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How to grow

Gardening Guide

Six steps from an empty balcony to a garden that feeds you. Work through them in order the first time — after that, dip in wherever you need.

Step 1 of 6

Read your space first

Before buying a single pot, watch where the sun falls. Stand on your balcony at 9am, noon and 4pm and note which corners get direct light and for how long. Everything else follows from that one observation.

  • 6+ hours of sun — vegetables, chillies, roses
  • 3–5 hours — herbs, marigold, hibiscus
  • Bright but no direct sun — money plant, ferns, peace lily
  • Note the wind: high balconies dry pots out twice as fast

Sowing calendar

What to sow, and when

Season Months What to sow Jobs
Rabi (cool) October – February Spinach, coriander, carrot, radish, peas, tomato, cauliflower Best sowing window of the year — start everything
Kharif (monsoon) June – September Okra, gourds, brinjal, cowpea, amaranth Raise pots off the floor; check drainage weekly
Zaid (summer) March – May Cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, amaranth Shade net at noon, mulch every pot, water at dawn
Year round Any month Tulsi, mint, curry leaf, lemon grass, money plant Propagate from cuttings and share with a neighbour

Plant care FAQs

The questions we are asked most

My plant’s leaves are turning yellow. What is wrong?
Nine times out of ten it is too much water, not too little. Check that the pot drains freely, let the top two inches dry before watering again, and remove the yellowed leaves — they will not turn green again.
How much sun does a balcony garden really need?
Leafy herbs and greens manage on three to four hours. Anything that flowers or fruits — tomato, chilli, rose, hibiscus — wants six or more hours of direct sun. If you have less, grow foliage plants and enjoy them.
Can I use ordinary garden soil in pots?
Not on its own. It compacts and holds water. Mix two parts soil or coco peat with one part compost and one part coarse sand for a medium that drains and still holds nutrients.
What is the safest way to deal with pests at home?
Start with a jet of plain water, then a weekly neem oil spray (5 ml neem oil plus 2 ml mild soap in a litre of water) in the evening. Avoid chemical pesticides where children and edible crops are involved.
How do I keep plants alive while I travel?
Group pots in shade, water deeply the morning you leave, and mulch the surface. For a week or more, stand pots in a shallow tray with an inch of water, or ask a neighbour — and return the favour.

Before you buy anything

Almost every failed home garden fails for one of three reasons: the plant was wrong for the light, the pot did not drain, or the watering was frequent and shallow instead of occasional and deep. The six steps below are ordered to head off exactly those three, which is why reading your space comes before buying a single pot.

Give yourself a season. A balcony garden becomes convincing in about ten weeks — enough for greens to be cut twice, a chilli to set fruit and a tulsi to fill out. Start with five pots you can look after well rather than fifteen you cannot.

What it costs

A working five-pot kitchen garden — pots, coco peat, compost, coarse sand, seed and a watering can — comes to less than a month of buying the same herbs. After the first setup, the running cost is compost every six weeks and seed once a season; cuttings and saved seed bring even that down.

When something goes wrong

Yellow leaves usually mean too much water, not too little. Leggy, stretched growth means too little light. Holes and sticky leaves mean pests — deal with them the day you see them, with a jet of water first and a weekly neem spray after. The plant care questions further down this page cover the problems we are asked about most.