How to start a balcony garden in Toronto

Written By

Rosa Kumar

almost 3 years ago

It’s been a dark winter in Ontario, and I know I can speak for many when I say that we are craving the first smell of spring, the warmth of the sun and drinking coffee and tea on our patios, balconies, gardens and windowsills. One way to get spring started early is gardening, and you might be in a tiny condo with 45 square-feet of balcony room, but it is possible to have some fresh produce and herbs to harvest from your own little micro-garden this summer and fall.

If you’re a Covid-cook like I am (as everything has a silver lining) buying produce and herbs that wilt quickly and take up so much room in your fridge is not necessarily ideal. The following vegetables and herbs can thrive on a balcony, and although you can grow all of these from seeds, if you have limited indoor space for seed beds as most balcony dwellers do, it’s much easier to buy already sprouted transplants from garden centres. We definitely won't judge you.

Myself, along with Aneela Maharaj (YouTube and Instagram) and Brittany Hall, a work-share volunteer at Mount Wolfe Farm CSA (Community Shared Agriculture), are a panel of passionate balcony gardeners––we are not experts, but have learned what works for us and what will (hopefully) work for you. Whether you are starting from seed or transplanting already leafy greens, this guide will let you know what timelines to follow for your balcony garden.

Why should I plant herbs and vegetables on my balcony?

Yes, Rabba is right underneath your condo, but paying $3 for a big bunch of parsley when you only need a few pinches on your eggplant parmesan isn’t sustainable, especially if the rest of the dishes you cook that week don’t need it. Before you know it, that big bunch of parsley has yellowed and now sits sadly in your compost.

For Aneela, a passionate balcony gardener, she wanted to embrace a more outdoorsy lifestyle, which can be difficult for Toronto’s many condo-dwellers. She turned her balcony into a green space that allows her to still immerse herself in nature within the confines of a 50 square-foot balcony.

The “you nurture the plant and the plant nurtures you” mindset allows her to connect with her food, reduce her carbon footprint, cultivate fresh produce and understand the life-cycle of our food, outside of packaged grocery store products.

Brittany was partly motivated by her food budget, with rising prices, accessing fresh, nutritious food is getting less and less accessible, especially for the already tightly-squeezed millennial budgets. Rather than paying $20 to Uber Eats a salad, or $8 for a big plastic bin of salad mix where 50 per cent inevitably ends up the compost, she planted her own lettuce greens. Within a few weeks, they were thriving and Brittany was able to make a fresh lunch salad while only snipping off exactly what she needed.

What can I plant on my balcony?

You likely won’t be growing watermelons and pumpkins in your balcony anytime soon, but the following is a non-exhaustive list of things that can thrive in container/pot gardening. When shopping for varieties and seeds, specifically for produce, make sure to look for small to medium varieties because of limited balcony space.

What should I plant my herbs and produce in?

You can use re-use or buy plastic containers, clay pots, fancy self-watering containers, etc., just make sure that you poke some drainage holes if they don’t have any, and use a tray to catch the excess water (with balcony gardening especially we need to be mindful of our below-neighbours).

If you have the space, you can also purchase a raised gardening bed from Canadian Tire, Amazon or Ikea, but be mindful of “companion cropping," so research if the herbs or veggies you want to plant together are compatible, if they take the same amount of water, will their root systems fight each other, and so on.

How to deal with pests?

A great benefit to balcony gardening is that you have far less pests going after your plants, especially if you’re on a higher floor. My summer planting on the 26th floor was amazingly pest-free! If you do happen to get a few pests, instead of using a pesticide, try mixing a half teaspoon of neem oil with a half teaspoon of dish-soap, then add it to half a gallon of hot water and either shake or stir to make sure it mixes properly. Pop that into a sprayer and it’s safe to use on soil and most leaves.

Do you have any tips and tricks?

If you want to use specific, high-quality soil, you really only need it for the top 6-8 inches, it’ll create bigger yields, but it’s expensive and plants are surprisingly resilient (Britney)
For companion cropping (specifically in raised beds) think about how the root systems will layer in the soil, you don’t want them fighting for space
Investing in high-quality seeds can make a big difference, and with the amount of produce these seeds yield right there on your balcony, the cost is pennies compared to getting the same stuff at grocery shops
Follow seed-packet instructions on germinating the seeds beforehand
If you plant beets, you can sauté the beet greens, they are edible (and delicious)
Let your herbs and vegetables flower, some gardeners will say pinch off the flowers so your plant focus their energy on edible yields, but bees love flowers (and we love bees!)
Always plant mint alone, they grow like weeds

Where can I buy seeds and transplants in Toronto?

Most grocery and convenience stores offer a selection of seed packages starting this month, and in two months they’ll usually set up stands offering transplants. These are often located at the beginning of the store and the transplants at the grocery store’s entrance because they are seasonal items. I personally love going to Jay's Garden Center on Gerrard Street East for my transplants, they're only open seasonally but offer a huge variety of herbs and veggies to plant.

You can also pick up seeds and transplants at garden centres inside places like Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sheridan Nurseries.

What are some resources to get me started?

I hope this article has inspired you to start your own balcony garden! If you want more details on specific soils you can use, the best pots for certain plants, maximizing your harvest yield, companion cropping, fertilizers etc. the following websites offer some great educational options: The Farmer's Almanac, The Spruce and Plants not Plastic.

However, plants are resilient. We have grown thriving herbs and veggies on our balconies with regular pot soil, no fertilizer and a week of no water (whoops). Don't let balcony gardening scare you, it can be as simple or as complex as you want; the more you grow the more you learn what works for you, your space and your lifestyle.

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