Introduction

I love apartment gardens. They’re usually a great way to add color and life to your home, and you can be as creative as you want with them. But they can also be tricky, especially if you’re new to gardening. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of common mistakes that people make when they first start growing plants on their balconies. Hopefully these tips will help prevent some common pitfalls!

Not knowing what plants need to thrive

You need to know the type of soil your plants are growing in, and what they need to thrive. Most plants won’t grow well in poor or sandy soil, so you should try adding organic matter (like compost) to improve the quality of your soil. You also need to make sure that your plants have enough water and sunlight for them to survive. If you have limited space, consider using containers on a balcony or patio instead of planting in the ground. This will give you more control over how much water is given each day without overwatering.

If possible, start small with just one plant until you’re sure it’s going strong before adding additional ones.

Buying plants that won’t survive in your climate

The first step to having a successful balcony garden is knowing your climate. If you live in a tropical climate, then it’s likely that you’ll have more success with fruiting plants and vegetables than flowering ones. If you live in an area where winters are severe, think twice about planting lots of trees and shrubs. In either case, make sure to research which plants will thrive in your conditions before buying anything!

Once you’ve got that down (or if this applies to you), it’s time for the fun part: choosing what kind of plantings would work best on your balcony! You’ll want to consider how much sun exposure each individual plant needs as well as its size at maturity; if the latter is large enough for its neighbors when fully grown, there might be issues later on down the road due to overcrowding—and besides being annoying when attempting maintenance tasks like pruning or watering (which can become difficult due to lack of space), overcrowded plants tend not perform as well because they’re competing against one another for resources like water/light/sunlight/etcetera.”

Not planning for rain and sun

If you don’t know what type of plants you are growing and how much sun they need, how much water they need, how much space they need, how much care they need, how much time they need and how much money it will take to grow them in your apartment balcony garden then you might as well just pack up your bags and move out.

If you want to avoid making mistakes that could kill off your first apartment garden project before it gets off the ground then do not go into this unprepared!

Forgetting about drainage

Your plants need plenty of drainage. If you’re not sure your balcony garden is well-drained, the best thing to do is to just move it down a level. If that’s not an option, try adding some gravel or other material that will help with drainage (but beware: if you don’t have any good drainage in your balcony, gravel may just get washed away too).

The good news is that this mistake is usually easy to fix.

Not giving the roots enough space to grow

Plants need space to grow. This is an obvious one, but it’s something that most people forget when they’re planting their balcony garden. The roots of your plant will grow as long as there’s room for them to spread out in the soil and reach nutrients, so you need to give them ample room from the start. You can do this by mixing in some organic matter such as compost or manure into your soil before planting the seeds or seedlings—this helps loosen up the soil and provides nutrients for growing plants!

Filling up your whole balcony with plants

• Only use your balcony for plants that are suitable for your climate. If you live in a cold, dry climate, you’re not going to be able to grow tomatoes or peppers on your balcony even if they are “suitable” plants for your area—they just won’t thrive in these conditions.
• Only grow plants that you are familiar with and know how to care for. If you have no idea how to care for the plant, don’t go out and buy it! Any time spent caring for an unfamiliar plant is wasted because learning about it will take up so much time (and energy).
• Only grow plants that you can care for properly. This means watering them regularly when they need water, fertilizing them every few weeks as needed, removing pests from their leaves/stems/roots regularly (if they’re susceptible), etc.—all while keeping an eye on their growth patterns so that they get enough sun during daylight hours but don’t get burned by direct sunlight at any time of day (depending on what type of plant it is).

Know what you are getting into before you start an apartment garden.

Before you start an apartment garden, you need to know what your limits are.

Are you able to spend time watering your plants every day?

Do you have the inclination to go online and do research on how to grow specific plants?

Do you have the patience for trial and error, which is likely when it comes to growing food in a small space like an apartment balcony?

Conclusion

So there you have it, my take on 6 mistakes apartment gardeners make when they start out. Hopefully this list has given you some ideas to avoid these pitfalls and make your balcony garden a success!