A roof or terrace garden tends to stem from kitchen gardens with less space, allowing your garden to be outside in the sun and rain to help it grow. Terrace and balcony gardens have risen in popularity due to increasing costs of food and land.
Almost any building can have a terrace garden and benefit from these gardens. Houses, apartments, and even tiny homes can have their own little balcony terrace for growing food. Fruits are a primary source of creating sustaining, healthy food, and you can easily maintain them. With enough sunlight and water, you can create your ideal roof or terrace garden by following these easy steps.
How To Get Started – Structure
Check that your area can handle the weight of your fruits, and ensure that it is waterproof. If you want, you can build a site specific to the garden to aid the structure and water resistance. For example, you might consider getting a raised bed or a trellis for vertical gardening and vines.
Depending on your DIY abilities, you may want a professional to come in and do that part, giving them your idea for the layout and getting your structure ready for planting. You can research and incorporate remodeling ideas you find to create your design. Ensure that you or the professional apply a waterproofing layer with insulation protection on the ground.
Terrace gardens are created either by grass across the surface or by utilizing pots with soil and seeds. As long as you don’t have to worry about water coming into your home or leaking across your balcony, you should be suitable for the next steps.
Water Know-Hows
There are many advantages of hydroponics when it comes to growing fruits, and it can be less messy without the need for soil and dirt everywhere on your terrace. Using soil has to be porous to allow the water and air to flow through and drain. You must also have proper draining, so your fruits don’t become waterlogged.
Do some research to discover what will work best in your space – it may be easier to have hydroponics and grow vines of fruits like tomatoes or grapes. You may also have enough room for fruit trees like apples, cherries, or plums. You need to have more than one tree if you want to grow them so they can cross-pollinate each other.
Creating a water drainage system is probably necessary, so your ground doesn’t become too saturated. Consider laying your floor with perforated pipes so that water can exit. If you are using pots, you don’t have as much to worry about; you just need to ensure that you can drain the pots.
Choosing Fruits For Your Garden
Once you have your layout, structure, and water drainage covered, you can move on to planting your fruits. Depending on your preference, you have many options. Fiber-rooted plants are more recommended than deep-rooted ones since you’d need more soil and are heavier.
You should also look at the shade provided since there may be fruits that don’t need as much sun as you can plant in those areas. You should also research the soil types that best suit the fruits, which ones work better in a hydroponic garden, and lastly, the best fruits to grow if using pots.
Time to Start Gardening
You can start gardening as soon as you have all your necessary elements – the structure, soil, water, seeds, pots, etc. Follow directions to ensure the correct fruits get as much sunlight and water as necessary and enjoy watching them grow! You can start with just a few plants and then increase your garden as you feel more comfortable. You can also create a pleasant atmosphere by adding furniture or areas to sit in and enjoy the garden.
Fruits To Grow on the Terrace Garden
There are plenty of fruits you can grow in your new terrace garden, but here are some of the best ones you can be sure will thrive. They are also some of the easier ones for you to get started.
Lemons
Lemon trees can be grown in large pots or raised beds. Then, in just one year, they begin fruiting. They are hardy and easy to grow, as well as produce quickly. It is worth having lemons on your terrace garden for a bright color splash and a lovely fragrance. You can also use lemons to complement many food dishes.
Mangos
Mangos are an excellent addition to your terrace garden. They use large pots, and watering is essential for the beginning of their growth. The plant does well on alluvial and aerated soil and needs to be well-drained. Once it matures, though, it doesn’t require much attention, making it easy to maintain.
Bananas
Believe it or not, Bananas are another excellent fruit for a terrace garden. The soil for growing bananas should be more porous and well-drained. You can grow dwarf banana plants in pots or large containers without needing a tree.
Watermelons
Watermelons grow quickly in pots; they just need a good drainage system. The only issue you may have when growing these on your terrace garden is weight and space – if you don’t have a lot of areas or feel you can accommodate the large, heavy fruit, then don’t plant them.
Guava
Even though the guava is a tropical fruit, it can grow in other climates if winters aren’t too harsh. Guavas work well because they can be grown in any soil type; you just need to water the plants and regularly fertilize them. Once it’s fruits, you can expect it to continue for years, so it maintains well on a terrace garden.
Strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, and kiwis are some great vine climbers you can also use on a terrace. If you can create a vertical garden wall with your vine fruits, it creates a beautiful aesthetic.
Tips for Growing Fruits on Your Terrace
Some helpful tips to keep in mind when you are growing fruit in your terrace garden:
- Start with a solid garden layout and structure, and complete it before you begin planting anything.
- Ensure your terrace or balcony has no leaks and that the area is waterproof with a good drainage system.
- Ensure that the space receives at least four or more sunlight daily. Then, you can move plants to shade or ensure they have extra hydration if you have hot, humid summers. In addition, you can put up an umbrella or shade cloth to help your plants keep from suffocating.
- Terrace fruits need water at least two times a day in the summer since evaporation can cause wilting. Obviously, during rain or monsoon seasons, you don’t need to water as they will receive it naturally.
- Your garden soil needs to be able to drain well and allow air holes for your plants to breathe. You can mix soil with compost and fertilizer to aid your fruit plants’ growth.
With this information, you should feel more confident in creating your very own beautiful and thriving fruit-bearing terrace garden.