Your ultimate guide to balcony farming

If you live in a condo in the city, have some outside space on your balcony, and want to grow food, then you came to the right place. I’m sharing with you the different ways you can successfully grow on your balcony with a not-so-secret trick: going vertical.

Assess your balcony

Here is a short list on how to assess your balcony when it comes to determining what you can grow. For a more in-depth read on assessing your urban farm, take a look at my urban farming checklist.

• Utility. How do you use your balcony? Do you enjoy spending time out there and need space for this? Or would you rather maximize your space for growing food? There’s no wrong answer, but these questions will determine whether balcony farming is for you. If you decide that it is, proceed to the next assessment point.
• Sunlight. It is important to know how much sun hits your balcony and how it will change during the growing season. In an urban setting and with all the tall buildings, sunlight will change as the year goes on. Consider things like direct sunlight and how much sun exposure your balcony gets during the day versus the night.
• Water. Most condos and apartments don’t have an exterior water supply, which will mean you’d have to make multiple trips to water your plants. Another thing to be aware of is water drainage, making sure you don’t have dirty water dripping on the neighbours below you
• Wind. Once you get above ground, there aren’t as many obstructions to the wind, which will make it really drafty for your plants. It is important to think about this when you have heavy planters high in the air, or even when your plants start to produce. The last thing you want is a tomato from 20 stories above landing on someone’s head.
• Weight. Depending on what you store on your balcony, you might be adding a lot of weight to it. Remember, a fully grown plant with soil and water weighs a lot, and this does not include a planter or shelf. When you are put plants on the railing, for example, it might be fine when you start, but as everything starts to grow, the weight increases and you must account for it. 

💬 Consult your condo board

It’s important to check with the management of your condo or apartment regarding these matters above. Let them know you intend to farm on your balcony space and follow proper protocol. After all, it would be a shame to go through all this effort only to have your condo board demand that you remove your farm.

💡 Things to consider, in summary

• Some condos don’t want anything over the side of your railings, nor allow tenants to fasten anything to the walls.
• Make sure your plants and growing systems are secured when the wind blows.
• You might be required to use specific brands or products that meet your building’s specifications.
• Make sure you don’t have water draining onto your neighbours below you.

Safety and etiquette

These are two things I really emphasize to my clients. It is one thing to grow food, but if you’re doing it high in the air, you need to really be considerate of the people below you. 

⛑ Secure your farm

Winds can really pick up as we grow in the sky. It is important to make sure that everything is weighted, tied down, or even screwed in. Soil with plants are heavy, and if a planter is dislodged and falls to the ground, it can cause serious injuries and even death. As the farmer, the onus is on us to ensure we take appropriate safety measures.

🌱 Secure your harvest

It’s one thing to make sure your farm doesn’t get blown away, but it’s another to have produce fly off your balcony. Here are some ways to insure this doesn’t happen.

• Install Netting. This will stop things from blowing off the edge. Make sure the holes in the net are small so even growing produce won’t fit through. 
• Grow horizontal. By guiding your plants horizontally, away from the railing’s edge, you avoid the issue of things getting swept by the wind.
• Avoid fruiting crops. There are many plants that don’t grow projectiles. Stick to the leafy greens.
• Prevent grey water run-off. This is the run-off from the water you put on your plants, which will likely go over your balcony and onto your neighbours. Let’s be considerate when we grow food and prevent this as much as possible. There are planters and pots that have water reservoirs, so the water sits in the bottom of the planter. 
• Use trays. Another option is using growing trays that can act like a water reservoir. You need to make sure this is secured to the ground, and ensure there is a way for the excess water to escape when it rains. You don’t want to drown your plants.
• Use capillary system. You can also prevent water from leaking out by watering your plant from bottom up, which involves the soil absorbing the moisture it needs. This is known as capillary or wicking action, which you can read about here.

Types of balcony farms

🏢 Railing planters: dos and don’ts

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Most condos don’t allow planters installed on top of railings, and I personally find it way too dangerous. With the amount of wind around most sky rises, even if the gale doesn’t take the planter, it will certainly take your plants. If wind disturbance doesn’t apply to you, here are some great planters you can use.

