If you plant vegetables on the balcony as soon as possible in spring, you can expect a quick harvest with certain varieties.
You have to take a few things into account.
Not only in the field bed, but also on the balcony, the vegetable gardener can perfect his yields by starting cultivation early and with a time delay.
Before the ice saints in May, many types of vegetables are still too frosty to be allowed outside.
But if you are in a hurry, you can start the season with robust varieties that grow quickly or prefer the vegetables in the house.
Planting vegetables on the balcony: Eight varieties for the impatient
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Radishes are a turbo vegetable and can be grown and harvested on the balcony within three weeks.
© Westend61/Imago
A quick harvest is of course relative with vegetable crops.
It will inevitably take several weeks for the plant to be sown or planted, its roots to take root and aromatic leaves, fruit or tubers to develop.
While peppers or aubergines take months from sowing to harvest, radishes, for example, can be quite impressive with a total time span of three weeks.
In order for the harvest to succeed so quickly, the weather on the balcony must of course also cooperate.
The conditions for cultivation, such as the sowing depth, or the correct watering behavior and other care measures should also be observed for the respective vegetable variety.
The following varieties are allowed out into the fresh air early and are served early:
vegetable variety | sowing time | Plant on balcony | Sowing to harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
radish | March | no-till | 3 to 4 weeks |
pick lettuce | March | no-till | 6 weeks |
spinach | middle of March | no-till | 6 weeks |
Beetroot | April | no-till | 7 to 8 weeks |
bush beans | early May | no-till | 8 to 9 weeks |
cucumbers | Mid-April | middle of May | 8 to 9 weeks |
Peas | March | no-till | 9 weeks |
zucchini | Mid-April | middle of May | 10 weeks |
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.
Protective measures against frost
If you put cold-sensitive vegetables outside before the ice saints, you should protect the plants from the cold with fleece, jute or cardboard when frosty days or nights are announced.
Or even bring them indoors if you grow them in a container.
Regrowing: growing new plants in a glass of water from leftover vegetables
Regrowing: growing new plants in a glass of water from leftover vegetables
If the time until the actual harvest seems too long for you, you can often harvest young plants or leaves.
Beetroot leaves are ideal in salads, while pea plants are healthy microgreens.
In this case, you should quickly overseed or replant.
List of rubrics: © Westend61/Imago