Journal / Kitchen gardening
Start a balcony kitchen garden with vermicompost
You do not need a garden to grow your own greens. A balcony or terrace with five or six hours of direct sun is enough for leafy greens, herbs, chillies and even tomatoes.
1. Find your sunniest spot
Watch your balcony for a day. Leafy greens like palak and methi manage with 4 hours of sun. Fruiting plants like tomato, chilli and brinjal need 6 hours or more.
2. Choose the right pots
- 6–8 inch pots: coriander, methi, mint, spring onion
- 10–12 inch pots: palak, chilli, lettuce, radish
- 14 inch or bigger: tomato, brinjal, bitter gourd on a trellis
Every pot needs a drainage hole. Grow bags work well and are light on the slab.
3. Mix the soil
Cocopeat keeps the mix light and holds water. Vermicompost feeds the plant and the soil life. Garden soil gives body so roots can anchor.
4. Start with five easy crops
| Crop | Sow to harvest | Best season |
|---|---|---|
| Methi | 3–4 weeks | Sep–Mar |
| Dhaniya | 4–5 weeks | Sep–Mar |
| Palak | 5–6 weeks | Sep–Feb |
| Mint | From cuttings | Feb–Oct |
| Green chilli | 10–12 weeks | Feb–Jul |
5. Water and feed
Push a finger 2 cm into the soil. Water only when it feels dry. In May and June that may be twice a day; in winter every two or three days. Every 30–45 days, mix 100–200 g of vermicompost into the topsoil of each pot.
Keep reading
Why organic carbon is the most important number in your soil
What it is, why many Punjab soils are short of it, and how compost rebuilds it.
Growing tomatoes at home: a beginner's guide
Timing for North India, pot size, staking and the two problems everyone meets.
Vermicompost, compost or cow dung: what's the difference?
Why fresh dung can harm plants, and what earthworms add.