You want planters that hang off the side into your balcony. Ideally, a planter can also be secured to the wall in some manner. This will keep them safe from winds and being blown over. If you can’t put anything on the top of the railing, you can also install planters on the face of the railing. 

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🪴 A case for vertical planters

There are some great planters out there to help you make use of the vertical space on your balcony. They make a small footprint and add so much growing area. For balconies, this is very important as it makes the space more modular. When you are not using a piece of space, you can move your plants to its ideal spot, rotating them, so they get sunlight. And when you want to use the space again, you can wheel the planter out of the way.

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One of my personal favourites for a balcony in a condo or apartment, the Garden Tower is a well-thought-out product. Check out my complete review here, but in the meantime, here are the top benefits of this system:

🌿 Garden Towers

• Vermicompost in the middle
• Vertical and top growing areas
• Catches the excess water in the bottom
• On wheels, so you can rotate as desired

🎍 Stackable planters

I really like this product as you can really go high in a small space — and of course, it has wheels. If you are situated on high ground, please make sure that you secure your stackable planter, so the wind doesn’t take it or toss a lot of dirt onto people walking below. 

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🥬 Raised beds

A raised bed is an amazing way to get soil onto your balcony. Again, make sure the weight will work with your situation and the bed is secured. The raised beds I highlight below are elevated from the ground as much as possible; try to find the same for your balcony farm.

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☘️ Wall planters

Many balconies are divided by a wall that sometimes gets the most sun. If that’s the for your condo, wall planters are a great way for you to capitalize on that concentrated sunlight. You can read my full break down of wall farming in this post.

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The above wall planters are great, but you will encounter an issue with watering. Depending on the surface on which they are mounted, they can dry out easily, so ideally, you would set up your own watering system for this type of unit.

🥗 Verdtech’s vertical gardens

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This is a simple product that enable you to grow in so many ways. It is affordable, modular, and has a great watering system. Verdtech’s gardens are the next level of vertical farming, and you can read a full product review here.

Hydroponic systems

The following systems are meant for larger-scale production and are not for the faint of heart. Hydroponics have myriad benefits over soil based growing, but there is a steep learning curve. Moreover, hydroponic systems are definitely not as forgiving as growing in soil. If you’re a newbie, check out my post on how to start hydroponic farming in the city.

💧 Tower garden

Not to be confused with the previously mentioned Garden Tower, Tower Gardens are hydroponic vertical farms. This product is used in many spaces, and you can grow a lot of food in a small space.

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🍃 Layered plant sites system

This 72 Plant Sites system is a great hydroponic NFT structure for your balcony — to me, an amazing out-of-the-box growing system. I have done hydroponic systems with clients and in my experience, unless you have the time to monitor it and make sure everything is set up right, you might want to pass on this technique. 

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You can add growing pots to each one of these sites, that way you won’t have to fret about the fragile nature of hydroponics and can just use this structure as a way to water your garden.

🍓 Strawberry bags

This is a creative way to give your strawberries a home while also allowing you to grow out of the top of the bag. Strawberry bags are extremely durable and offer a variety of options for growing. Again, with vertical freestanding structures, it is important to make sure your water stays on your balcony.

What crops can I grow on my balcony?

Depending on where you are in the world, you have the potential to really grow anything. The main thing you need to figure out is how much time, sun, water, and space you have. Here is a summary of what crops can be grown under particular conditions. 

• Leafy greens are a great starter plant and don’t require full sunlight.
• Herbs are another option to add to your starter list. They are most reliant, and will upgrade your culinary exploits too — there’s nothing like fresh herbs.
• This may surprise you, but potatoes can be grown vertically! As the plant grows, you can continue to put dirt on the stems to turn them into potato sprouts. 
• Fruits require a lot of commitment, but it pays off. Some crops require a year to establish roots, so be sure to select the right crop for you.
• Fruiting trees such as lime and lemon trees are not difficult to cultivate, and with select breeding, you can now get these plants in dwarf strains. This means they won’t grow massive and still bear fruit.

🧑🏼‍🌾 Mass production

Here is one of many ways to take your balcony farm to mass production levels and grow as much food as possible. Take a look at the design I made for one of my clients’ balcony.

Updated July 26, 2021. Originally published April 13, 2020.