Balcony Gardening Jobs for Spring

Check and Deal with Slugs and Snails on Your Balcony

With the season, come the slugs and snails! And while they might not be harmful to you, these can kill large plants, destroy your edible patch before it is ready to be harvested and ruin your balcony garden. So make sure you deal with these pests accordingly.

In order to stop the slugs and snails from damaging your balcony garden, it is best to create a DIY trap to catch them. Use an empty yoghurt container with its lid on and holes cut into the sides for pests to get inside. Add some dry bait for the slugs and snails so that they crawl into the container. If your balcony is particularly windy, skewer the container on a stick so that it does not fly away in the wind. Replace the bait as required.

Protect your Container Garden from Pests and Diseases

With the seasonal weather changes, your plants are at risk of pests and diseases. In order to avoid problems later, we recommend using a fine Enviromesh barrier to protect your plants from various pests like moths, carrot root fly, caterpillars and birds.

Weed Out Your Containers

Spring also brings with it weeds, which will love your containers, growing all over them. Weeds can hamper the growth of the plants you plan to put in  containers. It is best to get rid of such weeds early on as they are easier to remove when they are just starting to send out shoots and the soil is still moist. Leaving the weeds in place will result in them multiplying prolifically throughout the rest of the year, damaging the plants you cultivate in your containers.

Mulch Your Containers

Spring is a great time for mulching your containers to promote the healthy growth of your plants. Cover your containers with a 3 cm layer of organic matter or garden compost. This will help the soil retain moisture and suppress the growth of weeds.

Feed Your Spring Bulbs

In order to ensure that your spring bulbs flower nicely through the season, you need to feed and water them before and after flowering. We recommend using a standard fertiliser for your spring bulbs and watering them well. Spray the bulbs with water regularly until 2-3 weeks after flowering to ensure they are well hydrated. If you live in a place that receives a fair amount of rain, position your bulbs in a spot where they can get the rainwater regularly. Remember to move the bulbs to the shade towards the end of spring so that they do not dry out in the hot summer sun.

Prune and Feed Roses

Spring means blooming roses! For those with Rose plants in their balcony garden, now is a good time to prune and feed them to ensure steady blooming through the season. Fertilise your rose plants with a good rose fertiliser or compost.

You can also use a DIY compost for your rose plants by chopping up banana peels and adding them to your container. It is believed that the phosphates, magnesium and calcium released by the skin of the banana does wonders for the rose plant.

Sow Your Summer Annuals

Early spring is the best time to start preparing for your summer annuals. Sow some summer annuals like Calendula, Nigella, California Poppy, Sweet Pea and Field Poppy that are easy to grow in containers. Set up your balcony garden to make space for these summer annuals and start cultivating them now, as spring is the best time for this.

Plant your Edible Patch

Now is the perfect time to experiment with an edible patch in your balcony garden. There are various types of vegetable and fruit that can be grown in containers during this period. If you’re a beginner at growing vegetables, we recommend starting with something easy to grow, like lettuce and spinach, which can easily be grown in containers. You can also consider starting a little herb garden with coriander, dill and rosemary. For more experienced gardeners, try planting onion bulbs, tomatoes, broad beans and potatoes if you have the space for them.