Plant care in a greenhouse and on a balcony

"Artist, naturalist, occupational therapist Jurgita Grigaitė says she has tried a fairly wide growing strategy and distinguishes several methods of pot gardening according to their purpose. When grown on terraces, and pots are arranged in an open yard, and when grown on balconies, where plants receive the least amount of space and soil area, they are often limited in terms of direction, natural light, when there is no possibility to take and move the pot to more favorable conditions, where there is more light or natural air, freshness. Therefore, in such cases, the care and control of the grower is especially important.

 

Carefully assess the conditions on the balcony

 

A woman with many years of gardening experience says that the most important thing is to consider the available conditions on the balcony. First of all, what direction is the balcony facing. According to Jurgita, it would be good for the plants grown to receive sunlight for most of the day. And this would be from the southeast to the southwest.

 

Second, is the balcony open or glazed? According to the interviewee, for plants on the balcony fresh air is extremely important, and the glass wall, due to the filtering of light, creates a hot growing environment that is unfavorable for pollination of flowers, there is a risk of their sterilization, which leads to a lack of harvest.

 

“The heat also creates conditions for various flying pests to breed, and autumn fungal diseases are also very fond of weakened plants when the weather cools down. And when growing seedlings at the very beginning, a white agro film or butter paper filter on the glass is necessary to protect sensitive seedlings from the southern sun.

 

Thirdly, sunlight is important not only for the foliage, but also for the soil itself, so the pots must be raised from the ground so that the sun can also reach the pot. Otherwise, according to the interviewee, there is a risk that the substrate will start to mold or accumulate pathogens that promote the development of diseases due to cold and humid conditions.

 

Fourthly, the most important are the selection of self-pollinating plants due to the very low probability of bee visits, as well as the selection of the plants themselves for the pots according to the type of root system and the volume of the foliage.”