How to Plant Well in your Balcony Garden in Japan

    As edthethe mentioned in an earlier post, the first thing you need to know is the planting zone for your area. Using the zone name for your area on this map, you can search for more information on that zone including what grows well and when the first and last freezes usually are.

    Next, spend a little time on your next sunny day off looking out your window into your growing space to see how much sun actually hits your area and for how long. I've noticed the morning glories my daughter brought home from school like being in the space where they get some morning sun but are blocked from the more intense afternoon brightness while my lettuce is all but trying to uproot itself to get closer to those afternoon rays. If you're in a large city especially, you have to look out for other obstructions like neighboring buildings. If sun is blocked to part of your growing space for a significant part of the day, odds are you won't be enjoying too much growth in that space unless you choose things that like to grow in the shade.

The lettuce wants out. Poor lettuce.

    Once you know how much sun you get and how much area you have, do some research on what will grow well with those conditions. Knowing the first freeze dates for your area will also let you know how much time you have to prepare and plant so you can harvest or move things inside before the frost hits.

    When you know what you can plant, grab your materials. If you're growing something you're planning on eating, make sure your container is BPA free. Honestly, just staying away from plastic should help but I couldn't afford the larger ceramic planters, so my broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower in a plastic tub that was labelled for food growing. If you're only growing flowers or other plants you don't intend to eat, there's nothing wrong with a plastic pot. Also, you can use non traditional pots, like my re-purposed kid-snack containers. I drilled holes in all of the bottoms, then added a layer of rocks, then soil, then carrot seeds in sets of three. We will see how they come out.

    Remember with container-based planting that a layer of rocks at the bottom can help filter the soil out so the water drains away without stealing your nutrient rich potting soil. These days the soil is pretty easy to spot in the gardening department of any DIY store. The packaging usually tells you what it's good for, frequently with pictures so you don't even need to be a kanji master to figure it out. Do be careful to buy soil (土) and not manure (肥) though. I made that mistake back in 2009 and stunk up my office while also slowly murdering a small fir tree. It was a bad time.

Ready by November? Nice.

    When you're ready to plant, just remember to double check your growing times for your chosen plants. Some might need an early seedling start inside the house. Some might be better just tossed in the soil. If you check the plant department at your local DIY shop, you may find some seedlings ready to go and some even discounted depending on how late in the growing season it is.

    When planting a seedling, put it into a bigger pot so the roots can grow but don't bury it. The base of where the plant is coming out of the ground in its seedling starter pot should be the same base for where it's coming out of the soil in its new home.

    As long as you remember to check on the plants regularly and water them as need be, this should help you grow a little something green on your Japanese balcony.