
Most vegetables need 6 hours of sun, and it sounds like your balcony will get lots of light, which is great.
Your Home Depot pail should do the trick. Just be sure that the container has enough depth and width for the root system of the vegetable.
Since your container is small, when buying seeds or seedlings, be on the look out for key words such as bush, compact, and space saver in the plant descriptions. Then plant your veggies in the right depth of container:
> 4 inches – Lettuce, radishes, beets, low-growing herbs
> 6 inches – Chard, turnips, short rooted carrots
If you are growing from seed, it’s not too late to plant lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, beets or carrots.
There is some additional information on our website, and I’m including links below:
- Blooming Our Balconies https://torontourbangrowers.org/img/upload/BloomingOurBalconies.pdf
- Growing Urban Vegetables, A Toronto Master Gardeners Guide https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/gardeningguides/growing-urban-vegetables-a-toronto-master-gardeners-guide/
If you are interested, we actually have some (free) in-person demonstrations at Toronto Public libraries coming up on the topic of Growing Your Own Vegetables, and you can find upcoming events on our online calendar: https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/
Happy growing!