Growing berries on your balcony is a delightful way to enjoy fresh, sweet fruit without needing a vast garden space. Despite what you might think, you don’t need a sprawling orchard or bramble patch to get fresh fruit from your outdoor space. All you need is a sunny spot, some nice pots, regular watering and this guide, where we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to have juicy berries growing on your balcony.
Contents
What do I Need To Grow Berries On My Balcony?
Sunlight
Berries need lots of sun to grow, so we’d recommend finding a spot on your balcony that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day. If your balcony doesn’t get that much sun, growing berries is still worth a try, but know that you might not get as much fruit from the plant.
If you’re looking for other plants to add to your balcony, take a look at our guide for our favourite sun-loving balcony plants and the best shade loving balcony plants.
Water
Potted berries require quite a bit more manual watering than those in the ground, especially in windy and hot conditions. We’d recommend checking the soil daily and watering whenever it feels dry, which might be up to twice per day in the heat of summer.
Pots
For berries, we’d recommend choosing large pots with drainage holes at the bottom to prevent the roots from sitting in water and getting root rot. We’ve created an in-depth guide to choosing the right pots and containers for your balcony plants. You can learn more about our options here.
Fertiliser
When you grow any plant in a pot, you need to add a high-quality fertiliser to the soil to ensure that the plant gets the nutrients it needs to reach its full potential. As you’re probably growing your berries to eat, we’d recommend that you add an organic fertiliser to help your berries thrive.
How To Grow Strawberries On A Balcony
Strawberries are one of the easiest berries to grow on a balcony as they have such a small root system.
We’d recommend choosing either a pot or hanging basket that is at least 50cm wide and 20cm deep. If you’re planting multiple strawberries, then you’ll need a larger pot and to space the plants around 25cm apart to give them room to grow.
How To Grow Blackberries On A Balcony
To grow blackberries, we’d recommend choosing a pot at least 50cm wide and 20cm deep, supporting the plant with a trellis or other support system to encourage it to grow upwards. As blackberries can grow a lot wider than strawberries, we’d recommend planting multiple plants up to 1 meter apart from each other.
How To Grow Blueberries On A Balcony
For blueberries, we’d recommend using a pot at least 60cm wide and 20cm deep with lots of acidic soil. The plants need to be spaced at least 60cm apart if you’re growing multiple plants in a pot to help them thrive as they get bigger.
How To Grow Raspberries On A Balcony
To grow raspberries on your balcony, like blueberries we’d recommend using a pot at least 60cm wide and 20cm deep with lots of acidic soil. The plants need to be spaced at least 60cm apart if you’re growing multiple in a pot to help them thrive as they grow.
Conclusion
Now you’re well on your way to growing some delicious berries on your balcony. Just remember to choose the right sized pot, and to give your plant lots of sunlight, water and fertiliser and you’ll be well on your way.
If you’re looking to maximise the space available on your balcony, check out our complete guide to vertical gardening here. Otherwise, if you’re wanting to add some more colour to your urban balcony, check out our balcony flower guide here.
