Mini raised bed for balcony and roof terrace

Content

• Mini raised bed for balcony and roof terrace
• Raised beds in small format
• Attention: Observe statics!
• Suitable types and materials to make yourself
• Smart ideas for balcony gardeners
• Table and stand high beds
• Baker or fruit crates
• potato sacks
• Fill balcony raised beds properly
• Tips

Fruit crates are ideal for the raised bed on the balcony

Mini raised bed for balcony and roof terrace

For the small garden on your own doorstep, it does not need a home or a garden plot, instead, a balcony, a terrace or roof terrace is sufficient. This not only has the advantage that you have to walk for fresh vegetables just a few steps - you also make an important contribution to the greening of the city. This, in turn, generally improves air quality and also helps insects find a home.

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Raised beds in small format

Conventional garden high beds are usually created on one to one and a half meters wide and up to two meters in length. For the terrace or even the balcony, these dimensions are of course too large. Nevertheless, balcony gardeners do not have to do without a raised bed, because they can also be produced with significantly smaller floor space. A variety of prefabricated raised beds are available from specialist retailers for the balcony, ranging from tiny 0.3 square meters of space to a size of up to 1.5 square meters. For correspondingly spacious roof terraces even larger versions are available. As a rule, a non-woven or foil insert is included in the delivery. Some manufacturers also provide their models with practical accessories such as wheels for mobile beds, with special water drains or even with cold frame or greenhouse attachments.

Attention: Observe statics!

But beware: Especially on balconies, you should not just put a raised bed. These can quickly become too heavy: even a small raised bed with 0.5 square meters planting area holds around 350 liters of soil and reaches after planting and watering quite a weight of several hundred kilograms. Then choose a heavy frame such as wood or stone, the weight is heavily loaded on the construction. For modern balconies, this is designed for a maximum of 400 kilograms static load per square meter - for older buildings, the maximum load is usually lower.

Raised beds on the terrace and balcony should be kept small

Suitable types and materials to make yourself

Therefore, you should resort to suitably lighter raised bed types and more suitable materials. Table raised beds with a smaller earth volume (and planting containers, for example, made of felt or plastic fleece) are the better choice from a static point of view. Likewise, instead of building wood or stone bed frames, you should use lighter plastic or thin-walled metal.

Smart ideas for balcony gardeners

Of course, the traditional setting and floor raised beds, where the planter sits directly on the ground and classically has a rectangular shape, are classic. In addition, there are also containers with square, round or oval floor plan or in a rectangular "L-shape". But of course, the balcony gardener does not have to stick to the traditional forms, because raised beds can be designed quite differently.

Table and stand high beds

So-called table and stand high beds are usually on four legs or on a frame, the actual planter is only between 25 to 35 inches high and thus much less space for soil and roots offers as a Aufsetzbeet. For the balcony are very well suited models weather-resistant galvanized sheet steel or aluminum, which also have the advantage of a very low weight. Also high-quality plastic or stand high beds with large plant bags made of fleece or felt are ideal even for very small balconies. Of course, there are no big plants with correspondingly strong roots, such as zucchini, tomatoes, peppers or even fruit trees. Instead, salads and leafy vegetables as well as compact vegetables such as bush tomatoes and bush beans can be cultivated here.

Baker or fruit crates

So-called bakery or lattice boxes are an insider tip for the ingenious balcony gardener: Stack two of these 60 cm wide, 40 cm deep and between 32 to 42 cm high boxes on each other, you get a planting area in comfortable high heights. For top you choose a box with a broken bottom (so that excess water can drain) and for the bottom one with a closed bottom (as protection against leaking moisture). In addition, it is advisable to lay out the lower box with a strong foil - then there will be no trouble with the neighbors living below you. Incidentally, only the upper box is filled and planted.

potato sacks

Completely normal potato, jute or rice sacks - which are usually made of a stable plastic fabric - are ideal for gardening in a confined space. So a conventional sack is about 45 inches high and holds between 35 to 40 liters of potting soil. Below is best a drainage layer, for example, from expanded clay, are introduced. All kinds of plants with stronger root systems such as potatoes or carrots thrive here, too.

Fill balcony raised beds properly

For such small raised beds is no classic layering as in a large garden high bed, as it is simply too tight for the necessary decomposition processes. Instead, just put on a drainage layer (due to the weight you should grab especially to Blähton) just good potting soil. Generally well suited is balcony plant or container potting soil, which you can upgrade with (purchased) compost as well as perlite and rock flour.

Tips

The choice of the earth depends on which plants you prefer to grow. Herb soil, for example, is particularly suitable for nutrient-loving species such as parsley and chives. For frugal Mediterranean herbs, on the other hand, mix some sand under the substrate. Tomatoes are best grown in tomato soil, etc.