A balcony raised bed transforms free space into small garden paradises. We give tips on what to look out for when building or buying a raised bed for the terrace or balcony.
Especially in the cities, garden areas are rare and therefore the own balcony for the cultivation of vegetables, herbs and co. is becoming more and more important. Raised beds are easy to build yourself or buy as a kit, use the available space efficiently and have a number of advantages over normal planters. We give you tips on how to build a raised bed on the balcony yourself, what materials you need and what filling and planting is best for it.
Raised bed on the balcony: build it yourself or buy it?
Whether you want to build your raised bed yourself or buy a complete kit is a question of manual skills and the available materials. Essentially, two aspects should be considered when choosing raised beds for the balcony: the weight and the available space. The raised bed location is also crucial, as it determines which plants can thrive there. Length, width and height can be determined individually for self-construction and thus fitted exactly into the balcony. However, planning and construction are time-consuming. Prefabricated raised beds, on the other hand, are quick and easy to set up, but often do not exactly fill the available space, meaning that valuable growing space can be lost.
The bed should be at least 40 cm high to ensure a drainage layer and sufficient soil for the future plants to take root properly. Higher beds also allow back-friendly work, store existing moisture longer and also offer enough space for the cultivation of root and tuber vegetables.
Build your own raised bed: DIY ideas
Raised beds can be built in all imaginable shapes, with angular variants being available on most balconies.
A raised bed made of pallets not only offers space for the plants inside, but can even be attached to the sidehanging or low plants. It is also possible to put together a raised bed from several wooden fruit boxes. Stacking offers an extremely wide range of design options. Several elongated planters can be stacked in a wooden frame to form a stepped bed, vertical shelf bed or plant pyramid. Lightweight raised beds on stilts are also suitable for less massive balconies and offer additional storage space for garden tools. A combination of raised bed and trellis also offers climbing plants such as runner beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) or cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) enough space and also serves as a privacy screen. Alternatively, hanging baskets or small flower boxes can be hung.
Buy a raised bed for the balcony
Balcony raised beds are available in garden centers and hardware stores as complete kits or as a whole. Raised beds made of wood, galvanized metal or plastic are well suited for the balcony due to their low weight. The large selection of colours, shapes, sizes and materials offers a suitable raised bed in a wide variety of price ranges for almost every balcony owner.
Fill and plant the raised balcony bed
If the raised bed is in the right place, it's time to fill it. Wooden raised beds are first lined with a knobbed or pond liner on the inside to protect the material and keep moisture in the soil. Then the filling of the various raised bed layers is on the plan.
Rough materials such as shrub cuttings or thicker branches and a few stones are first filled in as a drainage layer. This is followed by wood chips, leaves and lawn clippings as a filling layer. Now a well-ripened compost layer is inserted, which serves as a nutrient supply and water storage. Our Plantura organic compost is ideal for filling the compost layer. The peat-free compost soil, which is sustainably produced in Germany, promotes soil life and he althy root growth thanks to its high humus content. A layer of high-quality potting soil follows at the end. Depending on the choice of plants, these are permeable, rather nutrient-poor herb soils or pre-fertilized substrates for nutrient-loving vegetables.
In addition to annual flowers, space-saving types of vegetables or various herbs are particularly suitable for planting in raised balcony beds. These include determinate-growing bush tomatoes such as 'Hoffmann's Rentita' or 'Tiny Tim' - more tooYou can find out about tomatoes in raised beds in our special article. Chili plants (Capsicum) or exotic plants such as pepino (Solanum muricatum) and pineapple cherries (Physalis pruinosa) are also suitable ). Leafy greens such as pak choi (Brassica rapa subsp. Chinensis), lettuce and cut lettuces ( Lactuca sativa) or spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and radishes (Raphanus sativus) can be planted all season long . Root vegetables such as the small-root carrot variety ‘Pariser Markt’ can also be planted in low beds. Strawberries can also be grown on the balcony.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum), parsley (Petroselinum crispum) or mint ( Mentha sp.) for a successful crop.
You can find out how to properly care for herbs on the balcony and what needs to be considered when planting them in our special article on the herb garden on the balcony.