What to cultivate for a balcony or terrace?

If you have a balcony or terrace, buying herbs is expensive, but most can be grown in a small space. They contain a cocktail of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but especially aromas and flavors.

Favor the 13.5 l pots to avoid any water stress to the plants.

Basil and rustic Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme blossom under a bright afternoon sun and support the hottest hours of the day.

Plant the parsley and cilantro so that they can enjoy the morning sun and the afternoon shade. Cherry tomatoes – Gold Nugget, Black Cherry or other varieties of small tomatoes – like full sun against a fence or wall that reflects and retains heat.

How to develop your vegetable garden?

If you have a yard or a curb, a lot in town is enough for the gardener to harvest lettuce and vegetables throughout the growing season. Warmer climates will see dark green leafy vegetables bloom until late in the fall.

Sow in raised beds or untreated wooden gardening boxes to improve drainage on rainy days and to facilitate rapid warming of the earth in good weather.

In spring and summer, grow miniature carrots, curly lettuce, young onions and bright Swiss chard.

At the end of June, put the cucumbers in full sun on the southern edge of the kitchen garden and install the tomato plants on the other side, to the north, to prevent them from shading the vegetables at ground level.

How to make the layout of its large garden?

The vast grounds in the suburbs and the wide open spaces in the countryside make it possible to grow onions and potatoes, which are conserved all winter long. My family of four consumes 500 onions and as many potatoes a year.

The onion squares should enjoy a good sunshine until the end of the afternoon. Every four weeks, fertilize the bulbs with a fish emulsion. As potatoes prefer freshness, plant them in a place that remains in the shade in the afternoon. Remember to add bone powder to the fertilizer mixture because valuable tubers need calcium and phosphorus.

For a variety of uses, try Yukon Gold and Russian Blue, which are richer in starch. The firmer Red Pontiac is great for boiling or salad dressing. Plant a row of sweet corn on the north side of the kitchen garden, in full sun, and squash plants around the stalks, then harvest it!

How to draw a thermal map?

Make a plan of the space you have, no matter how small, with the location of pots and farmland.

At 9:00 am, identify the shaded areas and color them on your plan.

Repeat the exercise at 3 pm

The unstained areas are those that horticulturists describe as “full sun”. The two colored zones indicate the places which benefit from the sun in the morning or that of the afternoon.

This thermal map will help plan the layout of your garden for optimal performance.