My love for gardening comes from my dad as I grew up watching him garden. I also learnt a lot of things about gardening from him and that’s what is helping me today. Though I am not a gardener and have killed a few indoor plants as well. But I did not give up as I love it and the green thumb around the house is surely a source of happiness for me. So, I am sharing few tips about balcony gardening in India in this post.

  1. Know your garden- First and foremost it’s very important to decide and select the type of garden you want to make. It simplifies a lot of things. So, before going to a nursery, make a list of things you need. Check how much space you have and how many plants can fit there.
  2. Sunlight and weather – One most important thing to keep in mind is the sunlight. Most of the balconies do not get good sunlight or enough sunlight for plants to grow. So, make sure you check this and get plants accordingly. This is one mistake that I made initially and killed a few plants too. Coming to weather, there are seasonal plants. For example, you will get a lot of flowering plants in winters and not in summers. So, it’s better to choose plants according to season too.
  1. Garden size and design – If you have a huge balcony, you can surely make space for a lot of plants and some garden furniture as well. There are many beautiful options available in gardening furniture. But if you have a small balcony, you have to see how to arrange pots and furniture before planning a garden on the balcony so that it’s easy for you to water the plants.
  2. Check for association rules – Although in India, the apartment complex associations are not that strict about rules related to balcony gardening, it’s better to check. Make sure this is the first step you follow.
  3. Decide the type of garden – You can start with a vegetable garden too if you are keen. Some of the vegetables to start with are cucumber, tomatoes, beans etc as these require less work. A kitchen garden is a wonderful idea provided you have enough time to take care of the garden. I still remember my dad lovingly taking care of his pomegranate, guava, and lemon plants.
  4. Seedlings or plants – You can either bring seedlings and sow them to start a garden or you can directly buy plants. It’s just that starting with seeds require a little more preparation and work. You can watch some gardening videos to learn about the basics too.
  5. Last but not least, water your plants regularly but make sure you don’t overwater or let them dry and wilt. Also, make sure you check the plants regularly for any insect infestation or bugs. I have lost many plants because of bugs and insects. There are many disinfectant sprays available in the market for this too. You can make one at home also using herbal products like neem oil. I will be writing one more post about it.

Gardening for me is therapeutic and something which brings me a lot of happiness. Although I don’t have a big garden right now but I have plans to start a kitchen garden soon. I am writing this post as a part of the cause – environmental talks and this post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter’

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