How to create a garden on the terrace

Have you considered installing a garden on your terrace? Less than 1m2 It is the space you need to grow lettuce, carrots, peppers or aromatic on your own terrace. If you have a space of those dimensions that receives enough hours of sunshine, congratulations! You can create your own garden on the terrace.

What do I need to start growing my own vegetables? Is it necessary to invest in a cultivation table? If you have thought about creating a garden, you probably asked yourself these questions. Today we try to give answers to these and other questions so that create a garden on your terrace it becomes a rewarding experience.

Step by step to create an urban garden

No experience is necessary to create an urban garden. Nor is it that your terrace has certain minimum dimensions. What is important is to observe the space to know when and for how long it receives sun and to know the different types of containers in which you can grow your plants.

1. Know your terrace

The pots of peppers, tomatoes and beans, enjoy the sun very much, needing at least 6 hours of direct light. Others such as lettuce, carrots or aromatic, however, can develop optimally with 4 hours of direct light. Each plant requires some light conditions determined, so it is important that you observe these dynamics on your terrace.

Know the orientation of the terrace and the hours of sunshine in each of its areas, as well as being aware of the shadow generated by buildings, trees, etc. It will allow you to play with advantage. Write down your observations for a few days; Only then can you decide where to place those most demanding crops in terms of daylight hours or those looking for a certain shade.

2. Choose the right containers

Growing tables, planters, pots or vertical gardens? There is not a single “ideal” container to grow your plants, your choice will depend both on the space you have on your terrace and on the investment you are willing to make.

• Pots and planters. Pots are an ideal option for beginners and small spaces. They are very flexible; You can group them in different ways for your benefit and increase their number when you want to increase the size of your garden. It is important to know how to choose, however, the appropriate pot size for each crop. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, for example, require a minimum pot volume of 16 liters. Carrots, radishes and garlic, however, only need 0.6 liters to develop properly so grouping several in a gardener is a great option.
• Textile pots. They are very light and easy to transport from one place to another in search of the most appropriate place thanks to their handles. They are generally made of a geotextile material that is permeable to water and is resistant to weather and ultraviolet rays. They confer excellent drainage and favor a very healthy root development. further can be washed and stored when they are not used, a very practical characteristic given the temporality of the crops. Are all advantages? Probably its aesthetic is the weakest point, although it is true that its design has improved and that it can always be covered with trims in other materials.

• Cultivation tables The raised culture tables are very comfortable surfaces because they allow us to work the land without bending down, however, they require a significant investment. You will find them manufactured in different materials being those of autoclaved wood to withstand the most interesting adverse weather conditions. They do not have much depth, so they are only suitable for growing species that do not grow in height, such as leafy vegetables, peppers, eggplant and aromatic, among others.
• Vertical gardens. If space is a problem, vertical gardens are a great choice. They are very popular self-supporting modular systems and self-draining polypropylene with high weather resistance. In addition to these you will find in the market vertical gardens made of a felt that prevents the development of bacteria and fungi and homemade solutions with pallets. In them you can grow small aromatic plants, strawberries, and even small vegetables such as lettuce.

3. Prepare the containers and choose your first plants

The most beautiful part for every beginner is the time to choose the plants. Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, parsley and other aromatic are relatively easy to grow and the most appropriate for beginners, although we will talk about this more widely in a few weeks. However, once the containers are located on the terrace and to start cultivating your first plants before you must ...

• Provide the pot or growing table with a good drainage, placing a layer of one or two centimeters of gravel in the bottom of the container that prevents the flooding in case of excess irrigation.
• Fill, leaving two fingers to the edge of the support, with a special garden substrate, ensuring that it is loose and lump free. These substrates are generally composed of a mixture of coconut fiber, blond peat, black peat, composted plant material, organic matter and perlite.

4. Install an irrigation system

A watering can or a hose is a good solution to start and they are also practical in small orchards. But what happens if we go on vacation? Or if the garden grows too much? Then it is advisable to resort to self-irrigation systems or bet on more complex systems such as drip irrigation that will give us greater autonomy.

Self-irrigation systems function as deposits; you can place them in the pots in the hottest times to complement the manual irrigation. The systems of drip irrigation They are more complex and will allow you to regulate the frequency and intensity of irrigation automatically. Do you want to know more about the different irrigation systems and how to install them in your garden? In two weeks, we promise to expand the information. Be aware!

Did you find these keys useful for creating a garden on your terrace?