Balcony Gardening
Welcome to c/BalconyGardening @ slrpnk.net!
A young community dedicated to balcony gardening.
About
Show off that vertical veggie garden 35 stories high. Or that bucket of potatoes you're proud of. Perhaps some fall mums that have been catching your eye through the sliding door into your living room. Any and all balcony gardens are welcome! Come and show your's off because we love to see it. :)
We also welcome ideas, tips, and items which have helped you in your balcony gardening journey. No balcony? Feel free to join in with your container garden with limited space too!
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This is a work in progress, please don't mind the mess.
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Rules: (interactive)
We respect the basic rules of the SLRPNK server:
be constructive
there is no need of another internet space full of competition, negativity, rage etc.;
no bigotry
including racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia or xenophobia;
be empathic
empathy is more rebellious than a middle finger;
no porn and no gore
let’s keep this place easy to manage;
no ads / spamming / flooding
we don’t want to buy/consume your commodified ideas;
occasional self-promotion
by active members is fine.
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I really like the concept and will take a further look at it.
My only issue is: when you already have to use pumps and stuff, why not directly go into NFT?
That way, you could use the space way more efficiently and don't have to use pots with substrate.
I personally am more of a fan of passive systems, like Kratky or normal LECA in self watering pots.
A typical window garden runs on an ebb & flow, with flooding happening at intervals according to climate and plant needs. Evaporation will be different in Finland than Cuba.
I'm curious as to how you come to think NFT would be more space efficient? The vertical window garden setup in the picture should be able to fit more foliage than the side-by-side configuration most NFT seems to use.
To be honest, I don't know.
I'm mostly interested in simple (like DWC) or passive (Kratky or wick) systems and therefore mostly researched about those.
The setup OP uses is definitely worth considering, especially since it reuses trash and doesn't require using tools like hole saws and stuff.
It's definitely something that is worth looking further into. Does it have a name I can look up?
The cool thing about NFTs is that they don't require schedules like in an ebb and flow, and you can stack them like a Z, while also being able to tug some grow lights on the underside if needed.
They are often the favourite system of hydroponics nerds, especially for growing herbs and leafy vegetables.
The tech is called Window farm and had a quite large, global community developing the system for simplicity, climates and yield. I haven't looked at it since pre-pandemic times, but the site seems to have been updated since.
Check it out, there's a lot of cool solutions upcycling everyday objects!
As for NFT, I haven't tried it yet, but have had Kratky, DWC, Ebb & Flow, window farm, and am currently designing an aeroponics system to play around with.
Haven't ever chosen NFT as the simple setups require a lot more supports and/or floor area than I can comfortably accommodate. And DWC/Kratky with a bubbler seems to outperform it with less fiddling or effort.
I'm now curious to see if aeroponics will lower the water usage, and how it will affect yields.
For home use, I'd suggest DWC, with or without bubbler, as probably the most yield/fun for least hassle. Having multiple plants in the same system will always lead to complications and unnecessary mass death.