Part 1:Planning a Vegetable Garden in Terraces or Balcony-Karatfarms

Five BASICS to keep in mind:

1. Sunlight (how much sunlight does the area receive? )

2. Water (Where is the water source? How good is the water?)

3. Pests (Will there be any pests? if so which ones?

4. Soil ( What mix should I use?)

5. Effort (Who will take care of the garden?)

Sunlight.

✅ Find out which direction is North, South, East, and West in your area.

✅ Draw the layout on a piece of paper, it will give you a better idea.

✅ Arrange plants according to their sunlight requirement for best results

At least 5 hours of direct sunlight is required for vegetables and flowers.

Balconies with indirect sunlight can grow ornamental plants (low-light plants).

Flowers, vegetable plants will not grow in balconies that get only indirect sunlight.

Pro tip: Take a photo every hour from sunrise to sunset. To gauge the amount of sunlight throughout the day.

Water.

✅ Check the TDS of your water.

✅ TDS of water will affect the pH of the soil which in turn ruins everything.

✅ Watering consistently at the same time every day will help your plants thrive.

0 - 100 ppm: Not good. It is too low for plants. Perfect for hydroponically growing and also soil-based growing.

100 - 200 ppm: Good TDS value. Perfect for hydroponically growing and also soil-based growing.

300 - 500 ppm: It will not help plants but will not affect them badly also.

500 + ppm: Not good for plants. It will cause lots of nutrition deficiency problems.

Watering and water source.

Who is going to water the garden and when? if you do not find time for tending to your garden, you can automate watering very easily.

Pro tip: Set up drip irrigation, it not only reduces your work. But your plants grow much better.

Pests.

Pests can be anything from monkeys, squirrels, parrots to spider mites, worms, aphids etc.

✅ Talk to local gardeners nearby and figure out what pest problems they face.

✅ Pests problems have a unique solution based on the type of pest.

Pro tip: Generally, you should get a good neem oil, install sticky traps and keep looking for caterpillars and worms under the leaf or in the soil.

Soil.

Soil is the foundation of your garden. A good potting mix will keep your yield consistent and your garden easy to manage.

✅ As a rule of thumb, nutrients need to be topped up regularly, like once in 15 or 20 days. So pick a nutrient that suits the budget, time, and effort you plan to put in.

Pro tip: With liquid nutrients, you can automate nutrient addition along with irrigation.

Effort.

The make or break of a garden. Gardens require effort. Not daily but maybe once in a week or ten days. Depending on the size and plants in your garden. If you are planning to do it yourself it is best to make a schedule of it on your google calendar and set reminders. It will help loads!

✅ Or you could also hire a gardener and have them come once in a month or so to take care.

Planning a vegetable garden in terraces or balcony part 2

Hope this article made it easier in planning your garden. If you have more questions or you are looking to buy a garden kit or maintenance service. Get in touch with us on Whatsapp

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